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I recently passed the CISSP exam and wanted to share my experience with you. I have around 3 years of work experience as a build engineering and technology auditor. I used the below material to prepare for the exam:
1) (ISC)2 CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide (7th Edition): It is very important to go through this book and get familiar with the concepts and terminologies. Make sure that you practice the questions at the end of every chapter and read the domain summary. The exam would be based not just on how much you remember from the book, but also how think you can apply those concepts practically. It would test your thought process around these topics.
2) Attended the 5 day classroom training provided by (ISC)2: This training is provided by official instructors from (ISC)2 and they will walk you through the 8 domains of CISSP. This training was more of a wake up call for me and made me realize what areas I need to focus on. I think the training really pushed me in the right direction but please go back and study for a couple of weeks before you appear for the exam.
3) Official study guide provided during the classroom training: Another thick book but this covers the 8 domains separately unlike (1) which has 21 chapters covering different topics. I believe (1) was still better in terms of depth and number of practice questions but this book had some additional information as well.
4) Cybrary: There are some free videos available on this website, some of them are really useful and informative like cryptography and networking. Worth watching.
5) Boson Tests: Available for $75, you get 5 practice exams with some decent questions. These tests will make you go back to your text book and research further on certain topics. Please practice these tests once you have read the book. Really worth buying it.
Although I prepared from a lot of different sources for this test, the exam was nothing like what you would except. It will mostly test your thought process towards a situation, therefore your work experience will definitely become a factor. I believe many questions were risk based and since I am an auditor, my experience helped me think and guess the most appropriate answers. Overall, the exam was NOT EASY so please make sure that you dig deep in every concept and think about its practical application. Spend 50% of your time in practicing questions and get yourself familiarize with the type of questions they ask.
With all that said, All the best 🙂
Congrats! U made it sound simple and easy but I personally don't think it's that easy otherwise everyone else would have passed it already. Thanks for sharing 😞
🙂 As I mentioned at the end, the exam is NOT EASY at all. Practice will help you have a better shot at it.
Congrats! I passed the exam in July and was pretty certain I had failed because I had to answer all 150 questions. I was expecting, with adaptive testing, to have it cut out earlier than the full 150. The questions are not what I would consider easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but if you have drilled through practice questions the logic will come to you.
Organization is key to tackling this. Practice, practice, practice.
Good job.
Congrats! Job well done and an achievement worth appreciating....
Certified Information Systems Security Professional is an independent information security certification granted by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, also known as (ISC)².
Good Jobs.


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Since 1979 people have relied upon The Original B&J "The Masters"® Brush Cleaner and Preserver to take special care in cleaning and conditioning artist brushes. "The Masters"® takes the effort out of cleaning up!
The Best Cleaner
"The Masters"® removes oils, acrylics, watercolors, stains, and varnishes. And it helps prevent paint build-up in the ferrule. It also prevents the hardening and build-up so common with today's acrylic paints. "The Masters"® works beautifully on the finest sable and bristle brushes, and it makes painting with nylon and synthetic brushes a snap. It conditions the brush to hold more color and helps lay down a smoother more even flow. Use "The Masters"® after every session to keep your brushes like new.
The Best Preserver
"The Masters"® was formulated in conjunction with a cosmetic laboratory to help condition and preserve your brushes with the same care and thought as products that you use on your hair. It keeps your brushes like new so they'll retain the same natural snap and luster - for consistent performance - as the day you bought them.
The Best Restorer
Don't throw away old brushes with dried-on oil paint, no matter how hard the bristles are. "The Masters"® restores old, stiff brushes to like new condition. Simply wet with water, swirl, lather and let brush sit a while before rinsing. Repeat process until all the paint is removed. Your brushes will be reconditioned and you will have a new old brush.
How To Use "The Masters"® Brush Cleaner
For Cleaning
1. Wipe brush to remove excess paint.
2. Wet brush and/or "The Masters"® with water.
3. Swirl brush in "The Masters"® and work into a lather.
4. Rinse with clean water.
5. Repeat if necessary until brush is clean (lather will be white). You can clean one color after another without removing the previous colors from "The Masters"® first.
For Preserving
1. Clean brushes as above
2. Leave clear lather on bristles, shape and allow to dry.
3. Shake powder off bristles when ready to use again.
For Restoring
1. Clean brush as above, but use hot water.
2. Allow lather to remain on bristles for a few minutes.
3. If necessary, tap bristles on hard surface to work paint out.
4. To clean paint from ferrule, allow lather to remain on the bristles for several hours, and repeat cleaning process.
5. Leave clear lather on bristles, shape, and allow to dry.

subset: commoncrawl


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Detections, near detections, and upper limits of GRB afterglow fields by AAVSO High Energy Network Members
GRB130427A photometry by P. Wiggins
GRB110918A photometry by A. Oksanen, C. Harlingten, B. Schaefer, and M. Templeton
GRB110715A photometry by P. Nelson (Ellinbank, Vic., Australia)
GRB110503A photometry by E. Broens (Mol, Belgium), D. Boyd (W. Challow, UK), and A. Tasselli (Lincoln, UK)
GRB110402A photometry by X. Bros, Barcelona, Spain
GRB100901A photometry by S. Sposetti, Gnosca, Switzerland
GRB100305A photometry by A. Henden et al. (Sonoita Research Observatory)
GRB091024 photometry by A. Henden et al. (Sonoita Research Observatory)
GRB091010 upper limit by A. Oksanen and E. Southgate (Hermitage Observatory, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia)
GRB090912 upper limit by A. Oksanen (Hankasalmi, Finland)
GRB090424 by A. Oksanen (Hankasalmi, Finland)
GRB090313 by M. Nissinen (Varkaus, Finland)
GRB090107B upper limit by A. Oksanen (Hankasalmi, Finland)
GRB081109A upper limit by P. Nelson (Ellinbank, Victoria, Australia)
GRB081008 upper limit by P. Nelson (Ellinbank, Victoria, Australia)
GRB080430 by A. Oksanen (Hankasalmi, Finland), M. Nissinen & V.-P. Hentunen (Varkaus, Finland)
GRB080330 by A. Block (Seeing In The Dark Internet Telescope, and Steward Observatory, Tucson, AZ)
GRB080319B detections and upper limits by V.-P. Hentunen & M. Nissinen (Varkaus, Finland), A. Oksanen & O.-P. Reimaala (Hankasalmi, Finland), and P. Kehusmaa (Hyvinkää, Finland)
GRB080205 upper limit by S. Sposetti, Gnosca, Switzerland
GRB071112C by S. Sposetti, Gnosca, Switzerland
GRB071020 by M. Nissinen, H. Taino, and V.-P. Hentunen, Taurus Hill Observatory, Varkaus, Finland
GRB071010B by A. Oksanen, Hankasalmi Observatory, Finland
GRB070125 by D.T. Durig et al. (Cordell-Lorenz Observatory, University of the South), B. Gary (Hereford Arizona Observatory), and S. Sposetti (Gnosca, Switzerland)
GRB060807 upper limits by D.T. Durig (Cordell-Lorenz Observatory, University of the South) and S. Sposetti (Gnosca, Switzerland)
GRB060418 by M. Koppelman, Starhouse Observatory & U. Minnesota, and M. Nicholson, International Consortium of Robotic Astronomical Researchers
GRB050730 by C. Jacques and E. Pimentel, CEAMIG-REA Observatory, Brazil
GRB050502A by D. T. Durig, Cordell-Lorenz Observatory, Tennesse.
GRB040916 by P. Kilmartin & Al. Gilmore, New Zealand.
- Discovery Announcement - GCN #2715
GRB030725 by Berto Monard, South Africa.
- GCN #2324 - Discovery
- GCN #2335 - Follow up data
- Sky & Telescope article
- Astronomy Magazine
GRB030329 by over 19 members of the AAVSO International GRB Network!
- This GRB was well covered by the network and resulted in 6 publications. Click here for more info.
GRB020801 by Pam Kilmartin and Alan Gilmore, Mount John Observatory.
- GCN Circular #1462
- Possible discovery image with annotation
- FITS files and other observations of the field
GRB010222 by Gary Billings of Calgary, Canada.
- GCN Circular #969 announcing the afterglow imaging
- First Image with annotation
- Second Image
Also GRB010222 by our friends at the Nyrölä Observatory in Finland (A. Oksanen et al.)
- GCN Circular #990 detailing multiple BVR observations on the night of 010222/010223 UT.
- Nyrölä Observatory web page with all the details and nice color images
GRB000926 detected by Joe Dellinger with help by Bill Dillon of the Fort Bend, TX Astronomical Club and also by Arto Oksanen of Nyrölä Observatory in Finland!
- GCN Circular 844 Announcing Dellinger's discovery
- CCD Image of the GRB000926 Field With Supportive Data From the Fort Bend Astronomy Club
- Arto Oksanen's account of his imaging of GRB000926
- GCN Circular Announcing Oksanen's discovery
GRB000301C by Bill Aquino and the Buffalo, NY Astronomical Society
GRB990123 by Warren Offutt of Cloudcroft, New Mexico.
- IAUC 7098 - Announcing the discovery of GRB990123 -First amateur discovery ever!
- NASA Space Science News article on both GRB990123 and GRB
- Space.com article
Other GCN Circulars Issued with AAVSO International High Energy Network Contributions


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This morning as I sit quietly in my sunday school room right now, watching as people move past, a thought began to stir in me. Statistically, 1 in 25 of these people are sociopaths. I may not be alone here after all. So I began to examine them. Somewhat amateur profiling, but none the less interesting. I can only wonder if anything them feel as I do, suppressed and hated by the church. I have seen much hate for sociopaths on the internet, but the most villainous and non-christian talk came from professing Christians, of which I am one. I cannot help but wonder, what would it be like for them if we were the majority of the population, whether that population be the world or their sunday school class, and they were hated by the majority simply for being different. I understand that it can be morally wrong to act upon these sociopathic desires, but to simply have them, that is no different than their temptations of sexual sin, drunkenness, or thievery. I wonder what you would ask them if you could ask a question of them? Would you ask the same thing I would, the most commonly asked question in psychology: why? Why is sociopathy so different from all the other human conditions that are upon people due to a fallen sin nature? I always want to know why. Yet I find it too dangerous to ask, for I know their pre-conceived notions and reactions to the knowledge of a sociopath: they are dangerous, exterminate them from a position of power or even from the church.
It is so ironic to me. I now am forced to wear a mask and dance at the stained glass masquerade and pretend like there is no cognitive dissonance with this. I wonder, ME: if I make them all believe that, is it possible to make myself believe it as well? Could I somehow manipulate myself into believing I am one of them, an empath?
M.E.: Unfortunately, I don't think you could manipulate yourself into believing you are one of them, at least not for long. Unlike some of the other personality disorders, sociopaths tend to keep a good deal of self awareness. So unless you had memory problems like the guy form Memento, I don't see it happening. Has anyone else had success trying reverse self-awareness? It seems to me that once you are aware of what you are and that you are different, it would be very difficult to go back?


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Interest rate rise– the aftermath
The increase in the Bank of England's base rate from 0.25% to 0.5% at the beginning of November represented the first rise in rates in over a decade. Most lenders swiftly announced that they would be passing on the full increase to their variable rate mortgage borrowers.
Low interest rates have been a major characteristic of the savings market for many years, and banks and building societies haven't been especially quick to pass on the increase. Those with savings accounts will be disappointed to learn that many banks and building societies are reluctant to increase rates, despite Theresa May's call for rate rises to be passed on to savers. Santander, for instance, has announced to its 22 million account holders that the interest rate on its 123 Current Account is set to remain at its current level of 1.5%.
The minutes from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee indicated that it was in no hurry to raise rates again, and that further rate rises would be limited.


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Monday, January 31, 2011
UIS students mentor children at Springfield school as part of the Black Male Initiative
A group of University of Illinois Springfield students, who are members of the Black Male Collegiate Society on campus, are spending one hour a week mentoring elementary students, as part of the UIS Black Male Initiative.
The mentoring program, which is organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Illinois Capital Region, is an attempt to introduce positive male role models into the lives of the young students at Springfield's Matheny-Withrow Elementary School.
"I think that having positive male role models in their lives will essentially put them a step ahead in life," said Shomari Jackson, a sophomore accounting major and volunteer.
UIS Black Male Initiative coordinator and graduate student Anthony Thomas-Davis approached Big Brothers Big Sisters about the partnership. He says it benefits UIS students as much as the children, because they are gaining valuable experience.
"A lot of these guys don't have opportunities to be involved in any type of developmental mentoring programs," said Thomas-Davis.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Enrollment specialist Yvonne Wapniarski says, before the UIS group she had only interviewed four African American men who wanted to be mentors in the past seven years.
"Very few times is there a productive male role model in the children's lives, especially African American men," she said.
Wapniarski says 90% of the households Big Brothers Big Sisters work with are headed by a single female who is below the poverty level. That is why having these positive black male mentors is so important.
The UIS mentors plan to meet with the children every Friday during lunch for the rest of the school year. They often talk about school, homework and what is going on at home.
"Basically he uses me as someone to vent to, so if there's an issue or a problem that's happening or going on he can talk to me about anything," said Jackson.
Jackson says he was fortunate to grow up with a positive male role model in his life. Now he is happy to give back to these students.
"It gives me the feeling of helping someone and being a positive role model. Whenever I feel like I can help somebody else it makes me feel good," he said.
1 comment:
terrific work, guys. what an amazing impact you are making on our youth, one boy at a time!
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Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary is a good one. Yes, OneWest foreclosed more than it should have, but it also got better, becoming one of better servicers when modifying loans. ... (Continue reading)
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Rush Limbaugh has admitted that Republicans won't work with Obama because he's black. Remember when Barack Obama was running against Hillary Clinton for president in 2008? So, remember the question that was on everyone's mind in 2008? ... (Continue reading)
How about if we start a contest? I'd love to promote the, "Sell your home at the Zillow price and win your mortgage payments for a year" contest. It's not like we'd need any money to do it…... (Continue reading)
Unfortunately, as so many homeowners have learned the hard way, it's not easy to figure out what's right and what's not about your loan modification application, and so many homeowners fail when they could have succeeded had they known what... (Continue reading)
Is the use of eminent domain to take over underwater loans and write them down for homeowners unconstitutional? Will the financial services industry tie up the plan to use eminent domain in the courts for years? Find out... (Continue reading)
There should be no question in anyone's mind that because our housing markets have not recovered neither has our economy. It's not that we need jobs to improve the housing markets, it's that we need to fix housing in... (Continue reading)
Do the math and it's easy to conclude that the number of homeowners unable or unwilling to move is high. If 30 percent are actually underwater, after adding sales commissions, moving expenses, and the need for a 20 percent... (Continue reading)
I see loans get modified every day, and the people I see haven't paid anyone for anything, or if they did, it was hundreds, not thousands of dollars. At the same time, I've seen people who absolutely needed someone... (Continue reading)
During the past 12 months, the rights to service millions of home loans have been shifted from large banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Chase to specialty loan servicers like Ocwen Home Loan Servicing, Nationstar and SPS,... (Continue reading)
On any given day, the numbers of contradictory headlines about housing markets and foreclosures are enough to present a serious health risk to anyone reading them. ... (Continue reading)
And I have to admit that when I received the letter below, it brought a few tears to my eyes... and felt really good to know I had been able to help, but the credit really belongs to JPMorgan Chase... (Continue reading)
It's remarkable, if you think about it, how many people are supposedly trying to pay off your underwater mortgage once you've stopped making your mortgage payments. It's like there's a rush to pay off your mortgage once you default on... (Continue reading)
A large part of this protracted recession it said is due to households trying to reduce their debt levels, which in turn leads to less spending in the economy, driving the recession deeper and further.... (Continue reading)
So, if you add it all up, there's only one way that U.S. housing markets are recovering… Magical thinking!... (Continue reading)
Now there are scammers masquerading as banks, offering FAKE LOAN MODIFICATIONS... and if that weren't bad enough, the fake mods require homeowners to pay thousands of dollars for nothing.... (Continue reading)
Once a mortgage is underwater… should you get hit with a life event such as a divorce, illness, injury, job loss or income reduction… you can't sell your home… and you can't borrow against it to help you get through... (Continue reading)
Eminent domain means taking over underwater loans and writing them down for homeowners. Professor Robert Hockett authored the plan, and is consulting with cities all over the country now considering using eminent domain to save their cities from becoming...... (Continue reading)
Eminent domain is not only being considered as a solution to the housing crisis by Richmond, California... there are now some TWO DOZEN CITIES across the country considering the plan authored by Professor Robert Hockett of Cornell University Law School.... (Continue reading)
Eminent domain to answer the problems with underwater mortgages? Well, the lines have been drawn… the battle appears eminent… pun intended. But Professor Hockett, the man behind the eminent domain plan, says it's not going to get tied... (Continue reading)
Despite some very nasty threats of retaliation from Wall Street and Washington, something like two dozen new cities are now reportedly joining the efforts to potentially head off home foreclosures by using eminent domain to seize mortgages and write them... (Continue reading)
Maybe the wealthiest retirees can get by without taking out a reverse mortgage as a way to protect their financial futures, but for the rest of us… not having funds from a reverse mortgage available is what's risky. And... (Continue reading)


text:
PPPOECTL(8) NetBSD System Manager's Manual PPPOECTL(8)Powered by man-cgi (2024-03-20). Maintained for NetBSD by Kimmo Suominen. Based on man-cgi by Panagiotis Christias.
pppoectl, ipppctl -- display or set parameters for an pppoe or isdn ppp (ippp) interface
pppoectl [-v] ifname [parameter[=value]] [...] ipppctl [-v] ifname [parameter[=value]] [...] pppoectl -e ethernet-ifname [-s service-name] [-a access-concentrator-name] [-d] [-n 1 | 2] ifname pppoectl -f config-file ifname [...]
There are two basic modes of operation: configuring security related parameters and attaching a PPPoE interface to its ethernet interface, optionally passing in additional parameters for the PPPoE encapsulation. The later usage is indicated by the presence of the -e option, which takes the name of the ethernet interface as its argument. -e specifies the ethernet interface used to communicate with the access concentrator (typically via a DSL modem). -a specifies the name of the access concentrator. -s specifies the name of the service connected to. -d dump the current connection state information (this parameter is typically used alone, for informational purposes, not during interface configuration). -n 1 | 2 print the IP address of the primary or secondary DNS name server for this PPP connection. This is only available if DNS query is enabled, see query-dns. -f parse config-file for parameter[=value] pairs, one per line, as if they had been specified on the command line. This allows the password to be not passed as a command line argument. Unless escaped by \, comments starting with # to the end of the current line are ignored. Typically, not both the access concentrator name and the service name are specified. The ippp(4) or the pppoe(4) drivers require a number of additional argu- ments or optional parameters besides the settings that can be adjusted with ifconfig(8). These are things like authentication protocol parame- ters, but also other tunable configuration variables. The pppoectl util- ity can be used to display the current settings, or adjust these parame- ters as required. For whatever intent pppoectl is being called, at least the parameter ifname needs to be specified, naming the interface for which the settings are to be performed or displayed. Use ifconfig(8) or netstat(1) to see which interfaces are available. If no other parameter is given, pppoectl will just list the current set- tings for ifname and exit. The reported settings include the current PPP phase the interface is in, which can be one of the names dead, establish, authenticate, network, or terminate. If an authentication protocol is configured for the interface, the name of the protocol to be used, as well as the system name to be used or expected will be displayed, plus any possible options to the authentication protocol if applicable. Note that the authentication secrets (sometimes also called keys) are not being returned by the underlying system call, and are thus not displayed. If any additional parameter is supplied, superuser privileges are required, and the command works in `set' mode. This is normally done quietly, unless the option -v is also enabled, which will cause a final printout of the settings as described above once all other actions have been taken. Use of this mode will be rejected if the interface is cur- rently in any other phase than dead. Note that you can force an inter- face into dead phase by calling ifconfig(8) with the parameter `down'. The currently supported parameters include: authproto=protoname Set both his and my authentication protocol to protoname. The protocol name can be one of `chap', `pap', or `none'. In the latter case, the use of an authentication protocol will be turned off for the named interface. This has the side-effect of clearing the other authen- tication-related parameters for this interface as well (i. e., system name and authentica- tion secret will be forgotten). myauthproto=protoname Same as above, but only for my end of the link. I.e., this is the protocol when remote is authenticator, and I am the peer required to authenticate. hisauthproto=protoname Same as above, but only for his end of the link. myauthname=name Set my system name for the authentication pro- tocol. hisauthname=name Set his system name for the authentication protocol. For CHAP, this will only be used as a hint, causing a warning message if remote did supply a different name. For PAP, it's the name remote must use to authenticate him- self (in connection with his secret). myauthsecret=secret Set my secret (key, password) for use in the authentication phase. For CHAP, this will be used to compute the response hash value, based on remote's challenge. For PAP, it will be transmitted as plaintext together with the system name. Don't forget to quote the secrets from the shell if they contain shell metacharacters (or whitespace). myauthkey=secret Same as above. hisauthsecret=secret Same as above, to be used if we are authenti- cator and the remote peer needs to authenti- cate. hisauthkey=secret Same as above. callin Require remote to authenticate himself only when he's calling in, but not when we are caller. This is required for some peers that do not implement the authentication protocols symmetrically (like Ascend routers, for exam- ple). always The opposite of callin. Require remote to always authenticate, regardless of which side is placing the call. This is the default, and will not be explicitly displayed in `list' mode. norechallenge Only meaningful with CHAP. Do not re-chal- lenge peer once the initial CHAP handshake was successful. Used to work around broken peer implementations that can't grok being re-chal- lenged once the connection is up. rechallenge With CHAP, send re-challenges at random inter- vals while the connection is in network phase. (The intervals are currently in the range of 300 through approximately 800 seconds.) This is the default, and will not be explicitly displayed in `list' mode. idle-timeout=idle-seconds For services that are charged by connection time the interface can optionally disconnect after a configured idle time. If set to 0, this feature is disabled. Note: for ISDN devices, it is preferable to use the isdnd(8) based timeout mechanism, as isdnd can predict the next charging unit for ISDN connections and optimize the timeout with this informa- tion. lcp-timeout=timeout-value Allows to change the value of the LCP timeout. The default value of the LCP timeout is cur- rently set to 1 second. The timeout-value must be specified in milliseconds. max-noreceive=sec Sets the number of seconds after last recep- tion of data from the peer before the line state is probed by sending LCP echo requests. The sec interval is not used verbatim, the first echo request might be delayed upto 10 seconds after the configured interval. max-alive-missed=count Sets the number of unanswered LCP echo requests that we will tolerate before consid- ering a connection to be dead. LCP echo requests are sent in 10 seconds interval after the configured max-noreceive interval has passed with no data received from the peer. max-auth-failure=count Since some ISPs disable accounts after too many unsuccessful authentication attempts, there is a maximum number of authentication failures before we will stop retrying without manual intervention. Manual intervention is either changing the authentication data (name, password) or setting the maximum retry count. If count is set to 0 this feature is disabled. clear-auth-failure If an authentication failure has been caused by remote problems and you want to retry con- necting using unchanged local settings, this command can be used to reset the failure count to zero. query-dns=flags During PPP protocol negotiation we can query the peer for addresses of two name servers. If flags is 1 only the first server address will be requested, if flags is 2 the second will be requested. Setting flags to 3 queries both. The result of the negotiation can be retrieved with the -n option.
# ipppctl ippp0 ippp0: phase=dead myauthproto=chap myauthname="uriah" hisauthproto=chap hisauthname="ifb-gw" norechallenge lcp timeout: 3.000 s Display the settings for ippp0. The interface is currently in dead phase, i.e. the LCP layer is down, and no traffic is possible. Both ends of the connection use the CHAP protocol, my end tells remote the system name `uriah', and remote is expected to authenticate by the name `ifb-gw'. Once the initial CHAP handshake was successful, no further CHAP challenges will be transmitted. There are supposedly some known CHAP secrets for both ends of the link which are not being shown. # ipppctl ippp0 \ authproto=chap \ myauthname=uriah myauthsecret='some secret' \ hisauthname=ifb-gw hisauthsecret='another' \ norechallenge A possible call to pppoectl that could have been used to bring the inter- face into the state shown by the previous example. The following example is the complete sequence of commands to bring a PPPoE connection up: # Need ethernet interface UP (or it won't send any packets) ifconfig ne0 up # Let pppoe0 use ne0 as its ethernet interface pppoectl -e ne0 pppoe0 # Configure authentication pppoectl pppoe0 \ myauthproto=pap \ myauthname=XXXXX \ myauthsecret=YYYYY \ hisauthproto=none # Configure the pppoe0 interface itself. These addresses are magic, # meaning we don't care about either address and let the remote # ppp choose them. ifconfig pppoe0 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.1 netmask 0xffffffff up
netstat(1), ippp(4), pppoe(4), ifconfig(8), ifwatchd(8) B. Lloyd and W. Simpson, PPP Authentication Protocols, RFC 1334. W. Simpson, Editor, The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), RFC 1661. W. Simpson, PPP Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), RFC 1994. L. Mamakos, K. Lidl, J. Evarts, D. Carrel, D. Simone, and R. Wheeler, A Method for Transmitting PPP Over Ethernet (PPPoE), RFC 2516.
The pppoectl utility is based on the spppcontrol utility which appeared in FreeBSD 3.0.
The program was written by Joerg Wunsch, Dresden, and modified for PPPoE support by Martin Husemann. NetBSD 3.0.2 October 2, 2003 NetBSD 3.0.2


text:
Well I think our leader Net is still away so I am doing this post again.
We want to see "Something New". So that could be new papers, dies, stamps, inks, techniques etc. Now we know this will be an easy challenge for all of you as we crafters are always buying new crafty bits ...aren't we?!!!
Our sponsor this week is Craft All Day, a new online shop.
The Gorjusettes have made some amazing cards, as always.
Have a super weekend but watch out for those suns rays!!!
hugs Sarah x


text:
Video of Planned Parenthood doctor prompts calls for investigation
By Valerie Schmalz Catholic News Service
SAN FRANCISCO — A video released July 14 appears to show a top Planned Parenthood official discussing the sale of parts of aborted babies for research, including discussing ways the abortion procedure can be altered to preserve specifically requested body parts.
The nearly nine-minute edited video — filmed undercover and produced by the Center for Medical Progress — quickly went viral and Planned Parenthood denied making a profit on the sale of aborted baby parts.
"Planned Parenthood's criminal conspiracy to make money off of aborted baby parts reaches to the very highest levels of their organization," said David Daleiden, who led the undercover investigation.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal launched an investigation in his state, where the abortion provider is getting ready to open a $4 million clinic in New Orleans.
"Today's video of a Planned Parenthood official discussing the systematic harvesting and trafficking of human body parts is shocking and gruesome," said Jindal, who is a Republican presidential candidate.
In the video released July 14, a woman identified as Dr. Deborah Nucatola, senior director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Medical Services Department, says: "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact."
The video was shot at a business lunch in the Los Angeles area July 25, 2014, with actors posing as buyers from a human biologics company, according to the nonprofit Center for Medical Progress.
The center describes itself as a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances and in particular "contemporary bioethical issues that impact human dignity."
In the video, Nucatola says specific body parts go for $30 to $100 and fetal livers are in high demand.
As head of Planned Parenthood's Medical Services Department, Nucatola has overseen medical practice at of the federation's locations since 2009. She also trains new Planned Parenthood abortion doctors and performs abortions herself at Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles on women who are up to 24 weeks pregnant, according to Center for Medical Progress.
Planned Parenthood acknowledged it sometimes charges for aborted fetuses' body parts used for research. However, Erin Ferrero, Planned Parenthood's vice president of communications, said in a statement: "There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or Planned Parenthood."
Ferrero questioned the credibility of the video, calling it "heavily edited," and said the money mentioned is for actual costs such as transportation costs.
The video of Nucatola is part of the "Human Capital" project, a 30-month undercover investigation by the center and also supported by Life Legal Defense Foundation, a Napa, California-based nonprofit group that advocates for pro-life issues through the law and education.
The Center for Medical Progress plans to publish more videos and said it also will post a "Human Capital" web series detailing Planned Parenthood's alleged commercial exploitation of aborted fetal tissue.
Full footage of the Planned Parenthood official's conversation and a 60-page transcript were available on the centerformedicalprogress.org website. The website also holds documents related to harvesting of aborted baby parts.
"This public revelation about Planned Parenthood's trafficking in human body parts obtained as a byproduct of abortion is long overdue," said Vicki Evans, respect life coordinator for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Her 2010 report on the fetal tissue industry, titled "Commercial Markets Created by Abortion: Profiting from the Fetal Distribution Chain" was published in the National Catholic Bioethics Center newsletter "Ethics &Medics."
An undercover investigation of a Planned Parenthood affiliate conducted by Life Dynamics Inc. in 2000 resulted in similar findings, Evans said. Congressional hearings to investigate trafficking in fetal organs and tissue by private companies were held but nothing was done, Evans said.
"I hope this time, there is enough public outrage to finally stop the abortion giant from continuing to exploit women and their unborn children to increase its obscene profits," Evans told Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper.
In Washington, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and two other House members were holding an afternoon news conference July 15 calling for a hearing and further investigation into the evidence presented in the Nucatola video.
Americans United for Life in a July 14 statement called for immediate congressional and state investigations into "abortion profiteering."
Under the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, the revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1987 and the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, human fetal tissue or organs cannot legally be bought and sold in the U.S., said Evans. Money can change hands only to reimburse for expenses incurred.
In the July 14 undercover video, Nucatola says that the abortion procedure can be altered if the abortionist knows in advance what body part is desired by the buyer, saying extraction of the baby can be changed to breech to get more of the body intact for use by researchers.
"What's she's describing is a partial-birth abortion," said Katie Short, Life Legal Defense Fund's vice president for legal affairs. "She's basically confessing to something illegal."
The July 14 report renewed calls for an end to the more than $500 million in state and federal funds that Planned Parenthood receives annually.
"Why should the government fund an organization that is so corrupt as to be selling the brains, livers, eyes, legs and other body parts of the babies it kills — not to mention being corrupt enough to kill them in the first place," said Father Frank Pavone, Priests for Life national director.
"The tragedy exposed here is another sign that the safe, legal, and rare approach to abortion was never a tenable position," wrote Dominican Brother Dominic Bouck in a blog post on the website of the journals First Things.
"The dehumanization of unborn children leads to the dehumanization of those who perform abortions, leading from killing living human beings to treating them explicitly as commodities," he said.
– – –
Schmalz is assistant editor of Catholic San Francisco, newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.


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Fauci: US may see 'surge upon surge' of coronavirus in weeks ahead
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the United States topped 200,000 for the first time Friday. The highest previous daily count was 196,000 on Nov. 20.
The nation's top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see "surge upon a surge" of the coronavirus over the coming weeks, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.
"When you have the kind of inflection that we have, it doesn't all of a sudden turn around like that," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC's "This Week." "So clearly in the next few weeks, we're going to have the same sort of thing. And perhaps even two or three weeks down the line … we may see a surge upon a surge."
Fauci also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he made similar remarks, adding that it's "not too late" for people traveling back home after Thanksgiving to help stop the spread of the virus by wearing masks, staying distant from others and avoiding large groups of people.
"So we know we can do something about it, particularly now as we get into the colder season and as we approach the Christmas holidays," he said.
TODAY: Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @chucktodd that "it is not too late" to stop the spread of Covid.
Dr. Fauci: "We might see a surge super-imposed on that surge that we're already in." pic.twitter.com/MAj2g9r1MA
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 29, 2020
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the United States topped 200,000 for the first time Friday. The highest previous daily count was 196,000 on Nov. 20, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Since January, when the first infections were reported in the U.S., the nation's total number of cases has surpassed 13 million. More than 265,000 people have died.
Fauci said the arrival of vaccines offers a "light at the end of the tunnel." This coming week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss a rollout of the vaccine, he said.
He added that President-elect Joe Biden should focus on distributing vaccines in an "efficient and equitable way." Fauci also said he planned to push the new administration for a rigorous testing program.
"We've got to go beyond the symptomatic people and get a better understanding of the asymptomatic transmission," he said.
Health care workers will likely be among the first to get the vaccine, and soon.
"We likely, almost certainly, are going to be vaccinating a portion of the individuals in the first priority before the end of December, and then as we get into January and February and March, more and more," he said.
"So if we can hang together as a country and do these kinds of things to blunt these surges until we get a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated, we can get through this."
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.


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Intelligent blood bags
In difficult operations, patients sometimes lose a lot of blood. Surgeons therefore keep blood supplies on hand for emergencies. If the blood bags are not needed, they can only be reused if the cold chain has been maintained. Up to now, monitoring this chain has been a tricky process, but, in the future, a radio node attached to the blood bag will constantly monitor the temperature to ensure that most of these blood supplies can be reused. The radio nodes should also help to improve safety. For example, using the wrong blood by mistake during a blood transfusion could have fatal consequences for the patient. Radio nodes attached to the blood bags and to a patient wristband can exchange information. If the donor blood does not match that of the patient, a warning signal sounds and a red light illuminates. The intelligent radio nodes were developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and the Fraunhofer Working Group SCS in collaboration with their partners T-Systems, Vierling, delta T and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. The project is funded by the German federal ministry of economics and technology (BMWi). "In contrast to tags that use RFID – radio frequency identification – we do not expect intelligent radio nodes to interfere with hospital medical devices," explains Jürgen Hupp, head of communication networks department at IIS. "While the transmit power required for RFID tag reading can be as much as two watts, radio nodes only transmit in the milliwatt range." This is because RFID tags only consist of a memory chip and antenna. To read an RFID tag, it must first be activated by the reader. In contrast, an intelligent radio node is an active radio system that is battery-powered and has its own processing unit. Radio nodes can continuously gather information and trigger actions. The system is built upon a basic platform which the researchers can tailor to different applications. One example involves using radio nodes to optimize the management of medical devices in hospitals. Devices such as syringe pumps and cardiac monitors often move between departments and can be hard to track down when they are needed. This problem could soon be a thing of the past, since attaching radio nodes to the devices enables them to report their position automatically. "Hospitals can get by with fewer devices, eliminate unnecessary time-wasting and cut costs," states Dr. Alexander Pflaum, department head at SCS. A six-month test phase is set to begin at Erlangen University Hospital in January 2010, and the Opal Health system could be ready for use in around two years.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom


text:
A surveyof nursing home workers in Indiana released last week indicates that concerns over side effects are the No. 1 reason why they would not opt to take the coronavirus vaccine.
The release of the survey comes as health officials in a number of states say that many nursing home employees have been declining getting the vaccine.
Last week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine estimated that up to 60% of nursing home workers in his state were not taking the coronavirus vaccine. Like in most states, those living and working in nursing homes are among the first to be offered the vaccine.
The Indiana study, conducted by public health officials in addition to researchers from Indiana University, found that 45% of nursing home workers in the state would accept the vaccine when its first offered. Of those who said they wouldn't accept the vaccine at first, 70% cited side effects as the primary reason for their declination.
Other health concerns, questions on the vaccines' effectiveness and religious beliefs were other reasons given for not taking a vaccine.
In recent weeks, there have been a few reported cases of those receiving the vaccine having mild to moderate side effects. FDA officials said that it's possible the reactions were from the vaccine's active ingredient polyethylene glycol. According to government information, the ingredient can cause known side effects such as bloating, diarrhea, nausea, cramps, gas and hives.
As of Monday, more than 4.5 million Americans have received the first of two coronavirus vaccine doses.
There are some nursing home workers who suggested that they would be willing to take the vaccine at some point. Overall, 69% of those surveyed said they would be open to eventually taking the vaccine.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living has been working to promote vaccinations among its 14,000 member nursing homes.
"Vaccination is the best tool we have had in the ongoing fight against this historic threat," said Mark Parkinson, the president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. "The faster we get people vaccinated, the more lives we can save. We believe this educational effort will help our residents and staff make informed decisions that will safeguard not only their own health, but also the communities where they live and work."
"While delivery of a vaccine is an important milestone, it will only work if people take it," added Parkinson. "By working with our members to provide staff, residents, and family members with the facts and information they need, we can hopefully begin to put this threat behind us. In the meantime, we must remain vigilant and continue to rally around our heroic caregivers and vulnerable residents."
CVS and Walgreens have been tasked with administering the vaccine to those living and working inside more than 70,000 US nursing homes.
A CVS spokesperson said that its employees are prepared to speak to the importance of getting vaccinated to those apprehensive about getting the vaccine. Walgreens is also working toward educating those skeptical of taking the vaccine.
"We are delivering vaccine education through several means, including providing content, videos and materials in multiple languages, and collaborating with local community leaders and organizations to share information. We are producing content daily, and even hourly sometimes, to ensure our customers have the latest information at their fingertips," a Walgreens spokesperson said.
"We're also providing vaccine recipients with the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Fact Sheet, which details risks and benefits of the specific vaccine they are receiving, including side effects as well as additional safety monitoring resources from the CDC," the spokesperson added.
The authors wrote in the survey study that education was important in getting more nursing home workers vaccinated.
"Although anyone working in a long term care facility could transmit the virus to residents, nurse aides and nurses have the most direct, hands-on contact with residents. Nurse aides bathe, dress, feed residents and thus have frequent, prolonged interactions necessary to provide this personal care," the authors wrote in the study. "It is of concern, thus, that direct care clinical staff were less likely to report willingness to receive the vaccine in the first wave. Investment in tailored educational materials and outreach to this population is critical so that vaccination efforts can achieve the goal of protecting residents."


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Experience tells us that no two situations are alike, so we spend one-on-one time with our clients, getting to know their individual challenges and needs.
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Making sure that all involved parties are aware of all of the options available for their situation s a very important part of the service that we provide to our clients.
Each case may involve issues that require extensive research AFTER we listen to you. We guide you to the best team of professionals for your situation.
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Once we've done the appropriate research we even schedule visits to, and ccompany you on tours of, the facilities we have identified that may meet the needs of your individual situation.
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Our approach is based on what we call the "ABCs" of senior care. These include the following:
A — Asking Questions
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C — Care, Compassion, and Communication
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Assisted Living Placement
Assisted living placement is an appropriate option for seniors in a variety of circumstances. The nursing staff does an assessment and develops a care plan customized for your loved one.
Some people can no long cook meals, do household chores or drive to social activities. Some people also need assistance with dressing, bathing and other personal care. An Assisted Living Facility is ideal because it can provide for all of these needs.
Here at Beacon Senior Advisors, we specialize in ensuring that your loved one is placed in the most appropriate Assisted Living Facility for his or her individual needs…
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What is Memory Loss Care?
Memory loss care is a specially-designated type of care provided to individuals who have been diagnosed with varying degrees and types of dementia, Alzheimer's, and other medical conditions that result in the loss of memory and the ability to care for himself or herself.
Memory care environments are highly structured. They consist of numerous routines, schedules and activities in order to allow a person who suffers memory loss to enjoy a lifestyle in which he or she feels successful. Additionally, safety features are in place to ensure that your loved one is safe and as healthy as possible…
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About Beacon Senior Advisors
It All Started with a Desire to Fulfill a Need
We here at Beacon Senior Advisors started with a desire to fulfill a need, a need that is becoming ever-prevalent in our society: A need to assist families in discovering quality care placement with the appropriate services for their senior loved ones who are facing challenges that arise during the aging process.
These may be physical challenges or challenges as a result of memory loss. Living independently, seniors may have difficulty taking care of household chores, preparing meals, participating in social activities, bathing, dressing, personal care and medication management.
Vision and Expertise, Couple with Experience
Our company originated with the vision and expertise of Robert Petroro, Certified Senior Advisor®, with in excess of 10 years of experience serving seniors and their families.
While working in corporate accounting, Robert had a strong desire to associate himself with an industry that would allow him to provide personal services to enhance and benefit the lives of others. Robert studied the needs of the expanding senior population and the lack of resources available to them. He discovered that there is a growing need for senior support services and he wanted to devote himself to filling some of those needs.
As a result, Robert left the corporate world and started Family First HomeCare. He built Family First HomeCare into a successful home care company serving the seniors of New Jersey. Now, with Beacon Senior Advisors, Robert is providing support services to seniors as they transition from independent living to Assisted Living.
Guidance for Seniors and their Families
Navigating the immense maze of senior housing options is a challenging, stressful and time consuming endeavor. In evaluating his characteristics, his personality, his heart, and his level of compassion, Robert knew he had what it takes to guide seniors and their families through this maze.
He wanted to help families find the best living arrangements for their senior loved ones and that is the basis of Beacon Senior Advisors. Robert has dedicated himself to the task and he has utilized his expertise to develop a system that alleviates the stress on families.
We have found that most families of seniors do not seek outside care until a crisis has occurred. Life-changing decisions often occur in sudden situations that are highly stressful – such as during or immediately after a serious illness or accident.
The burden falls on family members who may lack the time or expertise to evaluate Assisted Living Facilities for their loved ones, or those who simply do not know where to start or what to do.
Unlike other companies that simply provide a list of placement options to families, Beacon Senior Advisors is engaged and actively involved from the initiation of the process to the placement and beyond.
First, an assessment is performed. This gives Beacon Senior Advisors the ability to get to know you and your loved one. Knowing your loved one's needs, wishes, characteristics and personality is important to finding the right Assisted Living Facility.
Options are then provided to you. A Beacon Senior Advisor will arrange tours of the facilities, personally accompany you on the tours and guide you through the challenging selection process.
After your loved one has moved into his or her new home, we visit and follow up to help ensure a smooth transition. We provide quality customer service, compassion, and loving care from start to finish.
Beacon Senior Advisors offers you:
- Senior Placement Experts
- Personalized Support
- Professionals with a High Level of Knowledge and Compassion
- A Resource for Saving Time
Discover the Right Placement for Your Loved One
If you are ready to discover the right placement for your loved one, contact us today.
Call (973) 384-1177
Your Guiding Light to the Best
Assisted Living Facilities
What Our Clients Are Saying About Us…
"We would like to thank Robert Petroro. We always felt that Mom was in good hands as Robert personally visited and checked up on all aspects of her care."
-Deb K
"Thank you, Robert, for your caring ways and 'hands on' approach."
-Bev M
"I don't know where to begin to thank you for all you did to help Mrs. G. As soon as I called on Wednesday afternoon, you swung into action and didn't stop until she was well settled and you were satisfied all was going well. Your personalized attention was particularly appreciated."
-Thomas P
"Thank you, Robert. I think you folks did a great job and feel confident that I can always call on you if needed and that we will get good professional care."
-Barbra S
The Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)® is the leading certification for professionals serving older adults, and is a designation awarded to qualified individuals. Earning the CSA certification requires individuals to pass a rigorous exam and to uphold the highest ethical standards for the benefit and protection of the health and welfare of seniors.
Our Mission
Care, Compassion & Communication
We here at Beacon Senior Advisors started with a desire to fulfill a need, a need that is becoming ever-prevalent in our society: A need to assist families in discovering quality care placement with the appropriate services for their senior loved ones who are facing challenges that arise during the aging process.
These may be physical challenges or challenges as a result of memory loss. Living independently, seniors may have difficulty taking care of household chores, preparing meals, participating in social activities, bathing, dressing, personal care and medication management.
Our company originated with the vision and expertise of Robert Petroro, Certified Senior Advisor®, with in excess of 10 years of experience serving seniors and their families.
If you are ready to get started or just want
to discuss the first steps, contact us today.


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'Searching for Saraswati'
By Shubhodeep Pal - The Hindu, July 7, 2018
"There can perhaps be no better (or more ironical) testimony to this age of unreason than the [Indian] government-sanctioned search for a mythical river named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge. 'Searching for Saraswati' [an Op-Docs documentary film commissioned by The New York Times] releases this week."
"In 2014, the Prime Minister claimed that Hindu god Ganesha had undergone plastic surgery; according to Rajnath Singh, Heisenberg's renowned Uncertainty Principle has its provenance in the Vedas. The Saraswati project is an extension of the same propaganda disguised as historical fact."


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We work side by side with victims to obtain acknowledgment and redress for massive human rights violations, hold those responsible to account, reform and build democratic institutions, and prevent the recurrence of violence or repression.
Transitional justice refers to how societies respond to the legacies of massive and serious human rights violations. It asks some of the most difficult questions in law, politics, and the social sciences and grapples with innumerable dilemmas. Above all, transitional justice is about victims.
The Resource Library stores all of ICTJ's published works since 2001 to the present, grouped by category and searchable by key word, country, issue, language, and more.
Access our reports, briefing papers, books, educational resources, and archived materials.
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Why pursue transitional justice in the aftermath of massive human rights violations? This video provides a window into the debate about the relevance of transitional justice in today's world.
Transitions focuses on unrest in Middle East and North Africa.. Hanny Megally, ICTJ Vice President for Programs, talks about demonstrations and upheaval in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere.


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What on earth would Jean Prouvé say, architect and designer, who was also a skilled blacksmith, ran his own metalworking company in the mid1920s, where he developed economical methods of designing and constructing facades, window and door frames, roof elements and similar components. Up until his death in 1984, he poured his creative energy into efforts to blend industrial manufacturing technology with architecture–and he ultimately succeeded in turning the concept of industrial architecture on its head. While other industrial architects were busy setting the stage for industrial production with their factories and workshops, he focused primarily on what industrial manufacturing methods could offer architecture. But let's return for a moment to that steel truss.
If Prouvé were to take a tour of the TRUMPF Smart Factory that opened in Chicago in 2017, his heart would probably skip a beat. The 45 x 55-meter cantilevered roof in this fully connected factory is supported by eleven steel trusses welded from individual pieces of steel. All the pieces were cut using the factory's own machines. As a result, visitors – and not just imaginary ones like Prouvé – can appreciate this roof as a great example of what the smart factory's machines can do and experience first-hand just how much laser machines can offer the world of architecture. So what might Prouvé have asked fellow architect Frank Barkow from the architects' firm Barkow Leibinger, which designed the TRUMPF Smart Factory? His first question would probably have been how the building could possibly have had a budget high enough to include such extraordinary structures. He would have been amazed to discover that it wasn't nearly as high as he might have expected–all because TRUMPF laser machines were on hand to cut and weld the steel trusses and make the whole roof construction financially viable.
More freedom for less money thanks to laser technology
More and more architects are realizing that they can put their ideas into practice without breaking the budget by making use of laser technology. Property developers have fewer worries about exceeding the agreed costs, and passersby get to enjoy ever more aesthetic buildings. The current trend in architecture is to give the same weighting to form as to function, especially in airports, shopping centers and hotel lobbies. Specifically, that means that support structures should not only hold everything up but also look as attractive as possible. In architectural circles, the buzzword is architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS). As the name suggests, this involves making the steel structure of a building visible. In the past, it was relatively unimportant whether the weld seams on steel components looked good or not–but not anymore.
"What lies behind AESS is a reclassification of highquality steel products," says Michael Stumm, vice president of Swiss steel profile manufacturer Montanstahl SA. "Today's architects have completely new expectations with regard to steel sections and profiles." The corners play an important role in this context. Architects are increasingly clamoring for a specific type of steel profile known as a sharp corner profile (SCP). That's because a sharp corner– in other words, a small radius–does not jar the eye when the viewer turns their gaze on the support structures of a facade or roof. "Architects have always been keen on sharp corners," says Stumm, "but previously they were only possible with aluminum and thin-walled steel profiles, both of which are too weak to bear any heavy weight."
With lasers to coveted sharp edges
So how does Montanstahl create these sought-after sharp corners on large steel profiles? Take sharp-edged rectangular hollow sections (see box on page 19), for example, which are a popular choice of support structure for facades. These are conventionally produced by bending a flat bar of sheet metal into a four-sided shape and welding it on one side. The disadvantage of bending lies in the outer radii, which are subject to the traditional rule of thumb of two times the material thickness. So a piece of steel that is 20 millimeters thick yields an outer radius of 40 millimeters, creating more of an egg shape than a rectangular hollow section. An alternative is to take four flat bars of metal and weld them on all sides. That offers the added benefit of being able to use different material thicknesses that are precisely tailored to the structural requirements, which saves on steel. But there's a catch: this fourmetal-bar method is extremely expensive and time-consuming. Unless, of course, you take a tip from Montanstahl to achieve fast, deep and highly durable laser weld seams. Laser welding makes sharp-edged rectangular hollow sections so economical that they finally become a feasible option for an increasing number of construction projects.
Result better, production faster and cheaper
Another interesting example is sharp-edged T sections. The most that conventional methods could manage was to create sharp corners on short and thin-walled T sections. But the thicker the metal, the harder it got. What's more, the cut has to be clean and consistent along the entire length in order to create a gap-free join where the edges meet. The laser makes it easy to achieve that at Montanstahl. Things get trickier with welding, however, because conventional methods such as MIG and MAG leave protruding weld seams in their wake that subsequently have to be ground down to make them more aesthetically pleasing. Even more challenging in the case of thicker materials is heat input, which can warp long steel sections into oversized corkscrews. To tackle this problem, Montanstahl uses laser welding, which relies on high penetration depths combined with low heat input to create a clean weld seam. A T section machined with a laser doesn't just look better –it is also quicker and cheaper to produce.
One striking example of why laser welding's high penetration depth makes sense is when a hurricane hits a building before it has been completed. That's what happened to the Novartis Headquarters in New Jersey, for which Montanstahl was fabricating the facade pro - files. "For the ten millimeter thick metal, they had told us it would be enough to weld between one and four millimeters on each side. But with laser technology it made no difference to us, so we welded the full ten millimeters," says Stumm. The hurricane didn't bend a sin - gle profile –a great example of how to get additional peace of mind with no extra effort.
More freedom with free-form profiles
Anyone who can look into the eye of the storm without flinching is likely to be open to embracing new forms. Many modern building designs can only be realized using free-form profiles. But in the past, these kinds of unconventional shapes could only be created using soft and relatively unstable alu - minum sections. But what happens when the wind gets hold of alu - minum sections that protrude 15 meters into the sky at the top of a skyscraper? Can they withstand the force of the wind? That's some - thing building designers no longer have to worry about. By building complex geometries out of steel sections, they can make even their most labyrinthine facade fantasies come true!
Europe's highest building was processed with a TRUMPF Laser
Standing 462 meters tall and completed in 2018, the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg (see stage image), which is the headquarters of gas giant Gazprom, is the tallest building in Europe. The design of the top 22 meters would have been impossible without a laser. It was fabricated by the company Edelstahl-Mechanik GmbH, which is based in Göppingen, Germany. "It was crazy," says managing director Josef Eisele, referring to the tight deadline of just four months from order placement to delivery. With the tower spiraling its way into the sky like a drill bit, every sheet of the outer cladding is different. The tapered and twisted stainless steel parts, up to 60 millimeters thick, were all 3D laser cut using TRUMPF lasers. And that wasn't the only time the laser was put to use for the Lakhta Center skyscraper: to prevent icicles from turn - ing into potentially deadly projectiles, the tower's metal panels are heated from the inside. Edelstahl-Mechanik's employees also used the cutting laser to mark the positions of the bolts that hold these vital heaters in place, saving themselves the subsequent effort of mark - ing them out with a stencil. "Without laser technology, it would have been impossible to get all that done in such a short time with just 100 people on the job," says Eisele.
Laser convinces when it comes to simply making things look beautiful
Ironically, it's the superb seam quality of laser welding that sows doubt in the minds of some structural engineers: can something that is hardly visible really be tough enough to do the job? That's a question Eisele has heard many times. Recently, Edelstahl Mechanik GmbH supplied sections for a new building at Harvard University and was faced with the same doubts: "The U.S. structural engineers were skeptical, but they had no choice but to wait and see how it all turned. After all, the required penetration depth for the largest sections would have been impossible without the laser," says Eisele. The Harvard project also shows Eisele's outstanding capabilities when it comes to simply making things look beautiful: each individual piece of the facade features decorative holes cut by a laser.
Eisele began taking on architectural jobs around 20 years ago when a production manager he knew asked him to use a laser to cut mirror-finish sheets for a decorative facade, because mechanical processing methods spoiled the shiny surfaces. The fact that people are now focusing more on "designer buildings where aesthetics play a major role," as Eisele puts it, suits him well. This increases the pressure on structural engineers and architects to get acquainted with laser technology, which is still new to many of them.
Advantages of metal jewelry facades often unknown to architects
Binder Parametric Metal GmbH has also experienced the challenge of gaining acceptance in the market, as sales director Christian Geiger explains: "Talking to architects, we've noticed that many of them still haven't fully taken on board the benefits of making a decorative facade out of metal: it's easy to assemble, completely recyclable, very robust, economical and can be adapted to whatever shape is required." The company, which is headquartered in the Bavarian town of Karlskron, has carved itself a niche in 3D metal facades –and the laser is the per - fect tool for cladding buildings in new forms. Precision is the key when it comes to free-form surfaces, whether they are fabricated for the facades of parking garages or for decorating the inte - rior of all sorts of other buildings in a truly unique way. "For a good facade, you need the edge to be perfectly precise all the way around, even when it passes through three-dimensional forms," says Geiger. A laser has no trouble achieving this kind of precision whatever the shape, and it is equally serene in the face of small batch sizes and time pressure –two challenges that facade builders often have to deal with.
"Lasers are fast and flexible. We can use our systems for so many different things because they are so quick to reprogram," says Geiger. TRUMPF demonstrates how these systems work together at its Smart Factory in Chicago. But what would Jean Prouvé have to say about laser machines as he gazed down on Industry 4.0 from the skywalk? Perhaps that he had always known the machine industry was capa - ble of inspiring architecture? Maybe he would even see the TRUMPF Smart Factory as the successful realization of a fusion between indus - trial architecture and architecture from industry? Or perhaps he would simply be too flabbergasted to speak!