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You Are 90% Bacterial Cells and 10% Human Cells
That's right; most of you isn't even really you. In fact, between 2 and 6 pounds of your weight is actually just bacteria. Feel free to factor that in next time you're on a diet.
There's a Compass in Your Nose (Kind Of)
Scientists have discovered that there are small deposits of magnetite in human brains. While they're not 100% sure why, a leading theory is that the magnetic crystals aid our sense of direction by drawing upon Earth's natural magnetic fields. Similar deposits can be found in the brains of homing pigeons, dolphins and bats, who all use magnetic fields to navigate.
Your Strongest Muscle Is in Your Jaw
The muscle that moves your jaw up and down (called the masseter) exerts more pressure than any other muscle in your body — up to 200 psi on your molars! However, we still wouldn't recommend trying to chomp through a jawbreaker.
You Can Outrun Most Animals
You might not be able to run faster, but you can run farther! Human bodies are perfectly engineered for running long distances, and it's believed we evolved this way in order to hunt more efficiently. In fact, this type of hunting — called Persistence Hunting — is still practiced by hunter-gatherers in Southern Africa. You can see a video of the process here.
You're Also Pretty Great at Throwing Things
There are a few other primates who can toss objects, but humans are the only animals who excel at accurate, high-momentum throwing. Some scientists argue that our ability to throw is very much responsible for our success as a species, as it gave us a way to kill strong animals from a distance. Today it comes in handy as a way to play fetch with your dog.
There's Gold in Your Blood
That's right, GOLD! However, it's only 0.2 milligrams of gold, which by today's standards will net you…less than a cent. But still. It's real gold. In fact, there are a lot of valuable chemical elements floating around your body, including Rubidium, Boron and Scandium (all valued at thousands of dollars per kilogram). All together, the chemical elements of an average human body are worth about $160.
Your Ear Shape Is Completely Unique
Of course you know that your fingerprints are unique but, as it turns out, the shape of your ears is, too! Biometrics developers are working on ways of implementing this knowledge in order to easily identify individual people in crowds from CCTV footage or to take attendance in a classroom. If you're looking for a way to evade this new technology, we recommend wearing a hat, or maybe investing in some Spock ears.
And Your Tongue Print Is, Too!
Both the shape and the pattern of bumps on your tongue are entirely unique to each individual. In fact, both your teeth and the bacteria in your mouth are also unique between people — even identical twins! So the next time someone calls you unoriginal, just stick your tongue out at them and show 'em how special you are!
You Were Born With More Bones Than You Have Now
A baby has over 300 bones at birth, but adults have only 206. So what gives? Did you just lose some bones and not realize it? Nope! Actually, many of the bones in a baby's body fuse together to create bigger, mega-bones (not a medical term), and that's how you end up with only 206 in adulthood.
You Also Had Super Powers as a Baby (Kind Of)
Babies are born exhibiting a number of fascinating reflexes, including the ability to walk on a flat surface (as long as the baby's body and head are supported). Another baby superpower is called the Palmar Grasp, which allows the baby to grab onto an object with surprising strength. In fact, some babies can even support their own weight (although we don't advise trying to recreate the picture above).
Your Liver Performs Over 500 Functions
And speaking of superpowers, here's a shout out to your liver, which is basically the superhero organ of the human body. Your liver performs over 500 functions, including producing bile and cholesterol, removing bacteria from the bloodstream and — of course — clearing the blood of toxins from drugs and alcohol. Keep that in mind next time you complain about working overtime.
Your Nose Can Remember 50,000 Scents
And if that's not impressive enough for you, it's recently been discovered that your nose can smell at least 1 trillion scents, making it the most sensitive organ in the body by a large margin. However, I think we can all agree that there are some scents you might be better off forgetting.
Splashing Water on Your Face Makes You a Swimming Machine
It's called the Mammalian Diving Reflex, and it is seriously one of the coolest things your body is capable of. When you splash cold water on your face, your body thinks it's going for a swim, and prepares accordingly. First, your heart rate slows down 10-25%. Then the blood vessels in your extremities constrict and send more blood to your lungs. As a result, you use up less oxygen and — if you were swimming — would be able to stay underwater longer.
Maybe the Mammalian Diving Reflex is what the people in face wash commercials are actually demonstrating…
Your Bones Are Stronger Than Steel
Ounce for ounce, human bones can withstand a lot more pressure than steel. In fact, a cubic inch of human bone could bear a load of 19,000 pounds! Bones are also a lot lighter, less dense and more flexible than steel, which makes them a great material for, you know, supporting your entire body. Steel wins when it comes to building materials, though, because using bones would be a little too spooky.
You Produce A LOT of Saliva
Like, a lot of saliva. In fact, throughout the course of your lifetime, the amount of saliva you produce could fill the Olympic-size swimming pool pictured above…twice. Maybe even more if you spend a lot of time thinking about Warhead candies.
Your Hair Is Incredibly Strong
A single strand of hair can support about 100g (which is equal to about two candy bars). But twisted together, one person's entire head of hair (consisting of about 150,000 individual strands) could support 12 tons of weight — that's the weight of 2 elephants!
Not only is hair very strong, it's also virtually indestructible. Aside from being flammable, hair won't break due to extreme temperatures, and it's also resistant to a lot of acids and other corrosive chemicals.
You Lose 60-100 Strands of Hair Every Day
Although hair doesn't easily break, you still lose between 60 and 100 strands of it every day. Think of how many elephants you could be lifting if you didn't!
You Might Sneeze When You Look at the Sun
This reflex, known as the Photic Sneeze Reflex, is present in 18-35% of the population, and it causes people to sneeze when exposed to a change in light intensity (such as leaving a dimly lit building on a sunny day). Sneezing can also occur in some people after eating spicy foods, or even when they're full after eating. This phenomenon is not completely understood, but we're pretty sure it's the lamest superpower ever.
Your Ears and Nose Will Keep Growing as You Age
While your eyes remain the same size throughout your entire life, your ears and nose will continue growing as you get older. This is partially due to the fact that they are made out of cartilage (rather than bone), but is mostly as a result of gravity. So they're not actually growing as much as sagging. Regardless, you'll be able to tell your grandkids "all the better to hear you with," so that's pretty cool.
Your Body Creates 7 Miles of Blood Vessels Per Pound of Fat
Since fat is essentially an endocrine organ, it needs a supply of blood to function. So, as fat is added to your body, your body in turn constructs blood vessels and capillaries to provide blood to the fat cells. For each pound of fat, your body creates 7 miles of blood vessels, and that means your heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. This is part of the reason why obesity is often linked to heart disease, and is also part of the reason why we're having a salad for lunch.
Complete Article HERE!


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The code you have for this application so far is fully functional and includes full error-handling. You may be wondering what the need is for a custom exception class in the first place. So I'd like to take a moment to discuss why I've chosen to create one.
This application serves a single purpose. It accepts an input and delivers an image to the browser. In the event of an error, the script halts execution and displays that error.
The problem lies in this difference in output.
The calling page is expecting an image and therefore won't display the error text. So to make this useful, it might be a good idea to deliver the error text as an image instead.
Since this only needs to be done in the event an exception occurs in our application, it makes sense that the code to produce this image should reside in a custom exception. This also provides an opportunity to explore a little deeper into PHP 5's error handling capabilities.
For those readers that are just now tuning in, let's take a look at the code we have so far. On the next page you'll see the SignatureImage class in its entirety.{mospagebreak title=Examining the SignatureImage class}
class SignatureImage
private $screen_name;
private $profile_image;
private $status_text;
private $local_avatar;
public function __construct($name, $bg_image, $adir)
try {
$this->fetchAvatar($this->profile_image, $adir);
catch (Exception $e) {
private function fetchUserInfo($name)
$url = "http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/{$name}.xml?count=1";
$xml = $this->curlRequest($url);
if ($xml === false) {
throw new Exception('User feed unavailable.');
$statuses = new SimpleXMLElement($xml);
if (!$statuses || !$statuses->status) {
throw new Exception('Invalid user channel.');
foreach ($statuses->status as $status) {
$this->status_text = (string) $status->text;
$this->profile_image = (string) $status->user->profile_image_url;
$this->screen_name = (string) $status->user->screen_name;
private function curlRequest($url)
if (!extension_loaded('curl')) {
throw new Exception('PHP extension CURL is not loaded.'); }
$curl = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HEADER, false);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
$result = curl_exec($curl);
if (curl_errno($curl) !== 0 || curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE) !== 200) {
$result === false;
return $result;
private function fetchAvatar($url, $adir)
$parts = explode('/', $url);
$fname = end($parts);
$adir = preg_match('#^(.*?)/$#i', $url) ? $adir : "{$adir}/";
$fname = $adir . $fname;
if (!file_exists($fname)) {
$img = $this->curlRequest($url);
$fp = fopen($fname, 'w');
fwrite($fp, $img);
$this->local_avatar = $fname;
private function renderImage($bg_image)
if (!function_exists('gd_info')) {
throw new Exception('No GD support.');
$margin_left = 11;
$margin_bottom = 6;
$image = @imagecreatefromjpeg($bg_image);
if (!$image) {
throw new Exception('Unable to create image.');
$this->embedAvatar($image, $this->local_avatar, $margin_left, $margin_bottom);
$string = "{$this->screen_name}: {$this->status_text}";
$this->embedText($image, $string, $margin_left, $margin_bottom);
header("Content-type: image/jpeg");
$created = @imagejpeg($image);
if (!$created) {
throw new Exception('Unable to finalize image.');
private function embedAvatar(&$image, $avatar, $left, $bottom)
if (file_exists($avatar)) {
if (stristr($avatar, '.jpg')) {
$aimg = @imagecreatefromjpeg($avatar);
} elseif (stristr($avatar, '.png')) {
$aimg = @imagecreatefrompng($avatar);
if (!$aimg) {
throw new Exception('Unable to create avatar.');
$awidth = imagesx($aimg);
$aheight = imagesy($aimg);
$top = imagesy($image) – $aheight – $bottom;
$copied = @imagecopy($image, $aimg, $left, $top, 0, 0, $awidth, $aheight);
if (!$copied) {
// Unable to add avatar to image.
private function embedText(&$image, $text, $left, $top, $tmaxw=300, $font=3)
$fheight = imagefontheight($font);
$color = imagecolorallocate($image, 100, 100, 100);
$lines = $this->lineWrap($font, $text, $tmaxw);
$lmax = floor(imagesy($image) / $fheight);
$lcount = (count($lines) > $lmax) ? $lmax : count($lines);
$ttop = (imagesy($image) – ($lcount*$fheight)) / 2;
$tleft = 2*$left + 48;
while ((list($num, $line) = each($lines)) && $num < $lcount) {
imagestring($image, $font, $tleft, $ttop, $line, $color);
$ttop += $fheight;
private function lineWrap($font, $text, $maxwidth)
$fwidth = imagefontwidth($font);
if ($maxwidth != NULL) {
$maxcharsperline = floor($maxwidth / $fwidth);
$text = wordwrap($text, $maxcharsperline, "n", 1);
return explode("n", $text);
isset($_GET['name']) or die('You must provide a user name.');
new SignatureImage($_GET['name'], 'banners/my_banner.jpg', 'avatars', 'cache');{mospagebreak title=Building a custom exception interface}
To begin piecing together a custom exception, you'll first need to understand how the native Exception class is constructed. For that you'll need to sit down and examine the PHP documentation, so I'll save you a little time.
interface ExceptionInterface
public function __construct($message = null, $code = 0);
public function getMessage(); // message of exception
public function getCode(); // code of exception
public function getFile(); // source filename
public function getLine(); // source line
public function getTrace(); // an array of the backtrace()
public function getTraceAsString(); // formatted string of trace
public function __toString(); // formatted string for display
In the code above I've created an interface that lists all of the methods provided by the native Exception class. By implementing this interface in our own custom exception class, we'll have a framework to ensure that our own exception is constructed in the same manner as the original.
In larger applications, this allows multiple developers to implement any custom exception without the need for additional documentation. That's an important time-saver any time you have more than one developer collaborating on a project.
Now that we've got an interface to define our custom exceptions, we can begin putting the code together to make it work.{mospagebreak title=Building the custom exception}
We're going to build a custom exception called SignatureImageException. Every error in our SignatureImage class will throw this same type of exception. In larger applications, you'd most likely have a unique exception for each type of error thrown by a particular class. Due to the small footprint of this application, it's overkill to have so many different exceptions that will inherently perform the same task.
final class SignatureImageException extends Exception implements ExceptionInterface
We begin building our custom exception class by writing its declaration. Notice that this exception class will be extending the native Exception class (meaning that it will inherit all of its functionality) and that it also implements the interface we've just created. This provides a level of continuity by ensuring that our class cannot be created without all of the required parts. I've also gone one step farther and declared this as a final class, since our application won't be extending upon it.
protected $message = 'Unknown exception';
protected $code = 0;
The next step is to add the necessary class properties. These are the same properties used by the native Exception class. The $message property will contain a text string containing the exception message and the $code property will contain a user-supplied error code as an integer.
public final function __construct($message = null, $code = 0)
if (!$message) {
throw new SignatureImageException('Unknown exception');
parent::__construct($message, $code);
After defining the properties for our class, we'll want to override the native Exception class's constructor with one of our own. In the native Exception class, all of the constructor's parameters are optional. We're overriding that with a constructor declaration that makes the message and code parameters required.
Next, you'll see a simple If block. Here I'm checking that the message parameter contains a usable value. If it's null or an empty string, the SignatureImageException is re-thrown with the message "Unknown exception." This ensures that the image produced by our custom exception class will always have a visible message for the end-user.
Finally, we make a static call to the Exception class's constructor. This ensures that all information is preserved and correctly passed to all parent objects. It also executes the native code that properly assigns all of the internal properties for our custom exception class. No need to write the code ourselves!
public final function getImage()
if (!function_exists('gd_info')) {
throw new Exception('No GD support');
$image = @imagecreatefromjpeg('banners/my_banner.jpg');
if (!$image) {
$image = @imagecreate(380, 60);
if (!$image) {
throw new Exception('Cannot create image');
$bg = imagecolorallocate($image, 190, 240, 250);
$line = parent::getMessage();
$font = 3;
$fwidth = imagefontwidth($font);
$fheight = imagefontheight($font);
$color = imagecolorallocate($image, 100, 100, 100);
$ttop = (imagesy($image) – $fheight) / 2;
$tleft = (imagesx($image) – ($fwidth*strlen($line))) / 2;
imagestring($image, $font, $tleft, $ttop, $line, $color);
header("Content-type: image/jpeg");
$created = @imagejpeg($image);
if (!$created) {
throw new Exception('Unable to finalize image.');
Now we wrap up our custom exception class by creating a method that will produce and output an image containing our error message. Since the majority of this code has been covered in the previous articles in this series, I won't go into great detail about its inner workings.
I do want you to notice, however, the manner that I've used to handle errors in this portion of the code. To this point, our custom exception relies on the fact that it creates and outputs an image. If this code fails for any reason, the whole concept behind this application fails with it.
For that reason, any errors produced while attempting to create the image will be thrown as general Exceptions which don't rely on the need to create an image for the error. This provides an excellent example of a situation in which a custom exception is better re-thrown as a lower level exception within an application.{mospagebreak title=Implementing the custom exception}
In order to implement our newly-created custom exception, we'll need to revisit the SignatureImage class that we built over the past few articles. Throughout that code, we you'll see instances of errors being thrown as shown below.
$url = "http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/{$name}.xml?count=1";
$xml = $this->curlRequest($url);
if ($xml === false) {
throw new Exception('User feed unavailable.');
Implementing our new custom exception is as simple as editing the line that throws a native Exception and updating it with our custom exception instead.
$url = "http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/{$name}.xml?count=1";
$xml = $this->curlRequest($url);
if ($xml === false) {
throw new SignatureImageException('User feed unavailable.');
And there you have it! Now instead of receiving error messages as text in the browser, they are built into an image to maintain compatibility with the expected output of our SignatureImage class.
Here again we part with a fully-functioning application. But I'm coming back for one more article in this series in which I will show you how to boost the performance of this application, overcome a pitfall in the Twitter API, and add a method of monitoring your image's analytics. Until next time, keep coding!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This week's photo of the week is taken by State Department photographer Michael Gross at the 2011 International Women of Courage Award Ceremony, and features First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the award winners.
The Department of State and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day with a series of events during the week, including launching the "100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges" and hosting the 2011 International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony. The annual International Women of Courage Award was established in 2007 to recognize women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement.
Secretary Clinton said at the ceremony, "I want to welcome this year's 10 winners of the International Women of Courage awards. Each and every one of these women is remarkable. I have known some for many years, some I'm meeting for the first time today. Now, I have to say, we've never before given an award to a head of state, but we were so inspired by the tremendous courage, leadership, and tenacity shown by the first woman to lead a Central Asian nation--President Roza Otunbayeva of the Kyrgyz Republic. In the face of a collapsing government, regional divisions, economic privation, she emerged as a unifier, someone who kept Kyrgyzstan whole after tragedy and upheaval. She is a president who knows how to lead, but she also knows how to let go. Because she has set an extraordinary example of what it means to relinquish power. She decided early on she would help to set up a new government, have a new constitution; and when the time came, after the elections were finished, she would turn over powers to the new prime minister and that government.
"In so doing, she has offered an invaluable lesson to fledgling democracies everywhere, because we know, of course, that elections alone do not produce democracies. It is that willingness to share power with other elected officials, to build democratic institutions, to hold a second and a third free and fair election, to transfer power peacefully--that's what allows true democracy to take hold. And this is a woman who I think can stand as an example to many leaders around the world about what democracy and power should be used for: to help the people that you are supposed to serve.
"...[E]ach of these women has found the strength to persevere in the face of fear, isolation, or repression. And they've done so not just one day or one year, but day after day and year after year. Now, two of our honorees, Nasta Palazhanka from Belarus and Yoani Sanchez from Cuba, could not be here because their governments would not allow them to travel here. But we are with them in spirit and we salute them for everything they are doing on behalf of their countries and their people. ...The women in this room all know how to lead by example: Henriette, who is working for good governance in Cameroon: or Jianmei, fighting sexual harassment cases for women in China; Eva, seeking to stop so-called "honor killings" in Jordan; Marisela, who is starting a federal witness protection program so cartels can be prosecuted in Mexico; Maria, insisting on defending women brutalized by domestic abuse even after her own home was set afire in Afghanistan; Agnes, defending the rights of Roma women from a seat in Hungary's parliament; or Ghulam, insisting that every girl in her rural Pakistani village deserved to be enrolled in school.""Each of these women--and I mention them in a personal way because this has been a personal mission for them. They have reached down deep and done what was necessary. And I often wonder how many of us, including myself, under those circumstances, could have done the same. Their courage, their compassion, their commitment, their quiet moral authority has come from putting the well-being of others before their own."
You can read Secretary Clinton's full remarks here.


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You are not in the store defined for your Country.
S'il vous plaît sélectionnez votre pays de livraison.
Der Hoppel Hase Greifring mit Rassel ist für Kinder nicht nur eine tolle Beschäftigung, der Greifring mit Rassel fördert spielerisch die Sinne der Kleinen und sieht dazu noch super süß aus. Der niedliche Hoppel Hase Greifring ist aus flauschiger Baumwolle und damit sanft zur Babyhaut. Der Greifing ist auch eine super Geschnekidee zur Geburt.
Those wanting to create something special and unique of lasting value will need nothing less than the perfect "ingredients". This not only applies to many other areas but especially to our Steiff manufacture, where we only use "ingredients" of the highest quality: for every Steiff animal, from head to paw. Starting with the thread, the filling material, buttons, eyes and accessories and right up to what is so characteristic for every Steiff animal: it's "coat" or "fur", which gives character and form to its appearance. So since 2009 we have been particularly happy to be able to call ourselves the world's only manufacturer of stuffed toys with its own fabric factory.
The Steiff Bio-Baby series is made of pure organic cotton from controlled organic cultivation. Our organic cotton, woven in our own weaving mill Steiff Schulte in Duisburg, is certified according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and complies with IVN guidelines (Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilien [International Association of the Natural Textile Industry]). This allows us to achieve incomparable product quality, which stands for all-round unspoilt nature: ecological cultivation without pesticides, no application of optical brighteners, colouring without allergenic components as well as fair working conditions for all those involved. Feeling, touching, smelling and tasting – that's how our little ones discover their big world. And are now joined by their Steiff friends made of purely organic materials.
Every original Steiff animal with the world-famous trademark, the Steiff "Button in Ear", shows that it comes from one of the best families - and every Steiff Teddy bear and Steiff animal proudly wears an ear tag as a clearly recognisable identification. Both big and small Steiff fans immediately recognise the yellow Steiff ear tag with red writing.
When we say "For children only the best will do", they are not just empty words but rather a guiding principle that has been followed for generations: Children are our present and our future. All cuddly toys that we produce and sell must therefore do more than justice to the absolute highest of standards in terms of quality, safety, processing and material attributes. We place this benchmark above all of the prescribed international checks and tests. The Steiff purity standard is a permanent fixture of Steiff's corporate philosophy and a foundation of the trust that customers place in us, and one that grows year upon year: This is marked by the Steiff seal.


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Viral video about a 'leprechaun' in the South turns 11
St. Patrick's Day, for some people, often brings to mind one internet legend that was born in the South: the "Mobile Leprechaun."
At the center of the story is an amateur sketch, and the person who introduced us to the now-viral video? WDSU's Scott Walker. Every year around St. Patrick's Day, more and more people are introduced to the video for the first time.
"I'm forever linked to the iconic story because I'm one of the anchors who introduced it on camera," Walker said.
This year the Mobile Leprechaun turns 11. Walker said in a blog post that the original video has been viewed more than 26 million times. That doesn't include the copies, variations and remixes.
"My wife and I, along with our two kids, get new Mobile Leprechaun T-shirts every couple of years. CafePress has a great selection," Walker said.
So what makes the story of the Mobile Leprechaun so great? You're better off seeing it for yourself. Share it with your friends.
"One question is often repeated: 'Was that a real news story?' Walker said. "The answer is yes and no."
Walker gives the backstory of the Mobile Leprechaun every year on his blog.Check it out and learn more about one of YouTube's first viral videos.


text:
Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Terry has high hopes for 2014
Captain John Terry believes Chelsea are capable of moving clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League in 2014.
Chelsea have won one Premier League title since Jose Mourinho's departure in September 2007 - when Carlo Ancelotti led the Blues to a league and FA Cup double in 2009/10 - and were out of contention by Christmas in the last two seasons.
The Blues were 11 points behind last Christmas, but after Monday night's goalless draw at Arsenal are fourth, two points behind Liverpool, who visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday and lead the Gunners on goal difference.
"The point still keeps us up there and amongst everyone," Terry told Chelsea TV.
"We all know - and the fans have seen it home and away - that we can get better.
"So whilst everyone is dropping points around us, hopefully in the new year we have to start firing and put ourselves on a good run of games.
"If we do that we're more than capable of pulling away from everyone."
Mourinho called for a raucous backing from the Blues faithful when Swansea and then Liverpool visit in quick succession on Thursday and Sunday, with Chelsea firmly in title contention.
"I hope Stamford Bridge is there for us; Stamford Bridge with noise," he added.
"On the last Boxing Day Chelsea were 11 points behind the leader, out of the title race. And we are there. Two points behind both leaders.
"We are there so we have reasons to keep going. The way to get the first objective, which is top four and Champions League - which will be hard for everybody - is to be close in the title race.
"Let's enjoy the moment."
Chelsea showed a steeliness reminiscent of Mourinho's first team at the Emirates Stadium to frustrate Arsenal.
Prior to the match at Arsenal, the Portuguese spoke of building a new dynasty after leaving a lasting legacy from his first spell.
Yet, ever the perfectionist, Mourinho demands continual improvement, particularly in front of goal.
"We are building a team not for one season, we are building a team for more than one season, the same way 2004/05 we build a certain profile of team, that was the profile of team that was Chelsea's base for almost one decade," Mourinho added.
"In this moment we are building another team with different people, with different qualities and with a different profile.
"If we score goals in a direct relation with what we produce, we would be in a fantastic situation, because we are not scoring enough goals.
"It's not just a problem of the strikers not scoring goals, it's also a problem of the other people don't transform half-chances to chances and goals."
Chelsea's defence has also come under scrutiny in recent weeks, and Terry was pleased with just a second clean sheet in 12 league games.
"A lot of people have been speculating about us conceding too many," Terry added.
"I think we're third in the league in conceding (the fewest) goals and we've had a couple of games where we've conceded far too many than we're used to, but overall we've been very solid defensively."
Mourinho is still to be beaten at Stamford Bridge after 68 home league games as Chelsea manager, and Terry hopes the Blues will show their class in the coming days to extend the record.
Terry said: "We've been great, ever since the manager was first here a long time ago. We've held on to that and it (Mourinho's record) means an awful lot to us.
"A couple of (home) games we've conceded early goals, which has probably given us a kick up the backside earlier than we would've wanted to.
"(But) we seem to be more flamboyant at home and at it, which is what you expect and what people want to see.
"We're very confident at home and we score a lot of goals at home."
Terry could be rested for the Swansea fixture with Liverpool in mind, but, fitness permitting, he will make his 600th Chelsea appearance in the coming days.


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Last updated: July 02, 2013
NHGRI's Intramural Training Office challenges young scientists to imagine their future
NHGRI's Intramural Training Office challenges young scientists to imagine their future
By Omar McCrimmon
Assistant Public Affairs Specialist
Early career scientists in the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) intramural training program say that their biggest concern is a challenging job market and what lies ahead for them after their time at NHGRI. To address these worries, NHGRI's Intramural Training Office convened faculty and trainees at the Bolger Center in picturesque Potomac, Maryland, for a one-day meeting.
At the annual October retreat, trainees exchanged technical knowledge, fostered a sense of community with other trainees and NHGRI faculty and sought new research collaborations. Trainees shared their research findings with other young scientists at NHGRI while faculty and alumni of the intramural program imparted career development tips.
"I enjoyed the retreat because it provided all the trainees with an opportunity to network with colleagues in a more relaxed setting while also providing insight from previous NHGRI trainees into a wide range of science careers at and away from the bench," said Keisha Findley, Ph.D., a post-doctoral minority health disparities fellow.
Keynote speaker Marc Kuchner, Ph.D., NASA astrophysicist and author of the Marketing Yourself in Science: How to Shine in Tough Times, focused his remarks on using new strategies for finding a job.
"Don't just network, build relationships," Dr. Kuchner advised.
As funding declines, scientists have to become savvier about promoting their work and themselves, he said. Though marketing may seem superficial, it is a critical component of the modern scientific endeavor, not only advancing personal careers but also society's knowledge of science.
"NHGRI trainees were grateful to receive practical career advice from a senior scientist," said Belen Hurle, Ph.D., intramural training program coordinator. "I feel sure that his talk will benefit their career, research and science."
For more information, go to: Intramural Training Office.


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I have no words which could explain this happiness & deep contentment which always remains and keeps adding and soothing the soul.
The poor and hapless women, who were exploited and abused by society, would be re- integrated into the social mainstream by this unique initiative. Thousands of young men and women are taking out rallies all over the country to spread this message of saying NO TO PROSTITUTION.
An exhortation by Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, scores of young men have come forward to marry such hapless girls. Hundreds of families publicly committed to legally adopt them as their sisters and daughters also the children of unmarried sex workers.
If you think you can help in otherways we are always open to new ideas. Whether it be suggestions for new programmes, additions to current programmes or just to share with us your own experiences. Maybe you even know of some children or women at risk.
Dera Sacha Sauda initiated Stop Prostitution Campaign on 25th January 2010 under the Guidance and Inspiration of Revered Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan. This event was unique and the first in history with over 10 million Dera members cheering and celebrating this groundbreaking event of marriages of emancipated sex workers with young eligible bachelors to amalgamate them in the mainstream of the society.
I have no words which could explain this happiness & deep contentment which always remains and keeps adding and soothing the soul.
I will not interrupt if he would prefer to be Bhagat Yodha the same way my parents did not interrupt. Inspite i like to see Him as Bhagat Yodha.


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Three-goal spurt powers Wild past Oilersby Dan Myers
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nate Prosser spent much of the first half of this season watching games from the press box. Such is the life of a seventh defenseman in the NHL.
But an injury to Jared Spurgeon has put Prosser in the spotlight, and the Elk River, Minn., native has responded. Prosser's first goal in almost two years broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period Thursday and the Minnesota Wild overcame some early sloppiness to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at Xcel Energy Center.
Prosser's goal came at the perfect time. A Jordan Eberle goal early in the second period tied the game for Edmonton, and after that, the Oilers controlled the puck and the momentum. But the Wild remained structured enough in the defensive zone to keep the puck out of their net, buying Prosser and the offense enough time to get the lead.
"He's an unbelievable professional," Wild coach Mike Yeo said of Prosser. "He's an unbelievable team guy and it wasn't easy to scratch him. He's a guy that has made the absolute most of his opportunity."
After the Wild generated their first sustained pressure of the middle period, Prosser's blast from the right half-wall got through Oilers' goaltender Ben Scrivens' glove for his first goal since Feb. 7, 2012 - a stretch of 68 games.
"They had us hemmed in there in the second but we didn't give them a whole lot," Prosser said. "We know that our play wasn't up to par there in the second and we weren't executing the way we should."
The goal was the first of three in a span of 3:22 over the second and third periods for Minnesota, turning a close game into a knockout.
"We kept our composure, which I think we lost a little bit last game," Wild forward Jason Pominville said, referring to a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, a game that was 1-0 early in the third period.
With just over a minute left in the second, the Wild made it 3-1 when Justin Fontaine cleaned up a Kyle Brodziak rebound in the crease. Fontaine's 12 goals are already the third-best total for a rookie in franchise history.
"It was disheartening," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said of the Wild's late goals in the second period. "Near the end of the period, I thought it was an even game right up until that point. It was an even game, and now you're down by two … you start chasing the game again."
Eight seconds into the third, it was 4-1, as Jason Zucker and Dany Heatley played catch into the Oilers zone. Heatley's last pass provided Zucker - who turned 22 on Thursday - with an open net for his fourth of the season. The goal was the fastest in team history to start a period in a home game.
"Great pass by Heater," Zucker said. "At first, it seemed like we lost that faceoff and Charlie [Coyle] made a great play to dig that out and get a win for us. That was huge. Winning that faceoff set up that whole play."
The Wild went ahead 1-0 just over 10 minutes into the game thanks to a great individual effort by Mikael Granlund, who raced in to negate an icing and then won a puck battle behind the net before passing to Pominville in front. Pominville switched from his forehand to his backhand, getting Scrivens to sprawl in the process, before flipping the puck into an open net for his team-leading 19th goal of the season. It snapped a six-game goal drought for Pominville, his longest of the season.
"I gave him a yell and he just knew where I was," Pominville said. "He flipped to the area and I had a lot of time."
Eberle tied the game early in the second, capitalizing on a Wild turnover. After a failed pinch by Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner, Eberle led a 2-on-1 rush, waiting out defenseman Keith Ballard and drove to the slot, where he fired a wrister over the glove of Darcy Kuemper at 2:36 for his 15th of the season.
Scrivens, starting his first game for Edmonton after being traded from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, made 29 saves.
"I gotta find a way to make another save or two for the guys here, give them a little bit more of a chance," Scrivens said. "The biggest thing we can take out of this game is, we did so many good things in our own zone. Just a couple of mistakes, seemed innocuous at the time, those are the ones that end up in your net."
Kuemper, making his third consecutive start, stopped 20 shots for his third win of the season.
Perhaps of more concern to the Oilers, forward Nail Yakupov suffered a head injury late in the second period. After being knocked off the puck at his offensive blue line by Wild forward Matt Cooke, Yakupov hit the ice hard and slid awkwardly into the boards near the Oilers bench. Yakupov, who was ruled out for the game at the start of the third period, was slow to get up and Fontaine scored on the ensuing rush.
The team did not have an update on Yakupov's injury or his status for the Oilers' next game Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets.


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Wild Kratts Episode 27 Little Howler
Cartoon : Wild Kratts
The Wild Kratts team starts to notice strange things happening in the Tortuga HQ. Jimmy is sure there is a ghost living with them, but they soon discover it's a raccoon family causing all the trouble.
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version 5.1.3
author: Dr Ian Johnson
programmers: Artem Osmakov, Tom Murtagh, Kim Jackson, Stephen White and others...
Copyright (C) 2005-2019 University of Sydney
Licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 3.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
Heurist is designed primarily for use with a keyboard and mouse. Tablets are not fully supported at this time, except for data collection on Android (see FAIMS in the Help system).
Please contact the Heurist developers (info at HeuristNetwork dot org) for further information or to express an interest in a tablet version


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General Motors Co.'s (NYSE:GM) U.S. auto sales rose 4.9% in December as all four of its brands increased their sales.
Continue Reading Below
Results exceeded expectations from car-shopping website Edmunds.com.
Broadly, U.S. new auto sales for December are expected to rise 9.6% from a year earlier and 19% from the prior month, according to Edmunds. For GM, Edmunds had expected sales to increase 1.5% on the year.
"GM's strong finish in 2012, the industry's momentum and the overall health of the U.S. economy make us optimistic about 2013," said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations. "The budget compromise reached in Washington this week removes uncertainty and clears the way for full-year light-vehicle sales to rise to the 15 million to 15.5 million unit range in 2013."
GM reported it sold 245,733 vehicles in December, up from 234,351 a year earlier and 32% above November's total of 186,505.
Chevrolet sales were up 3.7% as GMC sales increased 4.7%. Total Buick sales climbed 10%, and total Cadillac sales were up 12%.
Month-end dealer inventory in the U.S. stood at 717,025 units, down 9% from the prior month.
December had 26 sales days in 2012 and 27 sales days a year before.
GM reported in October its third-quarter profit dropped 13% amid widening losses in Europe and higher warranty expenses in North America although the auto maker still beat analysts' expectations on better-than-expected financial performance in some of its international operations.
Earlier Thursday, Chrysler Group LLC reported its U.S. auto sales rose 10% in December, driven by a sharp increase in the Dodge brand, while Ford Motor Co.'s (F) U.S. new-vehicle sales rose 1.9%, aided by increasing demand for more fuel-efficient cars.
GM shares were recently trading at $29.44, up 31 cents.


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Max B - Quarantine [Unreleased Video][In Studio Performance][Free Max B]
exclusive unreleased- max b.- quarantine video. directed by: B.Bricks. Free Max B!
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openSUSE Brings New Li-F-E To Schools
openSUSE Packs Plenty for School Kids and Schools
It's a safe bet that the majority of K through 12 students in this country have access to a computer either at home or school. With education budget trends resembling a ski slope (downhill) it only makes sense to look to open source for help. With the 11.2 release of openSUSE comes a separate project targeted at schools and school children.
figure 1
openSUSE for Schools (or Linux for education aka Li-f-e) packs a huge number of applications targeted at all grade levels. Packages for both desktop and server are included. They've also provided things like Internet filtering software to help parents and educators protect kids from potential problems. For classroom use you'll find tools for creating a kiosk mode or live CD bootable on older machines.
Desktop Options
On the desktop the project supports several different use cases. Installation options include a Live CD permitting you to test drive the distribution before installing. The ISO image is of the "hybrid" variety, so you can create a bootable USB drive directly from the ISO file. If you do a default installation, you'll get all the applications and server tools, taking around 8.7 GB of disk space. That's a good thing to know if you're installing onto a separate partition or small hard drive.
figure 2
If you want to give an alternative user interface a try, there's Sugar from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. Running the Sugar emulator gives you essentially the same experience you would have on one of the OLPC XO laptops. Etoys is a program that was adapted for the OLPC and Sugar to provide an authoring tool to help teach science and mathematics. It runs inside the Sugar emulator and as a standalone program available from the Edutainment application menu.
Another desktop use case is for the school classroom. Here again you have several options when configuring a desktop for school use. Option one would be to do a basic install and then remove all the components that you wouldn't want a typical student to access. Option two would be to use the remote boot tools in KIWI-LTSP and not install anything to a local hard drive. Both options require some work while the remote boot option provides the highest level of control over the software configuration of each individual computer.
Server Options
The Live DVD includes KIWI-LTSP, the openSUSE version of the Linux Terminal Server Project. This version supports up to five users on modest hardware. There's a quick start web page to help you get LTSP up and running in short order. Easy-LTSP is the result of a Google Summer of Code project from 2008 to help configure LTSP quickly. The quick start instructions include both manual steps and how to use Easy-LTSP.
figure 3
For school usage you'll find a number of content and course management tools including ATutor, FreeSMS, Moodle, OpenBiblio, and openSIS. While each of these packages are included with the distribution, you'll need to do some configuration and setup to get them up and running. All the typical Linux server applications like Apache, MySQL and Perl / PHP / Python (LAMP) make it possible to implement pretty much any open source platform like the Alfresco or Joomla content management systems.
There's both a client and server version of iTest, an examination administration tool. The iTest website includes screenshots, screencasts and full documentation to help you get going. It's basically a question / answer database application that would be applicable to any subject matter where a multiple choice test would be appropriate. The teacher enters the questions and answers into the database one time along with test specific information such as how much time to allow students to complete the test, what constitutes a passing grade and more. Tests can be taken on a computer, or they can be printed out and then graded by computer.
- Skip Ahead
- 1. openSUSE Packs Plenty for School Kids and Schools
- 2. openSUSE Packs Plenty for School Kids and Schools


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Ordering a Reference List
- In the reference list, list alphabetically by author
In Text Citations
Single Author
- For in-text references, list the author and the year
Due to uneasiness on the part of male spectators the foot-long hotdog has been removed from the concession menu (Flanders 2002).
Multiple Works Published by the Same Author in Different Years
- List the author and the years in chronological sequence
Flanders's studies of concession offerings (Flanders 1970, 1975) have shown that...
Multiple Authors
- For 2 authors, list both names in the in-text reference, separated by "and".
...and the most recent work on the Flying Hellfish (Burns and Simpson 2001) is...
- For more than 2 authors, list the first author followed by "et al." and the year
... but later studies (Carlson et al. 2004) determined that...
Corporation or Organization as Authors
- List the initial letter of each part of name or readily recognizable abbreviation and the year
The landmark report on nuclear power (SNPP 1979) was...


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Wiz Khalifa On How He Celebrates 4/20 On Big Boy's Neighborhood!
"Wiz Khalifa Stopped By Big Boy's Neighborhood and told Big Boy how he plans to celebrate 4/20!" - Power106lavideos
Posted by Jay
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What is Clare Valley parkrun?
It is a 5km run - it's you against the clock.
When is it?
Every Saturday at 8:00am.
Where is it?
The event takes place at Clare Showgrounds, Main North Road, Clare, South Australia, 5453. See Course page for more details.
What does it cost to join in?
Nothing - it's free! but please register before your first run. Only ever register with parkrun once. Don't forget to bring a printed copy of your barcode (request a reminder). If you forget it, you won't get a time.
How fast do I have to be?
We all run for our own enjoyment. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!
Clare Valley parkrun needs you!
It is entirely organised by volunteers - email firstname.lastname@example.com to help.
We're friendly!
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee in the Clare Rise Bakery - please come and join us!
Getting there by road
From Clare town centre - proceed south approximately 3.5 kms along Main North Road (Horrocks Highway).
From Sevenhill town centre - proceed approximately 3 kms north along Main North Road (Horrocks Highway).
Enter the Clare Showgrounds via the southern entrance gate.


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OAKLAND, CA -- People in their 40s with larger stomachs have a higher risk for dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a study published in the March 26 online issue of Neurology.
Previous studies have looked at central obesity (as determined by waist circumference) and body mass index in the elderly and its link to dementia risk and found that a large abdomen—in midlife—increases the risk of diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease. However, this is the first time researchers have demonstrated an association between midlife belly fat and the risk of dementia.
Capturing abdominal obesity in midlife may be a much better indicator of the long-term metabolic dysregulation that leads to dementia risk, says study author Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA. Measuring abdomen size in older people may not be as good an indicator because as people age, they tend to naturally lose muscle and bone mass and gain belly size, she says.
"Considering that 50 percent of adults in this country have abdominal obesity, this is a disturbing finding," she says. "It is well known that being overweight in midlife and beyond increases risk factors for disease. However, where one carries the weight—especially in midlife—appears to be an important predictor for dementia risk."
Autopsies have shown that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease may start in young to middle adulthood, and another study showed that high abdominal fat in elderly adults was tied to greater brain atrophy, Whitmer says. These findings suggest that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear. Researchers note that additional research needs to be completed to determine the underlying mechanisms that link abdominal obesity in midlife to dementia risk.
Researchers studied 6,583 people ages 40 to 45 in Northern California. Belly fat was measured by using calipers to determine the distance from the back to the upper abdomen, midway between the top of the pelvis and the bottom of the ribs. Belly density is highly correlated with visceral fat tissue, which is the fat tissue that is wrapped around the organs, researchers note.
The study found that those who were overweight and had a large belly were 2.3 times more likely to develop dementia than people with a normal weight and belly size. People who were both obese and had a large belly were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia than those of normal weight and belly size. Those who were overweight or obese but did not have a large abdomen had an 80 percent increased risk of dementia.
Having a large abdomen increased the risk of dementia regardless of whether the participants were of normal weight overall, overweight or obese, and regardless of existing health conditions, including diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Non-whites, smokers, people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, and those with less than a high school level of education were also more likely to have abdominal obesity.
Researchers note that, as with all observational studies, it is possible that the association of abdominal obesity and dementia is not driven by abdominal obesity but rather by a complex set of health-related behaviors, for which abdominal obesity plays one part.


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December 17, 2007
PTC Completes CoCreate Acquisition
Please note that contributed articles, blog entries, and comments posted on MCADcafe.com are the views and opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the management and staff of Internet Business Systems and its subsidiary web-sites.
PTC has completed its acquisition of CoCreate Software GmbH, a provider of product development solutions, for approximately $250 million net of cash acquired and excluding transaction fees. CoCreate, based in Sindelfingen, Germany, has 280 employees and more than 5,000 customers globally including Agilent, Canon, Molex, Fujitsu, HP, Liebherr, Matsushita Electric, NEC, Olympus, Phoenix Contact and Seiko Epson.
"The acquisition of CoCreate enables PTC to broaden its customer base, its distribution channel, and its product offering," said C. Richard Harrison, president and chief executive officer, PTC. "Additionally, we expect the acquisition will be immediately accretive to our non-GAAP operating margins and earnings."
Customer satisfaction has been a top priority for PTC and we expect CoCreate customers to benefit from this focus. PTC is committed to maintaining, enhancing and further developing all CoCreate products indefinitely, including OneSpace Modeling, OneSpace Drafting, OneSpace Model Manager, OneSpace Drawing Manager, OneSpace Live! and OneSpace.net. PTC will continue to offer all CoCreate solutions as stand-alone offerings. Additionally, PTC plans to integrate CoCreate solutions with the PTC Product Development System (PDS) in order to offer CoCreate customers complementary product development capabilities including engineering calculations, dynamic publishing, visualization, high-speed
machining, and enterprise content and process management.
"Intermec has been a long-standing customer of both PTC and CoCreate solutions," said Ryan White, mechanical engineering manager at Intermec, a leading supply chain technology provider. "We believe we will benefit not only by being able to purchase these solutions from one vendor, but also from the planned integration of the solutions, which should enable us to lower our total cost of ownership and ease transfer of files between tools."
With this acquisition, PTC embraces all the accepted approaches to mechanical modeling – parametric, explicit, derived and 2D – and is the only vendor to offer all of them based upon a customer's specific needs. Any of these modeling techniques combined with the PTC PDS offers customers a competitive advantage unmatched by any other vendor in the industry.
"PTC's acquisition of CoCreate will provide significant value for end users," said Allan A. Fotinopoulos, senior business product lifecycle development architect at Pitney Bowes, a global provider of mainstream technology. "We look forward to seeing how the tools will complement each other to provide added value to various product development programs at Pitney Bowes, as well as seeing integration plans to assist us in adopting a complete PLM solution in the future."
PTC financed the acquisition and related expenses with a combination of $50 million of cash and $220 million of debt from its existing revolving credit facility. PTC expects to repay the loan within two years.
Wachovia Securities acted as exclusive financial adviser to PTC in the transaction. CoCreate was a portfolio company affiliated with HBK Capital Management.
Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor
It's ironic that PTC, with its strong legacy in parametrics, would acquire a company whose design philosophy in some respects goes counter to PTC's, although it does illustrate a major trend occurring in the MCAD industry that is increasingly developing non-history-based methodologies and direct geometry editing, something that CoCreate calls Dynamic Modeling.
CoCreate's non-history-based modeling approach, is unique, but is by no means is the company alone in offering it . Model history, of course has its place, but a history-based approach to 3D modeling is not always the best way to go, and CoCreate's customer base proves this. However, as previously mentioned, the non-history-based approach is not exclusive to CoCreate OneSpace Modeling, because Kubotek's KeyCreator, UGS' NX5, and IronCAD also employ it, although with slightly different methods, but the results are largely the same. A history-based approach is what most parametric modelers (such as Pro/ENGINEER) employ, but it's not always the best method or
approach, especially for changes made to a model late in the design process. This is because history-based systems use a history tree to track and replay 2D profiles and modeling steps for generating and modifying 3D geometry. The main drawback is that each step in the history is dependent upon the profile and modeling step that came before it. The further along you get in the design process, the more complicated the design and its associated history become.
On the other hand, a non-history based approach is well-suited for manufacturers that change designs late in the design process, so they are not bound by the constraints and complications that a history tree can impose. Also, a non-history-based system can make data import easier because you don't have to worry about the overhead of dealing with a history tree from a different system. Neutral file formats, such as IGES and STEP, are for all intents and purposes, native data to CoCreate OneSpace Modeling and other non-history based MCAD applications. This eliminates the burden of legacy data originating from another system.
CoCreate is the latest in a long series of acquisitions that PTC has made over the years that have included Computervision, Mechanica,Arbortext, and Mathcad. How will CoCreate's product line fit into the mix? That's hard to say because there is some overlap of the products, especially on the PDM side, but things should start sorting themselves out pretty quickly.
Will the relative incompatibility of the product lines come back to haunt PTC as it has with some of its past acquisitions? It will be interesting to see which, if either, one ultimately wins – CoCreate's dynamic, non-history-based modeling; PTC's explicit (the term that PTC is using for dynamic modeling since the acquisition announcement), parametric technique; or an optional choice between the two. Other companies are offering the choice, so why not PTC?. In my book, this acquisition was one the biggest events to occur in the MCAD community for 2007. And, I predict that sooner rather than later, there will be as many as two to three more smaller MCAD vendors
swallowed up by bigger fish, that themselves may or may not already be a player in the MCAD arena. As always, next year promises to be another year filled with unexpected twists and turns for the MCAD community.
The Week's Top 5
At MCADCafé we track many things, including the stories that have attracted the most interest from our subscribers. Below are the five news items that were the most viewed during last week.
Dassault Systemes Announces Availability of 3DVIA Composer Product Line
Dassault Systemes launched its new desktop content authoring system, 3DVIA Composer V6R1. New features and packaging for 3DVIA Composer include:
STAR-CD V4.04: The Power of Integration
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Next Page »
You can find the full MCADCafe event calendar here.
To read more news, click here.
-- Jeff Rowe, MCADCafe.com Contributing Editor.
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Blue John Necklace Two Square Drop Silver PUNQ0001997
Blue John Necklace Two Square Drop Silver. PUNQ0001997.
This enchanting necklace boasts two stunning faceted square pieces of rare Blue John stone that has been sourced directly from Treak Cliff Cavern in Castleton. The stones are placed within an exquisite sterling silver setting that hangs gracefully from the neckline from a delicate silver chain.
All our Blue John jewellery is designed and crafted within our very own workshops in Ashbourne, Derbyshire where a team of skilled craftsmen transform the natural Blue John stone into these stunning pieces of jewellery. You can find other matching Blue John jewellery and Blue John necklaces on our website.
Sterling Silver and Blue John.
Brand C W Sellors
Supplier Model No. PUNQ0001997
Gemstone Blue John
Coloured Gemstone
Metal Sterling Silver
Packaging C W Sellors Luxury
Gender Ladies
We offer Free UK next day delivery on orders over £50, in stock items will be sent the same day when ordered before 4pm. All our items are dispatched using a Royal Mail tracked signed for service.
We offer worldwide shipping, charges will be calculated in the checkout for deliveries outside of the UK.
For more information about our delivery services available, contact us on 01335 453453 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Neal1220 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 30 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
Catalyst Ministry
We foster programs and environments which allow Christians to show God's love to all residents of our communities.
W create and sponsor organizations that will help carry out this purpose and involve churches in this endeavor.
We are requesting a Logo design for Catalyst Ministry, which is new a non-profit organization in North East Ohio.
To foster programs and environments which allow Christians to show God's love to all residents of our communities.
To involve Christians with other members of the community in which they live.
To create and sponsor organizations that will help carry out this purpose.
"Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:15b-16 Msg
We believe that people need to experience the Good News of Jesus Christ,
Before people will be receptive to hearing about the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We are looking for both new ideas and ideas that build off of some of our prior concepts.
Nested directional triangles with color.
Partner with other Christians to reach into the community
Show the community God's love in order to bring them to God
The New Christians form the Community then partner with other Christians to reach out to others in the community. Hence the nested nature possibly. (Graphics with arrowed triangles did not copybbelow)
Community Christians
The other concepts resolved around using a C and an M
We are not very artistically gifted and we are anxious to see the designs that are developed, especially those that are different from what we have contemplated of so far.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Kellie Pickler and Husband Send Love to the Troops for Valentine's Day
Kellie Pickler is celebrating her Valentine's Day with her husband, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, but not everyone is that lucky. Pickler and her valentine took a few minutes to remind folks that our troops need love, too!
Bright and early on Valentine's morning, Pickler posted a photo to her Facebook account and asked fans to send love notes to our troops and veterans.
"#HappyValentinesDay to all of our Service Men, Women, Veterans, and their families!" she wrote. "Help me celebrate Valentines Day by posting a "love note" to all the troops and their families!"
The 27-year-old added a link to USO Moments, where visitors are asked to print their sign and include a personalized note. A number of people have posted photos of themselves with their valentines on social media with the hashtag #USOmoments -- including Pickler.
The country singer is currently touring in promotion of her newest album, 'The Woman I Am,' until summer, hitting everywhere from Vegas to Australia with a few festivals in between. Dates are listed on her website.


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Explore Our Hotel
Located On Prestigious North Shore, Minutes From Stony Brook University and the Hospital
Our award-winning Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Long Island now accepts Alipay and WeChat Pay and is the best choice of hotels near Stony Brook Medical Centerand other attractions and businesses. It offers the name you trust with the quality you deserve at a price you can afford.
In Long Island, sports fans can feel right at home as there are athletic fields with tennis, basketball, softball, and golf course both on-site and just a mile away. Those who enjoy shopping are in luck as the Tanger Outlet Stores in Riverhead are just 20 miles away. Other nearby activities include Port Jefferson Harbor Village, Stony Brook Village, Long Island Museum of History and Carriages, Splish Splash Water Park, and local wineries.
Business patrons prefer hotels in Centereach, Long Island like ours because we have everything needed to stay connected and conduct business with conference and meeting rooms that accommodate 100 people, A/V equipment, free high-speed, wireless Internet access, and print and copy services. Our hotel is near Stony Brook Medical Center and other corporations.
While staying at our hotel in Long Island, enjoy the indoor heated pool, well-equipped Fitness Center, and new amenities like a putting green, horseshoe courts. When choosing hotels in Centereach, Long Island, make the smart choice to stay with us.
- Black-out Shades
- Rollaway Bed/Cot Available
- Iron/Ironing Board
- Separate Hanging Closet
- In-Room Heating and A/C Controls
- Extra Bedding Available
- Sofa Bed/Sleeper Couch
Bathroom/Personal Care
- Private Bathroom
- Bathroom Amenities Available
- Hair Dryer
- Bathtub
- Separate/Walk-in Shower
In-Room Features
- Mini Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Coffee Maker
- Tea Maker
- Flat-screen TV
- iPod Docking Station with Clock Radio
- Work Desk with Lamp
- Desk-level Electrical Outlet
- Free Local Calls
- Cable/Satellite
- Premium Channels
- Stereo/Radio
- Direct-dial Phone
- Phone with Voicemail
- Complimentary Morning Newspaper
- Windows Open by Guest
Added Value
- Connecting Rooms Available
- Separate Living Room
- Complimentary Coffee/Tea Supplies
- Complimentary Bottled Water
- Full Breakfast Included
- Breakfast Buffet Included
- Continental Breakfast Included
- Complimentary Coffee in Lobby
Business Services
- 3 Meeting Room(s) Available
- On-Site Business Center
- Printer
- Copier
- Office supplies available
Internet Access
- Free High-Speed Internet in all Rooms
- Wireless Internet service is free for all IHG® Rewards Club members
Entertainment & Recreation
- Indoor Pool
- Heated Indoor Pool
- Indoor Pool Hours of Operation: 5:30 AM - 10:00 PM
Health & Fitness
Complimentary Fitness Center
Our two-room fitness center is open 24 hours a day and offers new equipment as of 2016, including Life Fitness equipment: Elliptical crosstrainer, stationary bike, treadmills, free weights and a yoga matts plus more! TVS on all equipment.
Hours of Operation: 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Fitness Center Type: EXTENSIVE
Fitness Center Equipment:
- Treadmill
- Elliptical Machines
- Free Weights
- Stationary Bicycle
Last Renovation of Fitness Center Equipment: 2018
Housekeeping & Laundry
- Daily Housekeeping
- On-site Guest Self-Laundry Facilities
- Hours of Operation: 12:00 AM - 11:58 PM
Added Value
- Executive Club Level
- Wake Up Calls
- ATM/Cash Machine
Hotel Details
3131 Nesconset Hwy
Centereach, New York 11720
United States
Check In: 3:00 PM
Check Out: 11:00 AM
Check-in Age: 18
Parking + -
- Complimentary Self Parking Available
Shuttle + -
- Complimentary Local Area Shuttle
- Hours Of Operation From 7:30 AM-To 9:30 PM
- Complimentary Airport Shuttle Service Available For :Long Island Islip Mcarthur Airport
- Complimentary Shuttle to/from Convention Center
Accessibility + -
- Public Entrance
- Guest Rooms
- Elevators
- Public Restrooms
- Registration Desk
- Exercise Facility
- Business Center
- Pool
- Number of Accessible Meeting Rooms: 3
Accessible Hotel Areas
- Registration Area
- Accessible Guest Rooms
- Business Center
- Meeting Room
- Exercise Facility
- Pool
Hotel Areas with Accessible Routes from Accessible Public Entrance
- Accessible Self Parking
- Van Accessible Self Parking
- Ramp Access
- Portable Bathtub Seats
- Closed Caption TVs
- Telephone with TDD
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Guest Rooms
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Public Spaces
- Communication Kits with Visual Alarms
Provided by Hotel
Pet Policy + -
- Service Animals Allowed
Facility + -
- Smoke-Free Facility
- Number of Floors: 6
- Total Number of Rooms: 143
- Number of Suites: 7
- Number of Non-Smoking Rooms: 143
- Number of Accessible Rooms: 8
- Connecting Rooms Available
- Public Spaces Renovated in: 2018
- Guest Rooms Renovated in: 2018
Languages + -
Languages Spoken by Staff
- English
- Spanish
Credit Cards + -
- American Express
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Diners Club
- Carte Blanche
- Discover
- China Union Pay


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Actor Orlando Bloom has blamed busy schedules for driving a wedge between himself and his estranged wife Miranda Kerr, confessing it became too "challenging" to keep their marriage alive.
The stars stunned fans last month when they confirmed reports they had separated after three years of marriage, and Bloom went on to insist that he and the Australian model would always remain "in each other's lives" for their young son Flynn.
Now Bloom, who spent much of last year filming "The Hobbit" sequel "The Desolation of Smaug" in New Zealand and is now starring in "Romeo and Juliet" on Broadway, has opened up further about the sad split, admitting their hectic lifestyles simply became too much to bear.
He tells CBS' Sunday Morning, "You know, when you have two people who are incredibly busy and who are both very visible in the world, I think it can be challenging to keep that, that schedule and that kind of life in the same track, you know?
"It's very challenging. … I love Miranda and she loves me. We both adore and love our son. We both recognize and realize that we're going to be in each other's lives for the rest of our lives, raising our son."


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80mm Dia Round Printed Patches
* FREE Setup
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* Free Delivery Australia Wide
If you are after a 1 off printed patch design, a small quantity or if you simply need them in a rush then you should consider using dye sublimation round printed patches. These cloth patches are great if you have complex artwork or artwork with gradients that you really don't want to change to suit embroidery. Your artwork design will be dye sublimated directly into the fabric of the patch creating a vibrant long lasting image that will look great and will last the life of your garment. We use quality USA made UV resistant sublimation inks to make sure that your cloth patches will look good for longer.
If you would rather use embroidered patches please visit the embroidered patches page
|Products Attributes
Patch Diameter: 80mm
Branding Method: Dye Sublimation
Print colours included: Full Colour
Iron-on Heat Seal Available: Yes
Self Adhesive Backing Available: Yes
Production & Delivery Time: 1 - 7 days


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Last year's 'Most Anticipated movies of 2009' post was a huge success here at TGTE, it brought in nearly 30,000 of the 182,200 hits on this little pet project we call a blog. The fact that TGTE has that many hits is remarkable, considering – due to work related issues – I haven't really been able to write on here in almost 7 months, yet we continuously get a steady stream of traffic; probably because I string together wicked-awesome prose and shit.
Anyways, I'm of the opinion, much like Hollywood, that if it worked once why not remake it until people get sick of it. Which reminds me, I've seen a couple other 'most anticipated' movie posts, some by fellow bloggers, other by reputable sites, and for the most part they were fucking vomit inducing.


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Best of the Human Comedy, 2011
The Human Comedy of Tim Ellis will be on break for the next two weeks, but before I go...
I've decided to jump on the bandwagon of year-end lists and pick the top-ten Human Comedy posts of 2011.* Here they are, in the order in which I've typed them:
Werewolves of Brooklyn (MUSIC VIDEO)
Hollywood Confidential: My Big Movie Role
T-Shirts for the Wealthiest Americans
My NYC Hurricane Preparedness Kit
Beauty, Sex, & Death: A Bed & Breakfast Review
*This list was selected through a highly undemocratic process, taking into account popularity, reader responses, and my own warm feelings. I only started this blog in mid-May 2011, but that's not going to stop me from making a list!


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|What Kinda Gone
|Chicks Dig It [Single Edit]
|What A Beautiful Day [Final Version]
|Miss Me Baby
|I Breathe In, I Breathe Out
Jun 2014 • 1 song
Apr 2013 • 1 song
Apr 2013 • 1 song
When he was four years old, Chris Cagle moved from Louisiana to the outskirts of Houston, where he grew up. He began taking guitar lessons at six, but gave them up after a year. He took piano lessons during high school and returned to the guitar in his senior year. After high school, he enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington, but dropped out at 19 to pursue a musical career. He moved to Nashville in 1994 and struggled for five years. His earliest songs were published b... Read more


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I'm Kelvin Luck - a developer with over 15 years of experience building things on the internet. I'm fluent in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, C#, PHP, SQL, ActionScript and more and I like creating lovely stuff with my skills.
There isn't much on this site but you can find my dirty fingerprints all over the internet including on:


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Driver Miraculously Rescued as Sanitation Truck Crashes Through Third Story of Building [VIDEO]
A Department of Sanitation truck somehow managed to smash halfway through the wall of a third story parking garage in Queens, New York Wednesday morning, leaving both the vehicle and the driver dangling perilously in the air.
Over 100 firefighters respond to the scene, and within 30 minutes they were able to rescue 56-year old Robert Legall using a tower ladder truck.
Legall, who Department of Sanitation officials claim just lost control of the vehicle, was hospitalized with neck and back injuries.
Watch incredible footage of the scene below:
[via New York Post]


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Music Festival Muse: Kate Bosworth's Best Looks
We don't really have to tell you that Kate Bosworth has enviable Coachella style; her effortlessly cool looks year after year, and design collaboration with Topshop, do all the talking. As such, we're referencing some of the actress' best festival outfits to help inspire the ultimate packing list. With only four days left until weekend one, don't hesitate to snag these must-have pieces immediately.
Photo:Donato Sardella/WireImage
On Bosworth: Mulberry t-shirt; Current/Elliott shorts; JewelMint earrings; Mulberry bag.
Photo:Rocstar/CPR/Premiere/FameFlynet Pictures
On Bosworth: Vanessa Bruno dress; Hunter boots.
On Bosworth: Suno dress; Joie sandals.
On Bosworth: Kate Bosworth for Topshop top, shorts, bag, and boots.
On Bosworth: Topshop dress; Isabel Marant boots.
On Bosworth: Isabel Marant blouse and boots.
On Bosworth: Kate Bosworth for Topshop vest
Zara Animal Print T-Shirt ($26)
Make like Bosworth, and tuck this animal-print tee into a pair of denim cutoffs.
Ray-Ban Aviators ($160)
Don't forget your sunnies! Mirrored aviators will lend a cool finish to any look.
Mikoh Crochet Tank Dress ($128)
When you're not wearing this tank dress over your swimsuit poolside, layer it over a white slip dress and head to the main stage.
Guess Silver-Tone Coin Fish-Scale Earrings ($22)
Add a touch of glamour to a laid-back outfit with these coin shoulder grazers.
Isabel Marant Lorenzo Embroidered Satin Shirt ($369)
When the sun goes down, layer this silky blouse, unbuttoned preferably, over your tank.
Minkpink Sister Saviour Scallop Hem Shorts ($80)
Pair these shorts with Minkpink's Stepping Up Laser Cut Top for a sweetly feminine, monochromatic look.
Topshop Leather Daisy Crossbody Bag ($80)
Leave your fussy satchel at home and grab a hands-free cross-body bag instead.
T Bags Tie-Dye Knotted Sheath Dress ($182)
Nothing can compare to Bosworth's Suno tie-dye dress from 2010, but this slinky dress comes pretty darn close.
Sam Edelman Petty Suede Ankle Boots ($130)
A boot that hits at the ankle and has a comfortable low heel will take you from sun up to sun down with ease.
Madewell Outbound Jacket ($98)
It's always a good idea to pack a lightweight jacket for those unexpectedly chilly days in the desert.


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Enzi Debates Student Loan Bill [AUDIO]
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) during debate on a bill that would delay a hike in student loan rates for a year, said he was disappointed with the majority party's plan for paying for the bill. A University of Oregon led project to create an atlas of Yellowstone National Park is done. Doug Randall has the details. Click past the jump to listen to Wyoming Radio News.


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Transform your photos into one-of-a-kind, hand painted masterpieces!
Boundary: Bleed area may not be visible.
Click and drag to re-position the image, if desired.
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Our ceramic coffee mugs are available in two sizes: 11 oz. and 15 oz. Each mug is dishwasher and microwave safe.
11 oz.
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Very Beautiful painting
Very talented piece, Thanks for such creativity, Cheers ! James Scott
Beautiful! Love the dragon's attitude!
Very cool dragon!
Congratulations on the sale!!! Always a fan of your work. This dragon rocks.
Average Rating (4.85 Stars):
Richard Olson
April 24th, 2019
Richard Olson
April 24th, 2019
Nicole Martin
April 23rd, 2019
Barbara Allison-Boldenow
April 23rd, 2019
A speed painting series of elemental dragons.
Stanley Morrison is a self-taught fantasy artist who has been drawing anything he could imagine since childhood. Besides being a fantasy artist Stanley works fulltime at an art manufacturer, which wholesales to the furniture industry, as their art director. He has designed and produced art for furniture companies such as Rooms-to-Go, Havertys, Matter Brothers, and Thomasville. Stanley took his art in a new direction in 1995 when he became enthralled with the scratchboard technique as a medium that captures and enhances the texture of fantasy creatures. Nominations for Chesley Awards for scratchboard monochrome pieces followed in 1997, 1999,2000 and 2006. Stanley has won numerous awards for scratchboard pieces and paintings at...
Our return policy is very simple:
If you're not happy with a purchase that you made on FineArtAmerica.com, for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date. As soon as it arrives, we'll issue a full refund for the entire purchase price. Please note - Fine Art America does not reimburse the outgoing or return shipping charges unless the return is due to a defect in quality.
Fine Art America sells thousands of pieces of artwork each month - all with a 100% money-back guarantee. We take great pride in the fact that hundreds of thousands of artists have chosen Fine Art America to fulfill their orders, and we look forward to helping you select your next piece!
All coffee mugs ship from our production facility within 1 - 2 business days of your order.


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Offense reports
These offense reports were released Friday by the Marion County sheriff's office:
Misdemeanor theft, felony theft
A rifle, a push mower, a weed trimmer, and a nail gun, together valued at $1,130, were reported stolen between Feb. 1 and June 8 from Marjorie Hufman's residence on Goldenrod Road near Hillsboro. Investigator Wilma Mueller reported signs of forced entry to the home.
Amber Caudle of the same address reported theft of a guitar valued at $1,000 between April 1 and June 3, although Mueller's separate report of that theft was dated April 30.
Misdemeanor theft, criminal trespass
A total of 19 solar-powered lights were reported stolen between June 10 and 12 from two yards on Fourth and Roosevelt streets in Tampa.
Seven lights, valued at $70 total, were reported stolen from Dolores Duggan's yard, and 12 lights, valued at $40 total, were reported stolen from Rodney Mueller's yard.
Investigator Mueller reported signs of forced entry to Duggan's yard.
Aggravated battery, reckless bodily harm with a weapon
A motor vehicle reportedly was used as a weapon against Mary Girard, 71, of Hesston at an undisclosed time June 14 in the 200 block of North Church Street in Goessel.
Deputy Derek Fetrow took the report June 16 from her son, Daven Girard, 45, of 101 E. Main St., Goessel. The sheriff's department released no additional information.
Driving with suspended license, possession of hallucinogen
A person whose name was not released, but who from jail records appears to have been Candace Ridge, 29, of Wichita, was arrested at 4:10 a.m. June 16 east of Peabody on U.S. 50.
Sgt. Larry Starkey reported seizing $110 and 1¾ ounces of marijuana. Starkey's report alleged that drugs or narcotics were being bought, sold, possessed, and transported.
No additional information was released.
Last modified June 26, 2013


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Welcome Message
THANK YOU to our members and auxiliary staff who attended this year's very successful conference at the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown. And a special, most sincere thanks to our loyal supporters (sponsors and exhibitors), without their support we could not run such a fabulous event. If you have any feedback at all please email your comments to the Event Manager, firstname.lastname@example.com. We all look forward to meeting you again in 2019.
It is my pleasure and privilege, on behalf of the Organising Committee to invite you to attend the NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF ORTHODONTISTS' CONFERENCE in QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand, 29 MARCH TO 1 APRIL 2017.
The meeting will be held in the adjacent MILLENIUM and COPTHORNE HOTELS.
We are delighted to advise that we have two internationally acknowledged keynote speakers in Professors Kevin O'Brien and Sunil Kapila (from Manchester, England and San Francisco respectively). They are world renowned for researching evidence for best clinical practice, and we eagerly anticipate their presentations.
We expect most New Zealand Orthodontists to attend, and will no doubt attract overseas delegates. There will also be a parallel staff programme.
Queenstown is a destination, and the two social functions include a dinner at the Skyline venue at the top of the gondolas, as well as a boat trip on the "SS Earnslaw" and dinner at Walter Peak Station. We encourage you to take advantage of the many other attractions that Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and Central Otago have to offer. Queenstown is accessed by air from most northern New Zealand cities, and there are many direct flights daily to Queenstown from Australia.
We welcome and encourage you to attend our biennial conference. Further information is available on this website.
We look forward to you joining us in QUEENSTOWN in March.
Kind regards,
|Alan Isaac
|Kieran O'Neill
Vice President
|Marg Crooks


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In today's fast-paced competitive construction market, it's no longer enough to execute a project in the real world of girders, sheet metal, pipe, and racks. These days, requests for proposals (RFPs) on most large projects now require electrical contractors to execute the project first in the virtual world using Building Information Modeling (BIM), and for good reason. Effective use of BIM can improve design, enhance constructability, and accelerate the schedule, saving time and money for the owner as well as the project team — if only BIM software came "out of the box" designed and purposed for electrical contractors.
Yet, in the experience of EMCOR Group, Inc., headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., it's well worth the contractor's time, effort, and financial investment to make the transition. In fact, successful implementation and use of BIM requires significant investments in technology, staff, and training. With more than 200 professionals who are well versed in using BIM, EMCOR and its subsidiaries have first-hand experience with this transition.
BIM is comprised of 3D modeling concepts, information database technology, and interoperable software in a desktop computer application that architects, engineers, and contractors can use to design a facility and simulate construction. The technology enables members of the project team to create a virtual model of the structure and all of its systems in 3D and share that information with the entire project team. The drawings, specifications, and construction details are integral to the model, which encompasses building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and quantity properties of building components. As a result, team members are able to identify design issues/construction conflicts and resolve them in a virtual environment well before construction begins in the real world.
Customizing BIM
The saying that necessity is the mother of invention certainly applies to BIM in the electrical contracting industry. Most of the development in BIM has focused on the purposes and needs of architectural and engineering firms. The mechanical contracting industry has the advantage of real-world models of its equipment and parts via third-party vendors. Software vendors have not built a BIM product that comes out of the box with content that completely meets the needs of electrical contractors and fabricators. As written, these programs simply reserve space for the conduit.
In 2002, the Los Angeles branch of EMCOR's Dynalectric subsidiary began evaluating what was then called "Building Systems" (now AutoCAD-MEP) for use in its business, as it saw interest grow among owners and general contractors. Since that time, the company has invested considerable resources — both dollars and hours — in systems, in-house customization, and training to boost the company's capabilities.
Over the course of six years, Dynalectric developed accurate, real-world models of more than 4,000 electrical system components by taking each piece and modeling it in 3D. A layer standard was determined and keyed (e.g., a layer for conduit, layer for hangers, etc.), and the system was configured to automatically place each type of component on the correct layer. As a result, when a BIM engineer models an electrical system on a project, it is as accurate as if it were installed on the job site (Photo 1).
Moreover, the system has been customized in-house to do everything from schedules and take-offs to automatic engineering calculations — all with the click of a mouse.
The "I" in BIM
The intelligent property database corresponds to the "I" in BIM. Intelligent property data can be extracted from the model for the purposes of engineering, take-off, and prefabrication. However, it didn't come in off-the-shelf software; Dynalectric has customized the system to enable its staff to perform these functions.
One of the main benefits of customized BIM software is being able to schedule and annotate the drawings. For example, by applying intelligent property data to conduit and parts, the staff can very quickly perform a take-off of the conduit to determine the number of linear feet or quantity of hangers. To annotate all of the conduit elevations, the system pulls live data from the actual model components in the drawing; no one has to stop and look it up.
Customization has enabled the staff to perform engineering calculations on the spot. For example, if a team member needs to calculate the load on a 10-ft section of a conduit rack, he or she clicks on it. Then, a schedule table is inserted into the drawing with the total run of 30 ft (three 4-in. EMT conduits); total load of 54.48 lb of weight per foot with copper wire and conduit; total weight of 544.8 lb; and 272.4 lb of gravity load at each anchor in each rack (click here to see Figure 1).
A set of routines was created that works inside of the intelligent property data to calculate strut loads, which recalculates automatically as the user changes the length of the object. This enables the staff to perform live engineering calculations and "what-if" scenarios very quickly and accurately.
Evolution of capabilities
An early milestone in Dynalectric's use of BIM was a $25-million project to upgrade the Hollywood Bowl in 2003. Designed by Hodgetts + Fung architects, the project included a reconception of the arch, advanced digital sound reinforcement system, and expanded stage with a halo-like acoustic canopy. Dynalectric used BIM to model 25,000 ft of conduit running through a complex "forest" of structural steel. Although the electrical BIM model was complex, it was still a rudimentary conduit model by today's standards. Yet, it was only through the use of BIM that the electrical contract could have been effectively planned and executed. Using 2D sections and elevations to try to understand the structure in the traditional method would have made it nearly impossible to effectively find a routing for all the required systems.
In 2005, Dynalectric was still the only contractor using BIM on the new Four Seasons Hotel and Spa Westlake Village, Calif., which was designed by WATG architects for owners Castle & Cook, Inc. More than 750,000 ft of conduit and support systems were routed for this six-story, 476,000-sq-ft structure, which includes 268 guest rooms, a spa, wellness center, TV studio, clinic, and conference center.
The Dynalectric team began by looking at the primary electrical service that was entering the main electrical room (Photo 2). The single line specified (20) 4-in. conduits for the two 4,000A primary feeds into the building. These raceways were routed to an already undersized and overcrowded electrical room. By modeling this area, the team was able to quickly identify the problems and clearly demonstrate the issues to the designers. For example, the staff suggested replacing more than 13 sq ft of conduit with 1.2 sq ft of busway, freeing up a large amount of space in an already congested space at no additional cost.
It is also noteworthy that more than 3,500 anchors were embedded into the structure for conduit support systems. Due to the accuracy of the model, Dynalectric was able to use 99% of these anchors.
Virtual best practices
BIM is much more than an electronic drawing tool because it allows team members full collaboration. In the best of all worlds, the general contractor (GC) is engaged in designing and implementing the BIM execution plan. This includes determining what will be modeled and at what level of detail (which varies from project to project), and facilitating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) coordination. As every contractor knows, coordination is a give-and-take process, especially when the project is using the traditional design-bid-build delivery method, in which post-bid changes incur additional costs for the contractors.
Here's how it works in the BIM world. Each trade receives architectural and structural models from the owner. Then the trades begin routing their systems. Weekly, each trade contractor posts its systems to an FTP or other shared Web site. Typically, the GC assembles all of the models into a composite using NavisWorks Review or Manage, which enables project team members to integrate and share data and drawings from various software programs.
The composite BIM can be viewed, manipulated, and analyzed for clashes among the trades, who negotiate changes to resolve the clashes. This process continues floor by floor and quadrant by quadrant until everything finally "fits" in the virtual building.
The Miller Children's Hospital's Pediatric Pavilion at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, completed in 2007, is a good example of this concept. It illustrates the process of a BIM-coordinated project in which the GC (Turner Construction) did an outstanding job of creating a partnered environment among project team members. As designed by the architects, the Pediatric Pavilion is a 129,000-sq-ft acute care addition with seven operating rooms, a new pediatric imaging center, 48 neonatal intensive care beds, and 24 general pediatric beds, plus a 5,500-sq-ft central plant.
At the onset of the preconstruction phase, the GC brought all of the players together to assess their capabilities, determine what would be modeled, and decide what level of detail would be produced. A CAD standard and procedures were clearly defined early on in the process, including drawing naming conventions, discipline-specific layer colors, file-sharing procedures, file origins, and model detail.
Turner Construction brought the steel subcontractor on early enough in the project so that its fabrication model was available to the coordination team. This was of critical importance to the success of the project. Normally, MEP contractors must create this from the contract structural drawings. This information is rudimentary, at best, and is only intended to convey the design intent to the fabrication contractor. By the time the fabrication contractor completes his design, many requests for information (RFIs) are processed, and the model is significantly different than what was conveyed in the original design documents. The fabrication model will contain bracing and connection plate information that is not available until their model is detailed and completed. This usually impacts MEP trades significantly at a stage in the job when it is too late to mitigate problems in a cost-effective manner.
The GC also provided accurate internal/external wall and deck models, which enabled all of the MEP detailers to work from the same data set of information, reducing interpretation errors and increasing subcontractor productivity. Thanks to realistic scheduling by the GC, the project team avoided another common mistake: under-allocation of time for preconstruction. On the Miller project, the team had approximately eight months of preconstruction prior to any deliverable milestones.
Furthermore, the GC remained engaged as an active facilitator throughout the process, handling mediation of conflict resolution, management and tracking of weekly clash detection, bringing in the design team when appropriate in order to expedite information flow, coordinating schedule management, and facilitating contractor engagement with the use of NavisWorks and interactive whiteboards in the coordination meeting room.
The project was completed using the best practices of BIM and virtual construction, resulting in an efficient and productive process and a highly successful project for all involved.
Making the transition
As noted above, successful implementation and use of BIM requires significant investments in technology, staff, and training. There is no "cookie-cutter" solution. That's why going into the process with your eyes open is essential. It is not likely that there will be software that is purposed for the electrical contractor in the very near future. Be prepared to carefully evaluate the software you are considering buying. Analyze your goals, set your priorities, and start working in that direction. At the very least, making the transition from CAD to BIM requires more powerful PC hardware and new software, along with a network, servers, and high-speed telecommunications backbone that support the process. Then, it requires a considerable investment in customizing the application software. Commitment from upper management also is a must. Without their support — both financially and ideologically — moving forward into BIM will be difficult, if not impossible.
The transition also requires a transition in terms of staffing. It takes someone with a foundation of computer skills, a willingness to learn BIM technology and the process of collaboration, and the technical and intellectual capabilities to integrate this knowledge into the electrical contracting business. To become an effective building information modeler, it is not enough to understand the software. To build a virtual electrical system, one must first have considerable experience and success building them in the real world.
That is why EMCOR selected field people who have 20-plus years of electrical installation experience and an aptitude for BIM to model these systems. The mentoring approach is the best way to train people on BIM. The basic process is to give them AutoCAD classes then one-on-one 3D training. Next, they work on projects side-by-side with experienced BIM people who transfer all of the knowledge they need to work on their own. Finally, after approximately two years, they are ready to perform BIM on their own.
Although it's a long and expensive process, the benefits of BIM are worth the investment. When BIM is effectively used, it coordinates MEP trades, expands prefabrication opportunities, eliminates rework, increases productivity, decreases labor costs, and improves the consistency of the work product. BIM is no longer the future of electrical contracting — with most owners and GCs requiring this capability, especially on large projects, the future is now.
Bratton is engineering manager, virtual design and construction, in the Los Alamitos, Calif., office of Dynalectric Los Angeles — an EMCOR Co. He can be reached at Jbra[email protected].