text:
I'm exploring the web to find sites I like
UR GUANACASTE - EL ROBLEDAL - LA URUCA, 458-1150, Costa Rica
"Air Canada Vacations NOT the tour company they used to be!"
Posted by: val on Sep 2, 2011
see all reviews
A tropical heaven awaits you at the Barceló Langosta Beach in Tamarindo , Costa Rica . Situated on dazzling Playa Langosta, the crystal waters of Barceló Langosta Beach offer guests a sanctuary to renew their souls while delighting in the natural surroundings at our hotel.
Share your experiences with others. Don't forget to send your review to Debbie by using an easy form.
"Air Canada Vacations NOT the tour company they used to be!"
Posted by: val
on Sep 2, 2011 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Feb, 2011 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
910 people found this review helpful
We stayed at the Barcelo Langosta in Tamarindo and for the first 4 days prior to our accident we had a wonderful time. The resort is a bit smaller and the staff are very friendly and helpful. The food was quite good (buffet style) with one a la carte. The buffet was so good we ate there all of the time. Later in the afternoons occaisionally monkeys would work their way into trees around the resort and provide entertainment. The resort is about a 10-15min walk via the road to the town of Tamarindo. Taxis are about $5. Costa Rica is so beautiful and lots to do. The excursions to the rainforest are mostly all day tours with lots to see along the way (monkeys, tucans, sort of ring-tailed raccoons, flora, fauna and much, much more).
We purchased an all day tour from the air canada vacations representative at our hotel to go to the Arenal volcano area, do zip lining, hot springs and an evening meal at the base of the volcano. The zip line was in the rain forest and with drenching rains our equipment got wet, my braking glove failed and I slammed into the end and ripped open my lower leg on some piece of metal. Just prior to this a man in our group also slammed into the end, but seemed uninjured so we continued. With no medical supplies at any platform, I was eventually air lifted to San Jose hospital and spent 3 days there before returning to the hotel. I cannot thank the doctors & staff at the Clinica Biblica Hospital enough for the great surgery they performed on my leg and the care the staff gave me. I have full use of my leg which was a concern at the time. The tour company supported us until we returned to Canada.
After returning to Canada we notified air canada vacations customer relations of the accident. Finally after 4 months "customer relations" quoted us "Although we attempt our best to deal with the most reputable suppliers, we are not responsible for their acts and omissions" and therefore would give us no compensation. Legally I guess they have no obligation, but you would think morally they would want a positive customer experience and provide some sort of assistance. We did sign a waiver at the base of the hill before ziplining, however, they assured us it was completely safe. They said there was a secondary brake to stop us if our braking glove failed…NOT true. I am now left with a disfigured leg as a reminder.
air canada vacations is NOT the elite tour company it used to be. For one, our room was not as favourable as people who were with Nolitours. And two, to not even refund our excursion money can only lead me to believe they must be going thru some sort of cashflow problem or are just plain "merciless".
"First time in Costa Rica - had a great vacation"
Posted by: Maryka
on Aug 12, 2011 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Aug, 2011 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
903 people found this review helpful
Room Number:
We stayed at Barcelo Langosta from Feb. 14 through 28, 2011. My husband and I travelled with another couple. We all loved our vacation. We have stayed at all-inclusives in Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Bayahibe in Dominican Republic and in Cayo Coco and Varadero, Cuba, but this was our first trip to Costa Rica.
The resort is small enough that it is never crowded. Lots of loungers available around the pool and on the beach – the beach ones were much less comfortable. Other than the chairs, we loved sitting on the beach under the trees, watching the local surfers and the birds – pelicans, frigate birds and some kind of black vultures who ate the scraps the local fishermen left. There was also plenty of wildlife on the resort – several big iguanas who would pose for photos each morning, coatis (local raccoons) and 10 – 15 howler monkeys in the trees around the pool a few times each week.
Staff at the front desk were not very friendly or helpful and seemed to have virtually no English speaking ability. I only mention this because other staff we encountered – wait staff, maids – had fairly good English. It seems odd that the resort would place the people with the least English ability in the positions that require the most customer service. I did notice that when we attempted to use our sparse Spanish, the front desk staff became much friendlier (and their English improved!) All other staff were extremely friendly, and any greeting we offered - Hola; Buenos Dias - was received with a huge smile and a cheerful response.
We stayed in room 9202 – very close to everything like the pool and buffet. Our room faced the ocean, although we didn't get much of an ocean view since they do not trim the foliage. We often saw monkeys and birds in the trees outside our room. The room was kept relatively clean – not dirty but not spotless, especially the floor. Hot water was plentiful and water pressure good. There was an adequate supply of towels daily. The bed was very comfortable. There is no charge for the in-room safe.
This resort is quite eco-friendly. There are recycling bins around the resort, you let them know when you want your towels changed, and the drinks at the bars are served in reusable plastic cups instead of disposable ones. We brought our own insulated mugs, which they were happy to refill. There were ice machines and water coolers in the hallways and at the bars.
Restaurants and Bars:
The buffet was small but the selection was good. The food was always well prepared and kept at the proper temperature. We visited the grill station in the far corner every day to see what they had to offer – eggs cooked to order for breakfast (and if you found the bacon a little underdone at the buffet they would cook it more for you), freshly grilled pork, beef and/or chicken at lunch and dinner, and often a carvery of some sort – ham, roast beef, ribs, chicken. There was an abundance of beautiful fresh fruit at every meal – bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya, oranges, grapefruit, etc. Also a plentiful salad bar and very good ice cream at lunch and dinner.
There is only one a-la-carte restaurant, but it is very pleasant – quiet, good food beautifully presented, and great service. You are only permitted one visit to the a-la-carte per week, which is a shame. There is a live band performing at the pool bar from 1:00 to 3:00 every afternoon and at the lobby bar in the evenings.
The beach is great for sitting and watching the wildlife and the surfers, but is not a swimming beach – too rocky and rough. It is also great for walking. If you turn to the right when facing the ocean you can walk to the town of Tamarindo. It takes about 40 minutes (at a slow stroll) and it can be a very hot trip. We walked to town and then took a taxi back to the hotel for $5 US.
The weather was outstanding. It was 25 to 30 degrees during the day and almost always sunny. There was one brief shower during the day during our two weeks there, and occasionally it would rain overnight.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
One downside was the distance from this resort to the major attractions such as Monte Verde or Arenal volcano. The bus trip to get there is 4 to 4 1/2 hours each way. We didn't want to spend 9 hours on a bus so did not get to see those. I did go zip-lining at a location that was less than an hour's bus ride from the resort. $45 per person and well worth it. They take photos and videos of the guests during the zip-pining and you can buy a DVD when you are done, which makes a great souvenir. We also went on a half-day tour/boat ride in Palo Verde National Park - $65 per person – and on the Blue Dolphin Sunset snorkelling trip (I forget the price of that one). I would recommend any or all of these excursions. We purchased all trips for the TAM Travel desk off the main lobby. Service was great. On the other hand, our Noli Tours rep (Daniel) was pretty much useless. He tried hard to sell us on their excursions, but couldn't provide any information about them other than the price, and he was very rarely available.
Other Comments:
Internet service is quite expensive. You can use their internet cafe for $10 US for one hour of service, or can purchase wireless service by the day - $10 for a day, $25 for 3 days. However, the wireless service seemed to never be available until late morning, and the signal was only available in the lobby or around the pool – not in the rooms.
Overall the resort met and exceeded our expectations. We would certainly recommend the Barcelo Langosta, but likely won't return because we want to see other areas of this beautiful country.
"Mucho Gusta"
Posted by:
James on Feb 17, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Feb, 2010 | Leisure | With Group
1007 people found this review helpful
We travelled with 12 in our group, and there was no problem sittng together for meals etc. This is a smaller resort, so less people. Which is great for getting a lounge chair by the pool.
Your Arrival:
We flew out of Toronto straight to Liberia non-stop with Sun-Wing. The first thing you notice is the heat when you get off the plane. It was great to get off the plane. The bus ride to the resort was good with a stop at a little store for beer. The streets and roads are a little narrower than what we are used to, which makes it exciting for some.
We had a room facing the ocean, awesome for sunsets and coffee in the morning.
The room it self was very roomy with a king size bed and big washroom. No complaints on the room.
Restaurants and Bars:
The food was good the whole stay, lots of sea food, chicken and beef. Great variety every meal. The al-a-cart was very classy, you are only allowed one free visit there during you stay. Other wise, you have to pay. It seems that only some guests are told that when checking in. I guess it depends who is working behind the counter.
The pool was okay during the first part of the week, but later on the water was becoming more green. They said it was the high mineral content in the water. But I wonder if someone goofed up with the chemicals. There is a kiidie pool and a big jacuzzi type pool but water was no hotter than the others.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did the all day excursion with CAT tours. Well worth it. Ziplines,horseback
riding,mud baths. Bring you own drinks for the bus ride because they don't provide anything while travelling.
Sunset catamaran was excellent well worth it.
Other Comments:
While you are there watch out for the raccons. yeah, racoons. They are everywhere. In the morning, the garbage cans will be tipped over with garbage spread all over. Too bad they can't trap them.
Posted by: Penny
on Feb 4, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
981 people found this review helpful
We can't say enough about the beauty of this property....a real garden of Eden
Staff were friendly and eager to please and so proud of their Country.
Your Arrival:
Even though our plane was 3 hours late and we arrived after midnight, check in was friendly and efficient.
Rooms were clean and spacious. Bar fridge full of comp soda and water...ample towels and a big seashell full of extra toiletries.
Restaurants and Bars:
Only 1 main buffet on property but food was plentiful, varied and always so fresh.
Pool bar had small buffet of snack things and those famous chicken wings as well as coffee and tea service and even breads and pastries.
We had a lovely meal at the a'la carte restaurant. Food was prepared with care and service was friendly and relaxed but made one feel very pampered.
Bar servers were friendly and courteous...happy just to give out glasses of ice on request.
Only 1 large pool which was the centre of everything on the resort. Lots of lounges in sun or shade and lots of room to move them to suit. Grounds were beautifully kept....added bonus was all the wildlife wandering the grounds and even by the pool....iguanas, raccoons, monkeys, aramdillos, lizards and resident cats who were fed by many.
Beach was definitely a surfers beach so unless you are an excellent ocean swimmer stick to the pool for serious swimming....lots of fun at the edge of the ocean nevertheless. There are sun lounges you can drag out to the beach and some shade under trees farther back but no palapas out here as tide comes up the beach too far a couple times a day. Beach volleyball held before tide gets too high each day. If you really want to ocean swim, just walk about 20 minutes up the beach toward Tamarindo and there is a lovely sand beach there.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Lots of activities around the pool during the day led by a very enthusiastic young animation team.
The same team does a program for kids in the theatre at night and then an adult show afterward.
Other Comments:
While the "adult" portion of the evening show might have been enjoyable by some, that was the only thing we absolutely did not like at the resort. There was no real entertainment. Just the same young animation staff with very loud music and games....got old real fast!
There is so much local talent, the resort should look at hiring some musicians or entertainers from the local area, at least a couple of times per week. Overall though, this was a wonderful resort and one we will definitely return to.
"Most Enjoyable"
Posted by: Donna
on Feb 2, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
984 people found this review helpful
We had a wonderful holiday at the Barcelo Playa Langosta. We were greeted by an efficient front desk clerk and check-in was a breeze. We had a room in the 9000 block closest to the pool. It was a quiet, clean, comfortable room. The staff were all very friendly from the gardeners to the bartenders. "Pura Vida" was a common greeting by all. The food was very good, probably the best we have had at an all-inclusive. Rondulfo is the supervisor of the restaurant and bars and does a great job of making visitors feel welcome. The pool and grounds are clean and well groomed. We did not use the Spa or gym.
Your Arrival:
Arrived at the hotel and got our room immediately.
We had a king sized bed that was very comfortable. The room was cleaned each day and the small fridge restocked with pop and bottled water. There were no face clothes, but that is common in hotels in Costa Rica and Cuba. I always bring my own. The maid was able to restock fresh towels each morning.
Restaurants and Bars:
The buffet was very good! Varied and appetizing food at every meal. They had
a nice variety of foods including some typical of Costa Rica. They also had familiar food for the less daring. They often had a cook making individual servings to your taste eg. tacos, eggs, pasta. We ate at the a la carte once. One visit is included in the all-inclusive price. It was very good.
The poolside snackbar was great. It had typical fattening fries, chicken and pizza, but also had fresh fruit and salad fixin's. The bartenders were very efficient and friendly. They often remembered exactly what you were drinking.
The beach was easily accessed by the pool. Nice sandy beach, but a bit rocky just in front of the hotel. Body surfing can be done just to the left of the hotel. The pool was very clean. There were lots of lounge chairs that were either new or close to. There were also a fair number of chairs under palapas near the bar. It was nice to have some shade.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on three outings that we purchased from Frank at the activity desk near the pool. The snorkeling trip was very enjoyable. It was a family business and the teen children were our guides. It felt like a family outing and was worth every penny. The other that I really enjoyed was kayaking up the estuary that is just to the South of the hotel. It was a cheap outing and I appreciated having the guide along.(Martin) The estuary winds about and is possible to get lost. There were also poolside activities that we enjoyed, mainly the Bingo.
Other Comments:
I would recommend this hotel and would love to return to it. We had a very nice holiday and met some special people there. I am trying to learn Spanish and the staff were very good about letting me practice with them. I am a firm believer in trying to learn at least a few words of greeting in the native language. Many of the staff speak mainly Spanish, and that is as it should be.
"Best Family Vacation Ever"
Posted by: Lexi
on Jan 1, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2010 | Leisure | Family and Kids
1011 people found this review helpful
We spent December 23-30 at the Barcelo Langosta Beach property in Costa Rica (my wife, I and our three children – 19, 17, 15). We are all agreed it was one if not the best holiday we have ever taken, and we typically take at least one holiday trip a year. The magement and staff of the Langosta hotel were uniformly great. The rooms were great value, very comfortable and quiet, we slept well. Maid service was excellent. The food was excellent and varied and the band in the afternoon and evening was first rate. Good selection of drinks of all types and cheerful, efficient servers. Great pool and incredible beach with very few people yet an easy walk into town. Lots of lounge chairs around the pool so no need to get up early to reserve, and if you lose a towel it is replaced at no cost. It does not get any better, and I travel a lot on business (e.g., I am a Star Alliance Gold and have been for over 20 years). I really cannot find anything negative to say about the hotel or our stay.
Your Arrival:
Easy and friendly check-in, rooms ready and waiting. Just in time for a great dinner.
Rooms had everything you would need, were spacious, clean and quiet.
Restaurants and Bars:
Excellent food of good quality and variety. Good selection of liquors and simple as well as mixed drinks. Wonderful, friendly serving staff
Beautiful grounds, we say monkeys, an igauna, an armadillo and Northern racoons in the evening looking for food in the most unusual places - cute and not dangerous
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Kayaking up the estuary with a staff member. Lindsey of Igauna Surf in the hut by the pool provides good service and prices for tours. We did the local estuary and snorkeling tours and loved them and rented a surfboard from her. Less positive about the turtle tour - we did see a leatherback turtle on the beach, but at 0200 and this tour is run by the govt so disorganized, be warned. Did not do longer tours, some of which involved hours of driving - check on the length of any tours you book.
Other Comments:
Beach vendors just outside the resort are expensive, buy in town or even at the airport - better quality and lower prices.
"The nightly entertainment to be perfectly honest it "Sucked""
Posted by:
Barry from Ontario on Jan 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2009
961 people found this review helpful
Arrival: 15 Jan-22 Jan 09
Traveled via Air Canada nice flight but had to pay for meals.
Customs was a breeze Met at airport by air condtioned bus.. Check in at resort very smooth & quick. Staff at main desk very helpful.
Rooms: Very nice, stayed in 9100 block Near to main building, bar & pool.
Had a ground floor room..Howler monkeys outside..wife took lots of pictures
Restaurants and Bars:
Restaurants & bars very clean food was good & varied. Chicken at pool bar was superb. Had dinner at new Restaurant (payed) service & meal were top notch. Service at all locations was great..all employees very friendly & helpful
Again all were very clean & well maintained...beach was swept in the evening Seemed there was always someone cleaning & straightening up around the pool area.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Went on canopy tour...what a blast. the first hop was a bit frightening for me but all the rest I really enjoyed. My wife even took one hop upside down.
Well worth the money. Rented a car with GPS one day & toured the area saw lots of interesting things. Went on River boat tour, saw lots of wildlife.
Other Comments:
All in all I'd rate this resort at 3.5-4 stars..bear in mind the resort was only about 1/3 full... The recession has taken its toll on tourism here also.
Tamarindo has a lot of construction but it too has slowed down. My wife & I had learned a bit of spanish before going & the staff helped us learn quite bit more...now I can order drinks & find the bathroom quite easily LOL A lot of money has been spent on this resort recently & it really shows...the new auditorium , Spa, & new restaurant are really quite something. We didn't get into the newest block of rooms but from all accounts they are very nice too. The only thing we found fault with was the nightly entertainment to be perfectly honest it "Sucked" They have a great stage & auditorium as I mentioned. & it is being wasted. We showed up for one show at the appointed hour of 9:15 & at 9:45 nobody had showed up so we left. We'd go back to Costa Rica in a heartbeat.


text:
We've been clear in our insistence that you please NOT hack electronic road signs, but have been impressed by some of the cleverness of readers not listening. Like hackers in Houston writing Internet drivel on a construction sign.
A hacker followed the very simple steps we told them not to follow and hacked a road sign in Downtown Houston — changing the word "Detour" to "POOP" over the weekend.
The sign was changed back and then re-written as ":) LOL."
Sign-hacking is apparently so simple even the least creative 4Chan member can do it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I plan to write a more detailed post about it soon, but suffice it to say that I am NOT. HAPPY. about Miley Misappropriatin' Cyrus manhandling that woman's ass on stage. It was triggering as fuck to me, and here's why:
I have had white people I barely know feel like they can do what they please with my body. I have had my ass slapped in: gym class, the lunch line, at work (by both coworkers and by a gang of white children I was supposed to be in charge of at the time). I have had people make unsolicited comments about my ass, rate my ass, and once my supervisors at a camp I was working at took a picture of my ass in a bathing suit and then showed that picture during the big end-of-summer slideshow. All of the white counselors had multiple pictures of them hanging with the kids, or doing fun/funny things. I, one of the very few WoC counselors, got a picture of my ass on the big screen. It was mortifying.
So sorry Miley, I don't give a much shit about your unbreathable latex panties or the angle of your lolling tongue, or even how shitty your music is. That's on you- you do you and it's none of my business. What IS my business is how you treat the people in your employ and the message that sends to black and brown women about their worth. About their "rank" in the bodily autonomy food-chain. About how they can expect to be exploited by even their supposed sisters-in-arms. You wanna be down with black folk? With black women? Start by treating us like human beings, not like fucking pokemon. Learn more about the history of the people you borrow from, so you can avoid that Sarah Baartman shit. And, for God's sake, keep your fucking hands to yourself.


text:
Swarm operations
The Swarm mission is unravelling one of the most mysterious aspects of our planet: the magnetic field. The magnetic field and electric currents in and around Earth generate complex forces that have immeasurable impact on everyday life. The field can be thought of as a huge bubble, protecting us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth in solar winds.
Although we know that the magnetic field originates from several places, exactly how it is generated and why it changes is not yet fully understood.
Swarm comprises a constellation of three satellites, initially orbiting in two different near-polar orbits at 460 and 530 km altitude. The primary ground station is Kiruna, while the mission's Processing and Archiving Element, managed by ESA/ESRIN, is overseeing the generation of data products from the science data stream and is interfacing with the scientific community.
The mission
The Swarm Mission Operations Centre (MOC) is located at ESA's ESOC establishment in Darmstadt, Germany.
|Earth observation - explore our planet's magnetic field
|22 November 2013
|Rockot, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, russia
|500 kg each of three satellites
|Near-polar, two satellites initially at 460 km; one at 530 km
|15 orbits daily
|4 years
|+ Three identical Swarm satellites are measuring very precisely the magnetic signals comprising Earth's magnetic field +
The Flight Control Team
The Flight Control Team operations the Swarm satellites from a Dedicated Control Room located at ESOC. Juan Piñeiro, an experienced engineer, has been Spacecraft Operations Manager (SOM) since 2009.
From 2007-11, ESOC engineers and mission planners developed the overall ground control infrastructure, flight control procedures and interfaces with other teams. Specific training for the Flight Control Team began in 2012, and the months prior to launch in late 2013 were dedicated to intensive team training in a series of realistic simulations.
Mission operations overview
The three Swarm satellites were launched together on a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia.
In orbit, all operations are controlled from ESOC, while data processing and archiving is handled from ESA/ESRIN. The 15m Estrack station at Kiruna is the mission's dedicated ground tracking station, while other stations provide support as needed.
All Swarm satellites were placed into orbit by a single launch vehicle. After separation from the launcher, the satellites' subsystems were activated to allow contact between the satellites and ground stations.
In the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), four ground stations were used to provide additional data and telemetry contact.
LEOP lasted approximately three days for the full activation of the satellites, followed by a commissioning phase of around three months.
The commissioning phase was used to check out all satellite subsystems and the payloads. The orbit acquisition phase - which occurred in parallel with the commissioning phase - started around seven weeks after launch and comprised of a series of hundreds of small thrust manoeuvres with the aim of bringing the satellites into the initial orbit of the routine phase.
After commissioning, the nominal four-year mission phase began. In routine operations, the Flight Control Team manage:
- Overall satellite operations planning
- Satellite monitoring and control
- Flight dynamics and manoeuvre
- On-board software maintenance
- Mission simulation
Mission control system
Swarm uses ESA's SCOS-2000® mission control system.
Originally developed to support ESA missions, the software is now being promoted as a product and licenses are being granted in the fields of space research and technology. SCOS-2000® is part of the ESA Ground Operation System (EGOS) project, aimed at standardising the infrastructure used throughout European Space Agency ground segments with the goal of improving reliability, cost effectiveness and interoperability.
Closely coordinated with the ground segment dedicated to operation control, a separate Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS) handles the scientific data coming from Swarm. Once received on ground, science data are transferred to the PDGS centre, located in Farnborough, UK. The PDGS is responsible for data processing, data archiving and user services.
The ground station - Kiruna
For routine operations, the mission uses ESA's 15m Kiruna ground station – part of the Agency's ESTRACK global network – for command, control and tracking of the three satellites.
Kiruna provides daily visibility for the satellites in both the upper and lower Swarm orbits; the number of visible passes per day varies from nine (for the upper satellite, at beginning of mission), to six (for the lower pair, at the end of mission – when the orbit altitude will be as low as 300 km). For routine operations, one pass per day per satellite is sufficient to cover the monitoring and control needs.
Tracking, Telemetry & Commanding (TT&C) communication is be done at S-band frequencies, providing an uplink of 4 kbps and a downlink of 6 Mbps.
The platform and payload
The platform
The Swarm platform - the portion of the spacecraft dedicated to flight operations - comprises the following subsystems:
- Structure/mechanical
- Power
- Telemetry/telecommand
- Attitude and orbit control (AOC)
- Thermal control
- Data handling
The overall structure consists of the Bus Assembly, Solar Generator Assembly, Boom Assembly and Launch Adaptor.
The requirements for gathering the mission's magnetic data are very stringent, and this imposes the need to optimise and control the magnetic properties of the spacecraft's physical structure. An important design measure is the accommodation of the magnetometer package at a distance from the main body/platform sufficient to minimise any magnetic disturbance.
A boom ensures a magnetically 'clean' environment and provides very stable accommodation for the magnetometer package. Due to envelope constraints of the launcher fairing, the boom must be deployable.
The payload
Each satellite will carry a science payload consisting of the following instruments:
- Absolute Scalar Magnetometer (ASM)
- Vector Field Magnetometer (VFM)
- Electrical Field Instrument (EFI)
- Accelerometer (ACC)
- Laser Retro Reflector (LRR)


text:
DUBLIN, Ireland - Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrapped up their meeting in Dublin on Monday saying they had positive and constructive discussion.
The pair spoke privately over breakfast for more than half an hour before joining their delegations for another half hour meeting.
Common ground was established in some areas although significant gaps remain.
Ireland and the UK are committed to securing an agreement between the European Union and the UK, and recognise that negotiations take place through the Brussels Task Force, statement from the taoiseach's office said.
They also shared their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and the restoration of the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland.
Prior to the meeting Varadkar outlined Ireland's position on Brexit to Mr Johnson and members of the media.
"We meet this morning at a point where the stated intention of the British Government is to leave the EU on 31 October, with or without a deal," he said.
"However, the story of Brexit will not end if the United Kingdom leaves on 31st October or even January 31st - there is no such thing as a clean break. No such thing as just getting it done. Rather, we just enter a new phase."
"If there is No Deal I believe that's possible, it will cause severe disruption for British and Irish people alike. We will have to get back to the negotiating table. When we do, the first and only items on the agenda will be citizens rights, the financial settlement and the Irish border. All the issues we had resolved in the Withdrawal Agreement we made with your predecessor. An Agreement made in good faith by 28 governments," the Irish leader said.
"If there is a Deal, and I think that is possible, we will enter talks on a Future Relationship Agreement between the EU and UK. It's going to be tough dealing with issues ranging from tariffs, to fishing rights, product standards and state aid. It will then have to be ratified by 31 parliaments."
"Prime Minister, negotiating FTAs with the EU and U.S. and securing their ratification in less than three years is going to be a Herculean task for you. We want to be your friend and ally, your Athena, in doing so," Varadkar said.
"The manner in which you leave the EU will determine if that's possible."
"I am ready to listen to constructive ways to achieve our agreed goals and resolve the current impasse," he said.
"But what we cannot do, and will not do, is replace a legal guarantee with a promise."
"Our businesses need long-term certainty," the taoiseach said.
"And the people of this island, North and South, need to know that their livelihoods, their security and their sense of identity will not be put at risk as a consequence of a hard Brexit."
"Avoiding the return of a hard border on this island and protecting our place in the single market are the Irish Government's priorities in all circumstances," Varadkar said.
"We must protect peace on the island and the burgeoning success of the all-island economy. This is why the backstop continues to be a critical component of the Withdrawal Agreement, unless and until an alternative is found."
"Yes, we are open to alternatives. But they must be realistic ones, legally binding and workable," explained the taoiseach.
"We have received no such proposals to date."
"Prime Minister we have spoken twice by phone already. I know we have a shared desire to see the Northern Ireland institutions restored. The Tnaiste and Secretary of State are already working closely together on that. The Good Friday Agreement is proof that old foes can come together to deal with the most intractable of problems. As co-guarantors of the Agreement, I look forward to exploring with you, how working with the Northern Ireland parties, we can restore power-sharing and devolution," said Varadkar.


text:
LG Gets WebOS from HP to Further Develop Smart TV
LG Gets WebOS from HP to Further Develop Smart TV
WebOS was meant to be the platform for HP's smart devices. But after its failure, HP had turned the OS into an open source project. With HP's recent move towards adoption of Android for their tablets in the form of the Slate 7, it was only a matter of time before HP washed its hands clean of WebOS completely. It has now been announced that LG has purchased WebOS from HP.
LG will use WebOS To support its next-generation Smart TV technology. LG has entered into a definitive agreement with HP to acquire the source code, associated documentation, engineering talent and related websites associated with webOS. As part of the transaction, LG also will receive licenses under HP's intellectual property (IP) for use with its webOS products, including patents acquired from Palm covering fundamental operating system and user interface technologies now in broad use across the industry.
Under the agreement LG will assume stewardship of the open source projects of Open WebOS and Enyo. But HP will retain ownership of all of Palm's cloud computing assets, including source code, talent, infrastructure and contracts. HP will also continue to support Palm users.
Both HP and LG do not expect this transaction to have a material impact on either company's financial statements. Terms for the deal have not been disclosed.
Source: LG


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Which food represents your country? Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Which food represents your country? Goto page 1, 2 Next Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Food View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message oopsJoined: 17 Sep 2007Posts: 2 Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:40 am Post subject: Which food represents your country? Hello! Do you enjoy eating food? I think one of the happiness in life is to eat delicious food. so I try to eat different kinds of food. Each country has its own representative food. For example, Italy-> pizza, pasta.. Germany->beer, sausage.. India->curry Korea->kimchi etc. What is the food that represents your country? Back to top ptitangeJoined: 03 Dec 2005Posts: 39Location: Belgium Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:08 am Post subject: For Belgium, I'd say that the national dish is mussles and French fries. Belgium is also famous for its chocolate and beer _________________http://www.phrasebase.com Back to top mikimikiJoined: 10 Oct 2007Posts: 4Location: Japan Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: I'm japanese japanese national food is mabe... sushi, tempra, miso-soup, and so on. Back to top openenglishJoined: 26 Oct 2007Posts: 35 Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:32 pm Post subject: I'm from Venezuela and one of our typical foods is called pabellón which is shredded beef, rice, fried plantains, and black beans _________________Learn English at Open English Back to top TianiJoined: 11 Sep 2007Posts: 12Location: Indonesia Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:29 am Post subject: Hi! Food lover,,, I am from Indonesia, and there are many kind of food which can representative my country,, There are many state in my country, and each state almost have the different unique food each other,,, In Padang (one of many state in Indonesia), all of the food is hot. Its a characteristic of padang's food,, In Padang, I love rendang,, Rendang is meat which cooked with chili and milk from coconut,,and its cooked for a long time (1 night),, In another state, there are gudeg,, Gudeg is sweet food, but its a dish which served with rice,, Its a delicious too,, And there are more delicious food in my country,,and almost of them is very delicious,,,,!!!!! Back to top thirdstring_overlordJoined: 08 Apr 2008Posts: 4Location: The great state of Minnesota, USA Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: It should probably go without saying that the food most iconic of America is a hot dog. As for my particular state, Minnesota, the most representative food item would probably be casserole._________________"I hear there's rumors on the internets that we're going to have a draft." -George W. Bush Back to top hobo78Joined: 19 Apr 2008Posts: 29 Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:37 am Post subject: In Ukraine it's the borsh. Borsh is a sort of soup._________________Do you need a professional designed website or graphics for your business, for your girlfriend or for the dog you love? Worry no more! One look is worth a thousand words http://fastlanewebdesign.com/ Back to top ep07096Joined: 14 May 2008Posts: 1Location: Japan Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject: Hello.I'm from Japan. The sushi and the tempura are famous in Japan. However, these are not food eaten so frequently. Therefore, I search what the Japanese is eating usually. First, staple food is rice. Rice is indispensable for the Japanese. And, the miso soup is typical soup of Japan. It and the broiled fish are often eaten. I like salmon and mackerel. However, I love meat ,too! In general, these are called a Japanese food. Back to top yukokoJoined: 09 Nov 2008Posts: 14Location: tokyo Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:02 pm Post subject: Japanese food I am a japanese student There are many famous foods in Japan For example, sushi, tempura, okonomiyaki, takoyaki. I love japanese food Back to top sigumaJoined: 28 Apr 2009Posts: 1 Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:53 am Post subject: Hello everyone! I'm from Spain and the dish that represents our country is "paella". For the ones ho don't know, this is a rice dish with fruit of the see or rice with meat and fruit of the sea. It can sound a bit weird but it's lovely taste. If you come to Spain and want to taste it you shouldn't go to a tourist restaurants and try to go to one of our lovely village restaurants. The flavour will be surprisingly different. I also must say that i am from Barcelona (Catalonia) and we also have a lot of traditional food or dishes like our bread with tomato and olive oil. All the best! Silvia Back to top jcaoJoined: 07 Apr 2009Posts: 5 Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject: ha,I 'm chinese. There are many provinces & nations in my country. So different food represent different place. It's hard to say which food can represent china. But most popular chinese food maybe Fish-flavored shredded pork、spicy diced chicken、tomato scrambled eggs and so on. All people like them. hahaha~ Back to top yunaaaJoined: 21 Nov 2010Posts: 4 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:44 pm Post subject: Japan Hi everyone! I'm from Japan seems there are already some comments from Japanese. as you know, Sushi, tempra these food are famaous and i think bowl food such as katsudon, oyakodon, unajyu, tendon are also popular japanese food. If there is anyone who haven't tried that i would recommend you to eat it:) Here is the website about donburi http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2342.html Back to top pam7889Joined: 30 Nov 2010Posts: 1Location: Taiwan Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 12:48 am Post subject: Stinking Tofu In my opinion, I consider the stinking tofu is represent my coumtry, Taiwan. Even though most of the western polling stinking tofu as the top 10 nauseating food, that won't get rid of our love to stinking tofu. Criticizing a traditional food of country is very inappropriate. Stinking tofu is pickled by Chinese herbal medicine and then fried it, and it really match witth Taiwanese pickled vegetables. Without doubt that the smelling of stinking tofu is really extraordinary. Just like durian, you can smell that smell far from thousand of mile. But when you chew it, there will some special and exotic aroma spread in your mouth. So, that's the same as stinking tofu. Maybe everyone show try it some day. It's not that awful as everybody told before. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=494791306468&set=a.484328461468.293439.545441468 Back to top orientalJoined: 18 Feb 2011Posts: 2 Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:21 pm Post subject: hot pot I'm a Chinese,just as my fellow says every place has its own food I'm from Chengdu,the capital of Sichuan Province.Chengdu is famous for its hot pot.We cook chicken,beef,potato and different kinds of vegetables in the hot pot. It's very delicious,and I like hot pot very much Back to top jinYonghunJoined: 09 Jul 2016Posts: 3 Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 6:42 am Post subject: hello, i live in korea. kinchi is well-known food and very famous, but it's so spicy. maybe it's not delicious to someone who don't have ever eaten kimchi. so if you wanna have good memory about korean food, i suggest other foods.(such as bulgogi, or this or chicken. ) actually, some korean people don't like a kimchi, too. but it's gonna be good experience to try eating kimchi! Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Food All times are GMT - 8 HoursGoto page 1, 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


text:
- Antonio Giovinazzi
- Alexander Albon
- Valtteri Bottas
- Pierre Gasly
- Romain Grosjean
- Lewis Hamilton
- Jordan King
- Jordan King
- Daniil Kvyat
- Nicholas Latifi
- Charles Leclerc
- Kevin Magnussen
- Lando Norris
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Perez
- Kimi Räikkönen
- Daniel Ricciardo
- George Russell
- Carlos Sainz Jr
- Lance Stroll
- Max Verstappen
- Sebastian Vettel
Luiz Razia Brazil
- Full name Luiz Tadeu Razia
- Birth date April 4, 1989
- Birthplace Barreiras, Brazil
- Current age 31 years 173 days
- Height 1.8 m
- Weight 73 kg
- Teams Caterham Racing, Team AirAsia, Virgin, Manor
Part of the new generation of Brazilian drivers trying to make their way to Formula One, Luiz Razia made the progression from South American Formula 3 to F1 test driver in just two years, and in 2013 his ability and financial backing look to have secured him a vacant seat at Marussia, only for that funding to fall through as Razia was replaced before the season opener.
He started his single seater career in 2005 and in his second year he had taken the South American F3 title with seven wins from 16 races. In the same year he took part in four rounds of the F3000 Masters at Estoril and won three. He took on a full season of racing in Europe in 2007 in F3000 Euroseries and came third, splitting his time between that championship and Word Series by Renault.
Another year in the F3000 Euroseries followed in 2008 before he moved to the GP2 Asia Series over the winter. He scored a win in the final race of the series in Bahrain, and moved to the European GP2 championship supporting F1. Again a single win was his best result, this time in the sprint race at Monza, and he finished the year 19th overall.
He was presented as a test driver for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Racing team in December 2009 but received very limited testing mileage under the sport's current regulations. He raced in both GP2 Series in 2010, before moving to Team Caterham AirAsia for the 2011 season and switching test roles to another of the new F1 teams; Team Lotus. Free practice appearances in China and Brazil raised his profile somewhat, but he remained in GP2 for 2012 finishing second behind Davide Valsecchi as well as gaining more experience with Force India and Toro Rosso at the Young Driver Tests.
Announced as a Marussia race driver at the first test at Jerez, problems with Razia's funding meant he was replaced by Jules Bianchi in the middle of the final test at Barcelona having only had two days in the car during pre-season.
Strengths and weaknesses
After joining Arden in GP2 in 2012 he was able to show his true potential, taking four wins and finishing runner-up to Valsecchi. But having spent four years in the junior category with just one pole position, questions could be asked about his qualifying pace."
Career High
Second place in GP2 in 2012 was enough to secure him an F1 seat with Marussia
Career Low
Being involved in six accidents in seven races midway through his debut season in GP2.
On getting a test drive with Virgin: "It's so exciting, it's a dream to be a part of a new team."
He has his own Facebook fan site called 'Team Luiz Razia' where he gives away prizes for members that guess the correct podium result at F1 and GP2 races. The group has over 1,000 members.


text:
Cruise along this pioneer highway to visit sites of first Fort, Indian encounters, bridges, and historic riverfront residences designed by architect Francis Abreu (Sea Island.)
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.


text:
Welcome to my 'Green Issues' blog, which discusses Environmental issues, Global warming, Global cooling, Pollution, Nature, Flooding, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Horticulture, Agriculture, Energy efficiency, Weather, Climate change, Sustainability, Recycling and everything Green.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Eastern Caribbean prepares for heavy rain, winds as Tropical Storm Maria approaches | The Republic
No comments:
Post a comment
While I encourage readers to leave their quality comments, please DO NOT leave comments with advertising in this blog. Additionally comments from fake, hidden blogs, hidden profiles or PROFILE NOT AVAILABLE will be deleted or edited.
I reserve the right to edit or delete the comments as appropriate...Thank you for your cooperation.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
The Halo optical food sorter delivers high performance across a variety of foods. It views and analyzes attributes, such as colors, shapes, blemishes, foreign materials and difficult-to-see defects in product composition, to produce a highly accurate sort. Other product features include:
- Labor cost reductions, averaging 80% upwards
- Yield increases of up to 4%
- Low operational costs
- Up to 25% faster throughput
- Improved product quality
- Faster pack
- Speedy return on investment
Fresh pack applications include potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic, tomatoes and cucumbers. Processor applications include potatoes, carrots, peaches, pears, tomatoes, green beans, onions, apricots and citrus fruits.
TOMRA Sorting Solutions, www.tomrasorting.com


text:
At the premiere last night of MacGruber, this is Ryan Phillippe giving us his douche face looking considerably less carby in comparison to his co-star Val Kilmer. Oh Ice...it's like, it's like it's not even the same person. Kilmer and Brando worked together on The Island of Dr Moreau. Just saying...not that Kilmer's CV resembles Brando's in the least.
But remember the drama that came off that set? Apparently John Frankenheimer despised Val and was famously quoted as saying "Now get that bastard off my set" after he'd completed his final scene. As you know, the movie was sh-t. Which is what was initially assumed about MacGruber until the red band trailer was released. The red band trailer changed my mind. As already noted, I'm now dying to see it. And though it's early still, MacGruber is rating higher than Shrek Forever (no surprise) on Rotten Tomatoes, earning some encouraging early reviews.
My friend Michelle however will not go near it. Because she hates Will Forte. It's his mouth. I'm not a fan of it either, but my disdain for Forte doesn't match hers. Besides, since I never matured from high school, I probably respond to fart and sh-t jokes more positively than she does.
Also attached, in addition to Forte and Kristen Wiig, SNL castmates Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis. So cute.
The redband trailer is below. Use caution at work.
Photos from Bryan Bedder/Gettyimages.com


text:
Add a feature to Sort and Filter Strava Routes
Incorporate a drop down sort feature to sort routes. sorting types could be sort route by length (long to short) sort route by estimated time to ride (long to short), sort ride by elevation gain , etc.
Incorporate a drop down sort feature to sort routes. sorting types could be sort route by length (long to short) sort route by estimated time to ride (long to short), sort ride by elevation gain , etc.
Thanks for the great feature idea. There is also a popular feature suggestion to be able to search Routes from other Strava users.
seams easy enough, please add sort feature
I want Strava to be the one stop shop. I don't want to use MAPMYRIDE and RIDE WITH GPS and the like. This route feature is great EXCEPT you can't sort, filter or in anyway catalog the routes. I travel a lot and want to be able to say : My Routers near Columbus OH, for example, and have my routes appear. I have over 60 routes already and it is very cumbersome to track all of them. There have been times were I have made the same route twice because I didn't find it the first time.
Yes please. I have 20 odd routes currently in my route builder and would love to be able to sort them on length, elevation, estimated time and alphabetically based on the route name. Would be a simple enhancement to the site.
I have 150+ routes in my folder, would actually make them usable if there was a "Search" function
This would be a much appreciated improvement.
Hey Strava, this would be a simple process to implement and make a big difference to enhancing users experience of the site. Filtering by route length, elevation, time to complete and route name seems like it would cover all the bases. If you could add a coffee making feature too that'd be ace. Cheers.
Ideally, I would like to be able to sort by most-traveled. I am in San Diego, and I would love to be able to find the most-traveled 3-8 mile routes and segments in the area.
I would also really like to be able to add surface type to the description: road, sidewalk, trail, mixed (and sort by these types).
Also: loop, out-and-back, one-way for sorting would be good.
This would be a great update to the site. Please add sorting feature to Routes.
YES PLEASE! Having them organized by when you entered them makes no sense. When I'm trying to choose a ride, I'm usually trying to choose it based on specific features (e.g., I want to climb about X feet or I want to bike X miles).
I don't think anyone above asked for an Alpha sort option also. This would allow users to deploy a good naming convention and keep a catalog of rides. Examples: "FromHome 30 w 2800vert" and "Work2Home 32 w 3000vert".
I have deleted a lot of routes but still have 138... It's got to the point now where I'm actually quicker recreating the route from scratch rather than spend 10 minutes trying to find it. Such a basic filter that has been asked for, for a long time now. There are one or two of these threads asking for the same thing. Please sort it out Strava, surely it wouldn't take much to add a few drop down boxes to filter by ride length and distance from a location, or allow users to put them in folders or hey why not both features.
At least let us know if there is a reason you cannot add the sorting feature. It would be nice to have some feedback on this issue. I really like the route creation feature, but I'll go find another app to do it if Strava can't....
I am actually growing quite frustrated over this. I travel with my bike which means I have routes spread all over the country. When I am going to be in Alabama, for instance, I want to sort by STATE. What if I create a route there last year and 3 years ago? It is impossible to find the routes. I have started using RIDE WITH GPS or even GARMIN CONNECT. This has got to be the fixed. Maybe people who ride the same area don't need routes, but I sure do. Is STRAVE only interested in selling their heat maps for profit and iqnoring the most basic customer feature?
Yes, please. Either make them searchable, or at least present them in a table form like the "My Activities" page and allow them to be sorted by alphabetically by name, date created, distance, starting location (town, city, state, etc). Currently they are only presented in "date created" order. What's worse, if you modify an old route to use, the "modified" route gets placed right next to the old route, rather than being placed up at the top. Really poor engineering here.
Sigh. Since I see this request is 2 years old, I guess this helpful feature isn't at the top of their priority list.
Plus one for that.
I organise routes for my club.
I have over 200 routes of various lengths and degrees of ascent.
It would be really handy to sort by distance, height, date etc.
Let us filter segments on segment explorer better
Wow, the route feature just went wacko, still no sort AND it seems to no longer be defaulting to create date. I can't figure out how it is sorting now and they seem to just be random order. Really, even just a simple alpha numeric sort would allow us to make a system that works. Sort by location, date, etc would be neat, but at the very least alpha numeric and I could get by.
Honestly folks these comment/feedback ideas are just a waste of time. This is such a simple fix that would have a huge benefit for the users but they clearly can't be bothered. 2.5 years now, taking the Mickey
+1 Chris Golden. How hard can it be to introduce a simple sort feature?
Won't be bothering to renew my premium if there's no 'sort' feature.
Just to add to the voices here - let me search, sort or filter my routes somehow, anyhow! Even change the pagination so I can See All and use CTRL F to find them! Navigating 150+ routes is tiresome. Just display them in a list as you do with My Activities and make them searchable - the same UI you use for My Activities. I'd say this is a two day job, with testing!
I do wonder what the devs and product managers at Strava are doing. Feature releases are thin on the ground. Is all that time spent on commercial activities selling my data instead? I'm a premium member but am very disappointed with the lack of basic functionality for some of your features.
+1000 for that!!! That would be the most important update for organizing the self created routes and this should not be very complicated to implement this on your strava site!
+1 for this one. Sorting by name, distance, elevation and est. duration in a table/list view. Come on and implement this three year old suggestion already.
+1 Please add sort and search function for Routes. Thanks
Yeah, I agree. The Route Builder is still in "Beta" many years later. :(
Still not being able to organise, sort, filter one's routes is baffling. I have 175 routes so far and they unsurprisingly they only keep increasing in number and becoming ever more unwieldy and difficult to find and organise.
Being able to place routes into folders and also allow/prevent them syncing with one's GPS device would be such a boon for so many reasons already mentioned.
I also don't ned 175 Strava routes on my GPS when at max only a handful of them are appropriate at any one time. Made even worse by having to duplicate my Strava routes in RWGPS to get turn by turn navigation.
Not sure why I should pay for premium Strava when such an important and not exactly difficult to implement feature is ignored. As mentioned I already use RWGPS for better route planning, maybe I should pay their premium rate instead.
Folk may find this tool developed by someone else useful as a way of finding Strava Routes.
Please sign in to leave a comment.


text:
I was talking about this with some folks and was asked to post the process I went through here. This info is based on what was available to us in patch 2.38. Below is the process, and in the middle is essentially a side-post regarding the melding of your gear.
1. Grats on reaching level 50!
You can gather most basic stuff now, but with unspoiled nodes and big fish out there, you need to do a bit more work if you want to take your gatherers to the max. At this point, decide how you want to proceed. You may want to focus on just 1 of the 3 classes and leave the rest behind, or go for topping off 2 or 3 of the classes. Either way the process is the same, you just need to account for multiple classes.
2. Gear up!
You will want to pursue the il55 gear for your class(es), and ideally get the accessories from the master craft recipes. If you have advanced crafting classes it'll be possible to make most or all of the gear yourself, otherwise gather up the expensive materials and get a buddy to craft, or just buy the gear. It's expensive to buy, and just a time investment on gathering to make stuff yourself, or get someone else to make stuff.
3. Materia time!
Those stats may look nice but they aren't enough to try for higher 1 star items. You need to boost your stats with materia. Get yourself a small stack of grade 4 carb matter, medium stack of grade 3, and full stacks of grade 2 and 1. You will need all 4 grades of materia too. Below is the general idea for materia. Even though we're working toward gathering materia, the most efficient way to bond gear to 100% and convert to materia is to equip several pieces of gathering gear, use several of your best combat gear pieces, and go kill stuff.
Grade 3 and 4
The best bet here is to make/buy il45-47 gathering gear, and go fight lv 49-50 enemies. I typically go with 6 pieces, trying not to interfere with my best combat item slots. If you're going solo any beast lair or castrum will do. For the quickest turn-around join a party in Urth's Gift, where you'll be changing gear every 15-20 min. Solo plan on 40-45 min. There is roughly a 10% chance of getting grade 4 materia, otherwise you get grade 3.
Grade 2
The Urth's approach will work well again if you use items that are above il37, but if using il31-36 you'll do better fighting lower enemies (say lv 42-45) in any of the beast lairs. Again go with 6-8 slots of gear to bond so you can kill at a decent pace, which should be 10 min (party in urth's) to 15 min (solo).
Grade 1
In the time vs money vs return realm, just go to any of the cities and buy the il5-10 gathering armors and jewelry. Go ahead and get full sets even, as your weapon alone will be strong enough. Then, go somewhere that has a high density of lv 16-18 enemies, like east shroud. This gear will bond in 5 min or less.
On a positive note, you won't need many grade 4 materias. You will need many grade 1 and 2 though, to be illustrated later.
4. Melding time!
Start out with the bits that are common to all gathering classes, especially if you are wanting to gear up multiple classes. The following melds will max out your stats for the given slots. The order below is minimal risk for high materia, and high risk for low materia.
dodore belt: GP IV, Gathering II, Perception I ... or GP III, Gathering II, Perception I, GP I.
dodore choker: GP IV, Gathering II, Perception II, GP II, GP II
rose gold earrings of gathering: GP IV, Gathering II, Perception II, GP II, GP II
militia bracelets: GP IV, GP III, GP III, Gathering II, Perception II
dodore ring: GP IV, Gathering II, Perception I ... or GP III, Gathering II, Perception I, GP I
As you can see the accessories are heavy on GP. If you don't want to go for all that GP IV materia then I suggest using them on the bracelets first, then neck or earrings, lastly belt or rings. Also, when you see the same grade materia in back to back melds you can swap order based on your supply. As you see I always put GP after Gathering and Perception in the overmelds (which is the 2nd-5th materia in each item) as GP will be the least important of the 3 stats (you will very easily exceed 600). Personally I skipped the GP IV materia in the neck and earrings.
When done with these melds, your miner/botanist will look like this: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/NXQN
... and fisher: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/NXQP
Note: to advance you don't have to complete those last GP overmelds now, most important thing is getting all the gathering and perception done.
5. ... more melding!
You've got your common-to-all classes pieces set, but still don't have enough stats to gather on higher 1-star nodes yet. This means melding your class-specific items. The melds are listed below for each slot, and of course with fisher you can ignore any GP melds since those mean nothing to fisher.
chest: Gathering IV, Perception IV, Gathering III, GP I
gloves: Gathering III, Perception II, Gathering I, GP I
legs: Gathering IV, GP III, Perception I, GP I
feet: Percpetion IV, GP III, Gathering I, GP I
With any of these items, you can opt to skip an IV materia and use 2 lower grades, since I didn't touch the 5th slot with any of these melds. Again for fisher cut out the GP entirely.
With these melds completed, you now have enough stats to move on to higher gathering!
miner/botanist: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/NXQS
fisher: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/NXQU
6. Forager hat and tools!
There is a NPC in Mor Dhona where you are able to exchange items for the Forager hat and tools. I suggest going for the hat first, and later the tool.
Umbral Rocks can be harvested at 6am in South Shroud, near Camp Tranquil
Redolent Logs can be harvested at 2am in South Shroud, north of Camp Tranquil
Silver Sovereigns can be fished up in Lower La Noscea, atop that cliff south of town. GSM can make the lure (which thankfully you very rarely lose), and it's best to attempt fishing outside of the mahi-mahi time window.
All of the above are a time sink, just keep working at it and eventually you'll get enough to trade for the hat (only need 1 hat, all 3 classes can use it) and finally the tool.
When completed, you will have enough gathering and perception to raid the 2 star miner and botanist nodes, and get working on big fishing (prepare for a lot of frustration though!). Regarding miner and botanist, here is a concise reference for what is available from their nodes, and the stat requirements. http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/Gathering
7. Supra tools?
This will be a big step, especially if you don't have a well leveled LTW, BSM, and CRP. You absolutely need the max melds from steps 4 and 5 above as a minimum.
Each supra tool requires 10 fieldcraft demimateria 3 (need LTW desynth 80+), 3 mastercraft demimateria (BSM desynth 80+, CRP able to easily make 2-star token turn-ins for artisan saws), and some specified gathered item. BTN/MIN require 99 NQ items from an unspoiled node, and FSH needs 3 NQ or 2 HQ fish that are a royal pain to catch. If you're able to do the demimaterias yourself, it's a big time sink with some cash investment. Buying the materias is a big cash investment. The gathered items (as of 2.55) require 408 gathering for BTN/MIN, and 349 for FSH.
BTN logs are on the east side of central shroud at 6am
MIN rocks are on the northeast side of central thanalan at 2am
FSH, look up olgoi (should be good enough to find a page)
8. Lucis tools?
This is the final installment for the 2.x series. BTN/MIN require 99 of the HQ versions of the supra turn-ins, which will require 389 perception. You're at the mercy of RNG though as your best bet in gathering these items is to make all nodes visible (300 GP) and then add 30% to HQ chance (300 GP). You won't have 100% gathering chance here so that's a 2nd layer of RNG to deal with.
I don't know the details of FSH yet, that will come later.
Beyond the gathered items, each lucis requires 20 moonstones, and 60 of another specified item. Moonstones can come from toadskin and up maps, but this isn't very reliable. The most reliable way to get them are by spending 4000 GC seals per. At 80k per set of 20, go do your favorite GC seal collection activity. The 60 of the other item can be bought at 600 seals per (so 36k total) and also the leves in St Coinach's randomly offer the items as awards.
Luckily this step isn't really difficult, it's just a huge time sink. If you can get your hands on forager body gear and secondary tools, those will increase your gathering chances some, but are not required to get this step done. I think you will have to add a materia or 2 to your off-hand tool though to reach the needed stats if you don't have any of this forager gear though.


text:
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Great recordings without the spin
This wonderful Christian Steiner portrait of Charles Gerhardt(1927-99) featured in my 2007 post LPs were like the force of gravity. Gerhardt's important contribution as a conductor, producer and champion of twentieth-century composers such as Howard Hanson, whose Second Symphony is the main work on the disc above, has never been fully recognised. So I was delighted when David Cavlovic sent me a link to a wonderful appreciation of Gerhardt's work. Reading Robert E. Benson's memories of Gerhardt prompted me to dig some of his great recordings out of my collection, and to write my own appreciation below.
Charles Gerhardt was a champion of the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and collaborated with the composer's son George on recordings of his film music. One result was the 1972 LP seen above conducted by Charles Gerhardt and produced by George Korngold, which is a true sonic and musical delight. At one time it was available as a Chesky CD transfer, but I can find no trace of it in the catalogue today.
Another result of the Korngold collabaration was the LP seen below of the composer's Symphony in F-Sharp which Charles Gerhardt produced with Rudolf Kempe (another grossly under-rated musician) conducting the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Again there is a long-deleted CD transfer. This was the first recording of the Korngold Symphony, and it stands head and shoulders above later versions from other conductors. The playing of the Munich brass in the scherzo still makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. There may be more corn than gold in the symphony, but inspired playing like this can still make it sound like great music.
One of the other conductors who subsequently recorded the Korngold Symphony was André Previn, who, to my amusement, has made several Korngold CDs for Deutsche Grammophon in recent years. When I was at EMI in the 1970s I suggested Previn consider a Korngold recording, but was told that, due to the conductor's Hollywood past, he did not want to be linked with composers of film music. Strange how locust years can change musical judgements. And, anyway, didn't Previn staples Shostakovich and Prokofiev also write film music? Just to prove every path has a twist, a few years later Previn took over tinsel town's own Los Angeles Philharmonic. His successor Esa-Pekka Salonen was less leery of film music, and early in his tenure with the orchestra made an excellent recording of Bernard Hermann's film scores.
But back to Korngold. The bust of the composer on the handsome RCA dust jacket is by Anna Mahler, who was married for a short time to Ernst Krenek, the composer of the opera Jonny spielt auf. Anna's mother featured here recently, quite appropriately, in Mrs Mahler - may I take my jacket off?
Charles Gerhardt also worked with Sir John Barbirolli, and their LP of Sibelius' Second Symphony is considered to be one of the great recorded accounts of the work. More Barbirolli in Glorious John in New York.
All LPs and CDs are from my collection. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk. Version 1.2 - 23/10/2009
13 comments:
- Pliable said...
Email received:
I thoroughly agree with all your points in this "path", especially how under-rated Rudolf Kempe was. Here was a German conductor whose recordings for EMI of Strauss is probably the best set of Richard's orchestral music out there. I well remember the original HMV pressings. Some of the CD transfers fared well, but, again, Kempe's legacy is woefully under-represented in the catalogues.
Another solid Bavarian conductor is Wolfgang Sawallisch. I'm hard-pressed to find an interpretation of his I don't like. I remember interviewing him years ago, when a particularly narcissistic German music critic took it upon himself to attack Swallisch's credibility as a conductor with the Bavarian State Opera. Sawallisch took it with quiet dignity, and carried on with his work.
And of Korngold: RCA's greatest contribution, apart from the Gerhardt productions, is the recording of Die Tote Stadt, with Carol Neblett, René Kollo, and conducted by Erich Leinsdorf (again, an under-rated conductor since he left Boston)
David Cavlovic
- 5:54 pm
- Pliable said...
Rudolf Kempe took over from Pierre Boulez as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1975. But he died, aged 65, the following year.
Wolfgang Sawallisch's recordings of the neglected Schubert Masses for EMI with the choir and orchestra of the Bayerischen Rundfunks are gems -
- 7:15 pm
- Joe Shelby said...
I second the Strauss-Kemp-EMI comment above. Very nice box for the price.
As for Previn and film score work (in L.A. at that), well, I was listening to his recording of the Alexander Nevsky Cantata when I read this entry. :)
- 7:58 pm
- Scott said...
To follow down another Korngold path, you could try the 1995 CD reissue of Korngold piano music with Anton Kubalek (Citadel CTD 88109). Interesting stuff, mostly written when Korngold was very young (as young as 11).
The CD is almost all of 2 LP's, one from 1973 and one from 1978.
The connection to yet another path is that one of the LP's is the only recording produced by Glenn Gould for a pianist other than himself.
- 9:13 pm
- Drew80 said...
I always thought the 1990's Welser-Most/Philadelphia Orchestra recording of the Symphony In F Sharp on EMI superseded the Kempe recording from the early 1970's.
I readily acknowledge, however, that the more recent Previn/LSO recording of the same work on DGG resolutely failed to come to life.
Does anyone have any thoughts about Korngold's (quite extended) Sinfonietta? I have never heard the work programmed, but I have heard the Dorian recording.
Simply curious.
- 10:18 pm
- Pliable said...
My thanks go to Alex Ross for gently pointing out that the bust of Korngold is by Anna, not Alma, Mahler -
I believe the bust is by Anna Mahler. Alma had many abilities, but I am not sure sculpting was among them!
My mistake is now corrected.
- 8:56 am
- Pliable said...
Drew, thanks for those interesting points.
I have the Chandos CD of Korngold's Sinfonietta which plays as I write. (Chandos also recorded his Cello Concerto).
The Sinfonietta (which is his Op. 5 incidentally) is an honest work, that deserves to be represented in the catalogue. However, for me it suffers to a greater degree that the Symphony from the failing that the musical argument is exhausted long before the end of the score. But that is a failing that Korngold shares with many better known names.
I have not heard Franz Welser-Möst's account of Korngold's Symphony. But I am taking the opportunity to highlight another Welser-Möst recording that is well worth seeking out, his CD of Franz Schmidt's Fourth Symphony.
It is deleted in the UK but, as I write, is in stock at Amazon.com for just $5.97.
Don't hesitate!
- 9:37 am
- Pliable said...
Jessica Duchen's biography of Korngold should be mentioned here -
- 1:35 pm
- Halldor said...
...and of course, Korngold's post-war Violin Concerto was dedicated to Alma Mahler-Werfel, his neighbour in exile in Los Angeles.
- 4:14 pm
- Pliable said...
Ah, I see it now. That's where Alma fits into the story ....
- 4:38 pm
- Nick said...
Comments on the Sinfonietta should be caveated with the jaw dropping fact that Korngold was in his mid-teens when it was written. I'm not sure I had half a second of inspiration in my entire life comparable to that let alone whether it runs out of musical steam (which actually I don't think it does - the ending is thrilling. In my opinion the Welser-Most certainly does NOT replace the Kempe recording - which in its LP form was cursed by some rather sub-fusc pressing issues certainly in its RCA Gold reissue format. The Seahawk disc was re-released on RCA (its opening is still one of the great orchestral star-rockets ever. Endlessly syncopating fanfares thrillingly dispatched by the awesome National PO) - Hanson disc on Chesky
- 10:56 am
- JMW said...
I was glad to read Nick's comments upon the Sinfonietta, as I was readying my own which closely mirrored the foregoing. Nick said it well, so I will only add that this work (begun when the composer was 14) is a magnificent manifestation of Korngold's young genius. I find no longueurs in the piece, excepting perhaps a spot in the finale; yet it is as Nick states, so thrilling to the point that any youthful excess is forgiven. Hearing three bars is all one needs to place its author, such is the individuality of the composer's harmonic and orchestration palette. I like many, was introduced to Korngold through Gerhardt's recordings, and I have been delighted to learn that he wrote even greater works than those bracing scores. Thank you for pointing us to the page honoring a terrific musician.
Though I didn't find Welser-Möst's take on the Symphony compelling, I did find Previn's DG recording fascinating for the heft he gave the work. Kempe still rules though.
- 5:46 pm
- Pliable said...
Email received:
The Sea Hawk
Dear Pliable,
It was good to see your enthusiasm for this wonderful record, which has always been a favourite of mine. I didn't ever have the LP but I bought the CD (a standard RCA transfer, nothing to do with Chesky) after the sadly missed Geoffrey Parsons enthused about it and played me some of the tracks. He had been told about it by Leslie Howard - so it has had some distinguished admirers. It has always sounded spectacular, and still does, even next to some of the best of today's SACDs. The playing is truly glorious - one wonders exactly which distinguished session players were making up the 'National Philharmonic Orchestra' that day - they were clearly having a ball.
Incidentally I picked up at Gramex (a marvellous source of unconsidered trifles, rarities and bargains) Previn's DG recording, fortunately for only a couple of pounds. It sounds sumptuous, but he and the LSO sound half asleep - it's no match for the Gerhardt version.
Incidentally, thank you for your Overgrown Path - always stimulating, sometimes infuriating and never dull - I miss it when you're on holiday!
Best wishes,
Christopher Middleton
- 10:09 pm


text:
Blomp Coathanger Knows Where Your Keys
Here's a neat little gift both for your home and for yourself, the Blomp Coathanger, a tiny wall-mounted device that not only acts as a handy coathanger but also doubles as an even handier receptacle for keys and other small objects. However we would advise against placing your money, credit cards or cell phones inside the Blomp Coathanger. Instead better keep those things closer so you can always reach them. Getting back to this tiny Blomp Coathanger designed by David Cathro, we can tell you it's made of polyester and resin, comes in white, orange or black and measures 16.5cm x 16.5cm. In other words it's the perfect thing to order this Christmas, whether for you or for that special friend that keeps losing his/her car and/or house keys. Via A Cathro Design


text:
When you receive your customer's PayPal payment on an invoice, you will receive the funds instantly within your PayPal account.
To transfer funds from your PayPal account to your bank account, it usually takes between 3 to 5 business days; weekends and holidays may affect the exact timing of when your money is deposited. Also, additional holding periods may apply when transferring money depending on your bank account.
After PayPal has verified your identity to comply with anti-money laundering regulations and to reduce the risk of fraud, you can start transferring your funds from PayPal to your bank account.
PayPal offers a couple different options for transferring your money to your bank account once you get paid, including manual or automatic transfers. If you would like to manually transfer your money to your bank account you can log into to your PayPal account at any time and process this transfer. To set up automatic transfers, which transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank account on a nightly recurring basis, enable the PayPal "Auto Sweep" feature.
Follow these steps to enable the PayPal Auto Sweep feature:
- Log in to your PayPal account
- In the top right corner of the browser, click Profile
- In the Profile drop down, click Profile and settings
- Under My Profile, click My money
- In the section PayPal Balance, hover over More
- Click Auto sweep
- Click Edit
- Click Yes
- Select the bank you want your money transferred to
- Click Save
If you do not see the option to enable "Auto Sweep," please contact PayPal support and they will help you get it setup. This feature may not be available in all geographies.


text:
After you purchase this video commercial we will send you the mp4 video download link... All LEADZmachine branding will be removed from your video.
According to DigitalSherpa, 90% of customers say that seeing a product sales video is helpful in their decision process yet virtually zero local businesses use video marketing.
When you offer video to describe your law practice you get visitors and prospects to stop, look and take action! Use video on your website, on Facebook ads, Google ads, YouTube ads, social media pages, landing pages, sales pages, web banners, offline posters and much, much more! You can use this video in any of your own projects and for any purpose to promote your business but it does not include resell rights meaning you cannot sell this video for profit.
Have Questions? Call Randy Now At: (386) 246-7215
Copyright © 2015. LEADZmachine All Rights Reserved.
This is the bottom slider area. You can edit this text and also insert any element here. This is a good place if you want to put an opt-in form or a scarcity countdown.


text:
Monday, 20 March 2017
Happy Ostara!
Today is the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, a date which pagans call Ostara (from the same root word as Easter, estrus, estrogen, etc.)
The Goddess of Spring awakens under the earth following Her long winter repose. Her Divine Feminine energy spirals upwards to the surface to bring growth, renewal and new life to the world once more.
May Her bright blessings be yours today as well!
39 comments:
- anne marie in philly said...
and how we DO need the goddess of springtime around these parts! last week's snow is still present. c'mon, spring!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Mark said...
I didn't realise today was the equinox. I thought that happened on the 21st.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Marie Smith said...
Happy spring, Debra!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Snap said...
I'm afraid Ostara has completely gone missing! Straight into May temps.... bodes ill for Ughust!!!!!!!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Miss Val's Creations said...
I really appreciate the Goddess of Spring. Now if she will just work her magic here and melt the snow, I would be wonderful!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- DEZMOND said...
I hate spring, it announces summer and I'm a polar coon!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- jaz@octoberfarm said...
i'm with dezmond! let's just get the whole spring and summer thing over with as soon as possible. i hate this time of year.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- MrsDuncanMahogany said...
My gawd do I ever love that photo! Happy Ostara to you and your Rare One! May the blessings of spring find you and keep you! xo
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Harry Hamid said...
Here in Houston, it was hot until late November last year, and we're back up in the upper eighties now.
So I sure wish the Goddess of Spring would stay sleeping just a little bit longer.
I hope you have a great Equinox and a great Spring, anyway!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Joanne Noragon said...
Not a minute too soon.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- John M said...
I love this image. I can see old man winter fading away on the top right.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Jono said...
I love goddesses. Some day I hope to find one to love me back so I don't feel like old man winter.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- JACKIESUE said...
Goddess bless you ..Jono cracks me up
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...
That's beautiful. Thank you, Deb.
Happy Spring Equinox!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- e said...
Beautiful image! Thank you, Debra, and a wondrous Ostara to you as well!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- A Beer for the Shower said...
I officially planted my garden today, so this chica better not decide she needs another nap soon, or my springtime salsa is toast.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Rain said...
Happy Ostara Debra :) I'm celebrating the beginning of spring by planting some herbs, and saying goodbye to winter by having a farewell Coq au Vin filled with winter root veggies :) The sun has disappeared but I felt the warmth a little bit this morning thankfully! Have a great day!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Toni said...
Didn't you hear? Ostara is on vacation. She's in Jamaica and said call her in June and she'll join us for the equinox if it ever warms up!
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Linda d said...
A fresh new start♥
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Magaly Guerrero said...
May her blooming fire keep you warm.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Martha said...
What an amazing image! Awakenings...oh, how I love spring.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Linda said...
Happy Spring!
You need any Robins out there?
Linda :o)
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Janie Junebug said...
It was beautiful today and has been every day lately. It feels like spring.
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Adam said...
I remember last year reading (as I was searching for such BS for fun) a Christian article that denies the fact that Easter is based on her name. But then again Christians do deny all facts and logic
- Monday, March 20, 2017
- Lynn said...
It was a perfect spring day yesterday in Atlanta for the first day of spring. I never mind winter too much (it's not so brutal down here), but spring is always welcome.
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Holly said...
I adore this image! How totally perfect. May you know Bright Blessings both near and far as the Wheel turns once more.
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- This N That said...
More information gleaned!! Happy Spring to you..
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Professor Chaos said...
I had no idea thsts where the word Easter comes from. I always assumed it had something to do with egg-laying bunny rabbits.
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- This N That said...
More interesting information gleaned!! Happy Spring to you!!
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Birdie said...
And what a sleep she has had! I. Glad she's back. Old Man Winter can fuck off.
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Jim said...
I too like this image!
I really like 'spring'....it is up there with 'fall'.
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Bill Lisleman said...
Happy spring - I could use some energy
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Magic Love Crow said...
Such a gorgeous image!!! Happy Ostara Debra! Blessings! Big Hugs!
- Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Hindustanka said...
Happy Ostara Debra!
Such a beautiful picture of the Goddess... By the way, has the Spring really come to Canada? It was still quite cold there until now :)
- Wednesday, March 22, 2017
- Debi said...
YES I am awaking Thank you for noticing! Yawn, stretch, ouch, that hurt! Anyway, its self help season and sunny days ( ways! Wink wink) ahead! Off to wash down my lawn chairs! Huge Hugs! xoDebi
- Thursday, March 23, 2017
- The Captain said...
I'm so glad winter is behind us. I'm looking forward to being warm again.
- Friday, March 24, 2017
- Cheryl said...
I am all on board for her to wake up and start making things "springy". Interesting picture with the winder above her.
- Saturday, March 25, 2017
- Fundy Blue said...
Happy spring, Debra! I was in Honolulu and forgot the spring equinox for the first time ever! Wow!
- Saturday, April 01, 2017
- The Happy Whisk said...
Happy New Year!
- Sunday, April 02, 2017


text:
Wildfire Hits Area South of Lake Thunderbird (Aug 03, 2012)
NOBLE, Okla. (AP) - A wind-whipped wildfire sweeping through rural woodlands south of the Oklahoma City has burned a number of homes as firefighters struggle to contain it in 113-degree heat.
Oklahoma emergency management officials say a handful of homes are among 25 structures burned Friday east of Noble. The sheriff's office has directed residents of 75 to 100 houses to leave the area as flames spread through the treetops. The evacuation area covers about 30 square miles.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or livestock losses from the fires, which also charred areas near Geary and Luther.
The ongoing drought, high temperatures and gusty winds mean it's been easy for fires to begin and spread, and difficult to put them out.
Eleven fires in all are being monitored in Oklahoma Friday afternoon.
« back


text:
MediaSpace Error while uploading: XPath expression exception evaluating result"
getting an error message when uploading a recording on MediaSpace that says "Error while uploading: XPath expression exception evaluating result" and then gives you a choice to "Retry" or "Exit".
From: "Timothy P. VanLoon" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Date: September 5, 2014 at 9:29:59 AM CDT
To: Desire2Learn Campus Trainers <email@example.com>
Subject: RE: MediaSpace error meaning
Reply-To: "Timothy P. VanLoon" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Thanks Kathy. I agree it is a great system and seems to be very reliable and I like working with it as it is very user friendly. However, in this last week now I have seen this error message come up twice for faculty and I would like answers and I haven't gotten any so that is why I sent it out on the listserve today to see if anybody else has seen the error and find out what they know.
We have been using Tegrity for the last 6-8 years and it can be a real pain to work with (as well as very expensive) so I am trying to wean the faculty off of Tegrity on onto MediaSpace, but if word gets out that MediaSpace is throwing them error messages it just make the hill that much steeper for me in this uphill battle to get faculty to try something new.
|Timothy VanLoonInstructional Technologist/D2L System Administrator
Southeast Technical
507.453.2722 phone
507.453.1422 fax
From: Kathy Grady [mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com]
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2014 8:24 AM
To: Timothy P. VanLoon; Desire2Learn Campus Trainers
Subject: RE: MediaSpace error meaning
Hi Tim – I have not seen this error – I just tried a couple videos, one an mp4 and the other an mov file and they uploaded and processed just fine. We have several people using MediaSpace with very little issues so I guess when you run into these issues – is to email Todd Digby and turn in a HD ticket as soon as you get notice of the issue.
Even with these strange things that periodically happen – I am thankful for this system, it has been a long time in coming. Please take it from me, who managed media streaming servers locally for five years, it was a royal pain and not an easy service to keep functioning at all times.
Kathy Grady
Learning Systems & Services Manager
North Hennepin Community College
7411 85th Ave N
Brooklyn Park, Mn 55445
From: Timothy P. VanLoon [mailto:email@example.com]
Sent: Friday, September 5, 2014 7:57 AM
To: Desire2Learn Campus Trainers
Subject: MediaSpace error meaning
Has anyone else experienced getting an error message when uploading a recording on MediaSpace that says "Error while uploading: XPath expression exception evaluating result" and then gives you a choice to "Retry" or "Exit". Hitting "Retry" seems to do nothing and I have not selected "Exit". The recording does finish uploading and the message comes up saying it finished uploading and then the recording seems to play normally but the message box does not go away unless you close it out. I would like to know what this message is about and what I am supposed to tell faculty when this happens and will the recording continue to upload properly and playback properly every time. I any pushing hard to get faculty moved over to using MediaSpace and this is a little unsettling when I tell them it is a reliable recording/playback tool and then they get this message and I don't know what to tell them except wait and it should end up fine.
|Timothy VanLoonInstructional Technologist/D2L System Administrator
Southeast Technical
507.453.2722 phone
507.453.1422 fax
You are currently subscribed to d2lcampustrainers as: email@example.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to firstname.lastname@example.com
You are currently subscribed to d2lcampustrainers as: email@example.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Re-claiming the mission of the Civic University in the 21st century3 October 2018
CHES Seminar Wednesday, 3 October 2018
Re-claiming the mission of the Civic University in the 21st century: some preliminary thoughts and a future agenda
Professor Mary Stuart, CBE, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lincoln
5.30 – 7.00 pm, Room 828, Level 8, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAL
The history of the Civic University is well documented (Goddard, Hazelkorn, Kempton and Vallance, 2016; Whyte, 2015) highlighting the role Universities played historically and regionally in the development of economies and changing patterns of work. Since the introduction of fees and markets in higher education in the UK many aspects of community involvement have been swept away; departments of continuing education have closed, part time study has been decimated and staff in Universities have focused on current undergraduate student need and demands.
Goddard J, Hazelkorn E, Kempton L and Vallance P (2016) (eds) The Civic University: The Policy and Leadership Challenges, Elgar: Cheltenham
Harris M and Holley, K (2016) 'Universities as Anchor Institutions: Economic and Social Potential for Urban Development', in Paulson M (eds) Higher Education Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol 31, Springer: Switzerland pages 393 - 439
Markusen A (2006)
Whyte W (2015) Redbrick: A Social and Architectural History of Britain's Civic Universities, OUP: Oxford
Professor Mary Stuart is Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and the Open University where she obtained her Doctorate in Social Policy in 1998. She gained her Chair in Higher Education Studies in 2003. Her research interests are focused on life histories, social mobility, equality and higher education students and management and leadership in higher education and she has written extensively on these areas. Mary has a strong track record in all aspects of University management having been Deputy Vice Chancellor at Kingston University for 4 years and Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Sussex between 2000 and 2005. She is a HEFCE board member, chair of the Teaching Excellence and Student Opportunity Committee, a member of HEFCE's Student Information Advisory Group, Vice Chair of the Equality Challenge Unit and an UPP Foundation Board member. Mary has a strong commitment to the arts having been a member of the Arts Council in the South East and East Midlands as well as being a keen theatre goer, a lover of modern art and all jazz.
For more information and to register, please contact Alison Peacock.
Email: email@example.com


text:
The cost of medical marijuana in Canada is set to hit a new high as the government seeks to get out of the business.
Regulations posted Friday by Health Canada propose medical marijuana should be treated more like any other medicine.
Essentially, the new system would create licensed grow-ops that people could shop at, provided they have a prescription from their doctor.
Currently, those who wish to use medical marijuana must apply for a permit from the government in order to either grow it themselves or buy it from a single government grower.
There has been demand for years for the system to change because of health and safety concerns and also issues surrounding access and quality.
But the changes will come at a cost for users.
"The main economic cost associated with the proposed (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) would arise from the loss to consumers who may have to pay a higher price for dried marijuana," the regulations say.
Currently, the price of medical marijuana in Canada ranges from $1.80 to $5.00 a gram.
It will rise to $8.80 under the new system, which would see consumers forfeit about $166 million a year for 10 years, the regulations say.
That's in part because the government will stop subsidizing the marijuana it sells.
Canadians have had access to marijuana for medical purposes since 1999 and the system has been tweaked several times since thanks mostly to court cases.
The posted regulations say the growth of the program has placed a strain on Health Canada's resources.
In 2002, 477 individuals were authorized to possess marijuana for medical purposes. As of August, that number had grown to 21,986.
The majority grow their own marijuana or buy from a supplier, not the government.
That's created concerns for Health Canada, which pegs the cost of running the program between 2010 and 2013 at $16.8 million, not including tax. An additional year would cost $9.7 million.
Law enforcement authorities have had their own worries.
"Police have also raised concerns that residential production activities leave the program vulnerable to abuse, including criminal involvement and diversion to the illicit market, particularly given the attractive street value of marijuana," the regulations say.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of people in the program who grow their own marijuana produce 25 plants or more, and many production sites aren't properly set up to handle that, the regulations say.
The risk of mould, toxic exposure and electrical hazards is widespread.
In January, inspectors in Calgary examined an operation licensed by Health Canada and found several infractions, including building code violations and compromised air intake.
Toxins, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer and potentially contaminated drinking water were also found.
"Such issues may not only have an impact on individual producers, but also potentially on those living at the same address, adjacent residential units, and/or in the surrounding community, who may not even suspect the existence of these risks," the regulations say.
For its role in the production and sale of marijuana, the government collected $1,686,600 in 2011-2012.
Health Canada would not regulate the price of marijuana under the new system, leaving it up to licensed producers who would have to agree to a set of conditions before being able to produce the drug.
"The new regulatory scheme returns Health Canada to its traditional role of regulator rather than producer and service provider, while striking a better balance between access and risks to public health and safety," the regulations say.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced last year that she intended to get the government out of the business of growing medical marijuana.
A series of consultations were held across the country on the new program before the regulations were unveiled.
The government is inviting public comment on the new system for the next 75 days.