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For Father Henry, Franciscan Students' Joy Is Fondest Memory
After thirteen years of service, Franciscan University of Steubenville's president announces his retirement at the end of the current academic year.
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — The greatest blessing for Franciscan University of Steubenville's president has been witnessing the enthusiasm of students, Father Terence Henry said after the news of his retirement as was announced.
In a Jan. 28 interview with CNA, he recalled serving as pastor of the student body, which he said was highlighted by greeting the students every day as they made their way to 8 a.m. classes.
"Seeing their enthusiasm and joy," he said, "confirmed" the hope of Christ and his promise to "be with his Church until the end of the world."
"One can never despair when you see our students and meet our graduates," he said. "I feel my greatest blessing as president [has been] to see that every day — it's just something that I'll always remember."
After serving as the university president for the past 13 years — significantly longer than the national average tenure of a school president — Franciscan University announced that Fr. Henry will step down from his role at the end of the academic year.
"I'm looking back on the time and it has gone by very quickly and I'm just grateful and conscious of the many blessings that the school has experienced during that time," he said.
Father Henry, a Third Order Regular Franciscan, is the school's fifth president, directly preceded by Father Michael Scanlan, the priest who reformed the school from a fading party college to a thriving university known for its authentic Catholic identity and academic excellence.
When he took over after Father Scanlon's "exceptional" 26-year term as university president, Father Henry said many people questioned what course the university would take following its radical transformation in the 1980s.
"I think that I helped answer that question by maintaining that fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church," without which, he said, "a Catholic university has no purpose of existing."
Already known for its theology and philosophy departments after the leadership of Father Scanlan, the university expanded its academic reach to include 19 new academic programs such as business, legal studies, biology and bioethics during Father Henry's time as president.
"Other programs are getting there as well and it's just awesome that our school's reputation is continuing to grow," he said.
In 2007, the university established the Institute of Bioethics under the direction of Dr. Patrick Lee, which seeks to resist the "culture of death" by promoting Catholic-based research, writing, speaking and conferences.
Under Father Henry's direction, enrollment has reached an all-time high in 2012 with 2,466 graduate and undergraduate students, the physical campus has more than doubled in size with 249 acres and the Barons athletics teams have gained re-entry into the NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports with 15 men's and women's programs.
Mission-Driven Success
Father Henry's time as president has been marked by growth and expansion of the university in ways that can only be attributed to God and the faithfulness of the faculty, staff and students in responding to the needs of the Church, he said.
"I attribute that to the real dedication of our faculty and staff and just about anybody who works for the mission of our school," he said. "They really are mission-driven — they make the president look good."
Although Father Henry does not know where his next assignment will take him, he said that wherever he goes "there will be a great demand because the needs of the Church are many."
In response to the question of where the university will be another thirteen years from now, Father Henry said he prays it will be "right there at the points of attack" where the culture contradicts the Church.
The new president will be decided by the board of trustees, who will select from friars recommended by the order's minister provincial, Father Nicholas Polichnowski.
"Our present provincial is a former teacher here at Franciscan University," Father Henry noted, "so I know that the choice of successor will be in good hands."


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Our Story
Our mission: To engage Mississippians with visual art.
The move
The move from the Arts Center of Mississippi to the new facility in 2007 was small geographically, amounting to no more than a city block, yet it pushed the Museum light years ahead in terms of capabilities, technology, and the overall philosophy of what an art museum means to the community. The facility's brilliant architectural makeover reflects the Museum's mission to become a symbolic "museum without walls" – an inviting public space that offers relevant and meaningful cultural experiences to both the Jackson community and the state of Mississippi. The completed building represented Phase 1 of the decade-long plan to transform the Museum's surroundings into a cohesive cultural district in Downtown Jackson.
The architecture
The architecture of the Museum is a tangible manifestation of a philosophical mission. For many years, the mission of MMA was "collecting, preserving and exhibiting art," a typical museum mission statement. However, when the Board of Trustees of the Museum began to plan the building process for the new facility, the mission was changed to "engage Mississippians with visual art," a statement that focuses on community interaction and personal experience. The architects, Glavé and Holmes in Richmond, Virginia, and Dale & Associates locally, applied this new philosophical mission to the architecture of the building, creating a sleek, open design for the once-rectangular building. The Museum lobby and entryway is filled with light through the use of a large amount of glass and by raising the roof of the entryway. Museum visitors plainly see not only the entrance to the Museum but other visitors inside the building, breaking down barriers and creating a transparent front door that makes everyone feel welcome. The vibrant Palette Café encourages visitors to sit and relax, and the patio and terrace create welcoming and comfortable spaces that compose the front porch of the downtown cultural district.
In Fall 2011, the Museum completed Phase 2 of the visionary plan, opening The Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, a 1.2 acre public green space complete with outdoor art installations, the sprawling BankPlus Green, a performance stage, and various spaces for visitors to engage with the arts in a variety of forms. Symbolically, The Art Garden breaks down barriers between the neighboring arts organizations and serves as a nexus that empowers creativity, expression, and synergy in the arts community. The Art Garden has, from the beginning, been a public-private partnership with the city of Jackson. Numerous private and individual donors, as well as state and federal agencies, contributed to and helped to realize the grand vision. Architect Madge Bemiss oversaw construction, and carried the torch passed by the late Ed Blake (1947-2010), whose imagination and forward thinking years before laid foundations for The Art Garden.
The Mississippi Museum of Art has been a community-supported institution for more than 100 years, and was at its former location since the late 1970s. The Museum boasts a seasoned staff of museum professionals and fiscally responsible administrators who have been managing operating budgets for over 30 years. These individuals have worked to ensure that the Museum's renovations and upgrades are the best thing for the art and people of Mississippi. The Museum's twenty-nine affiliate museums across the state will continue to benefit from the loan of artwork and traveling exhibitions, ensuring that even those Mississippians who cannot make the trip to Jackson can enjoy our rich cultural history. MMA continues to expand its programs and community outreach that are already in place.
In 2010, the Museum received the National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute of Museum of Library Services, a federal agency. The medal is the highest national honor awarded annually to five museums and five libraries. In 2010, the Mississippi Museum of Art was the only art museum to be recognized with this distinction. Support and recognition from local, regional, and federal arts organizations serve as reminders of the Museum's successes and motivation for continued excellence and innovation. The Museum also plays a pivotal role in the revitalization of downtown Jackson. Situated between Thalia Mara Hall and the Jackson Convention Complex, the Museum and The Art Garden serve as the anchors of Jackson's cultural district, and Downtown Jackson. Visitors to the Jackson Convention Complex will get a grand impression of Mississippi's creative heritage. Meeting goers, as well as everyday downtowners, can adjourn to the Museum for particularly inspirational coffee and lunch breaks (it sets the stage for a remarkable rebirth of Downtown Jackson). Mississippi has always had an abundant supply of creative energy. The Mississippi Museum of Art strives to be a fountainhead attracting people from all walks to discuss the issues and glories of the past and present, while continuing to inspire progress in the future.
The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
To see the Museum's most recent audited financial statement and tax return, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
We invite you to peruse our current strategic plan, and hope you will visit soon and help us continue the mission.

subset: commoncrawl


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Template:Disambiguate Star Trek Online (STO or ST:O for short) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Cryptic Studios. Released in February 2010, the game takes place in the year 2409, nearly thirty years after Star Trek Nemesis and 22 years after the destruction of Romulus as depicted in Star Trek.
The year is 2409, and the Federation and the Klingon Empire are once again at war. The rise of a new Chancellor, J'mpok, sees the Khitomer Accords torn up, and an aggressive campaign of Klingon expansion underway. The Romulans, directionless and adrift after the destruction of their homeworld in 2387, continue to intrigue amongst themselves - a conflict which inevitably draws the Federation in to the machinations of the once-proud Star Empire. The Cardassians, still recovering from the Dominion War, stir up trouble near Deep Space 9, as does a resurgent Terran Empire. And, after a period of relative inactivity, the Borg have begun to encroach on the Alpha Quadrant once more, attacking the Vega colony. At the same time, the Undine - known to the Borg as Species 8472 - aggrieved at what appear to be incursions into fluidic space by Alpha Quadrant powers, have begun infiltrating the major powers and driving them to conflict. And, behind all of this, a mysterious, ancient presence...
Following the termination of development on the earlier version of the game by Perpetual Entertainment, Cryptic acquired the license for Star Trek Online in January 2008, [1] and subsequently hired several members of the Perpetual development team. The game was rebuilt from scratch as Cryptic had acquired no useful assets from Perpetual aside from several pieces of concept art that may be included in the final game. [2] [3]
On 27 July 2008, after placing a countdown timer on its website, Cryptic officially announced that they were the new developers and publishers of Star Trek Online. The official website was relaunched with details and screen shots. [4]
On 10 August 2008, at the official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, Cryptic released several key details of the game as well as a gameplay trailer derived directly from the functioning game. Although no release date was announced at the time, Cryptic Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert hinted that it would be sooner than players would expect, and certainly within the next three years.
Along with Cryptic's other assets and projects, Star Trek Online was acquired by French game company Infogrames on 9 December 2008, and would be listed under its Atari brand at release. [5]
Star Trek Online entered the closed beta stage on 22 October 2009. On 9 November 2009, the February 2010 release date was announced, with open beta details being released the following week. The open beta stage was originally intended to last from 12 January 2010 through 24 January 2010. This was ultimately extended until 26 January 2010, when the final day saw Cryptic stage a Klingon invasion of the Sol system, later interrupted by a full-scale Borg attack on Earth Spacedock which targeting both sides. A head-start offer to customers who had pre-ordered the game allowed them into the full game on 29 January 2010, ahead of standard retail customers.
Star Trek Online was released in the United States on 2 February 2010, and 5 February 2010 in Europe. Several different editions were available at launch, as well as a number of retailer-specific pre-order bonuses. Aside from the standard release, Deluxe and Collectors' Editions were produced, as was a digital release, the Digital Deluxe Edition. Each came with thirty days of free game time, although players were required to provide payment details when signing up.
The Collectors' Edition was only released in the United States. Packaged in a unique box, it came with a deluxe manual featuring extensive artwork, a metal replica of the standard combadge used in game, three 3-day timecards for referrals, as well as a redemption code for the uniforms seen in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and a special in-game item.
The Deluxe Edition was a European edition of the Collectors' Edition, omitting the deluxe manual, combadge and the additional timecards, but including a special Star Trek Online T-shirt, a set of artcards and a version of the game's galaxy map.
The Digital Deluxe Edition was a download of the game, and therefore had no physical box or extras, but provided a number of in-game items, including the ability to play as a Joined Trill, the ability to add an NX prefix to the player's starship, two special emotes, and a special weapon.
Retailer-specific pre-order bonuses included the ability to command a Borg Bridge Officer, a TR-116 rifle, and a Template:ShipClass starting ship with unique weaponry which scaled with the player's level.
Perfect World acquisition
Perfect World, a China-based game developer and publisher, announced on 31 May 2011 that it was in talks to acquire Cryptic Studios from Atari, including the Star Trek Online property and development team. The acquisition was completed in early August 2011, the transition involving the removal of all Atari branding from the game (including reverting the usage of Atari Tokens to Cryptic Points). Amongst the other developments as a result of the transition was the lifting of a hiring freeze in order to add more developers to the staff, and ramp up for new content. [6]
On 2 September 2011, it was revealed that STO would transition to a free-to-play (F2P) access model before the end of the year. Further details of the model, including a comparison of the features available to both player tiers, were released on 6 September 2011 - the model sees Silver members (free players) restricted to smaller inventory sizes, bank slots, Bridge Officer slots, as well as restrictions on in-game chat, mail, voice chat, and access to the STO forums. Gold members (subscribers and Lifetime members) would have access to the Foundry user-generated content editor, as well as a monthly stipend of 400 Cryptic Points. All content will be freely available to both tiers. Klingon content now unlocks after achieving level 24 on a Federation character. [7]
On 9 November 2011, it was announced that STO would go free-to-play on 17 January 2012, but many of the F2P-related changes would be released on the main server during the first week of December (later confirmed to be 1 December 2011). [8] On 28 November 2011, it was announced the F2P launch would go under the Season 5: Call to Arms title. [9]
STO's gameplay is largely combat-based (although non-combat missions are present, and a specific "Diplomatic" advancement path is available). Players may choose to align themselves with the United Federation of Planets or the Klingon Empire. The Federation is the most strongly developed in terms of mission gameplay, with the Klingon faction originally intended as a pure PvP (Player vs. Player) faction - although this has begun to change in more recent updates. For new players, the option to choose Klingon characters is not available until the player has first reached level 5 (this is has been currently changed to level 24 with the transition to F2P).
The player's principal character is the captain of their own vessel, with support characters assigned as Bridge Officers. These Officers provide the player with additional skills and abilities both in space and on the ground. Starting as an Ensign (Starfleet) or Warrior (Klingon), the player gains skill points and specializations via gameplay to advance in rank, unlocking new skills and more powerful ships along the way, until reaching the maximum rank.
|Rank progression
|Federation Rank
|Lieutenant Commander
|Rear Admiral, Lower Half
|Rear Admiral, Upper Half
|Vice Admiral
|Klingon Rank
|Lieutenant Commander
|Brigadier General
|Major General
|Lieutenant General
The game staff intend for the level cap ultimately to be extended to Fleet Admiral/Dahar Master. Bridge Officers may also be promoted up until Commander level, unlocking the use of new skills.
A difficulty slider is available for players to change the level at which they play. At Normal difficulty, the enemies are of an equal level to that of the mission, and rewards and equipment drops are at a standard level. At Advanced and Elite difficulties, the enemies are more powerful, but equipment drops provide rarer devices, and mission rewards are scaled higher. At the two higher difficulties, the death of your character or the destruction of your ship can result in the imposition of injuries, which impair the player in different ways depending on the nature of the injury - for example, a Minor Concussion injury on the player's character results in a reduction in their resistance to energy damage.
Principal gameplay occurs through the completion of missions. These missions are acquired from communication with superior officers, and often involved travel to a particular system, where space and ground objectives must be completed to earn rewards. Some missions span multiple systems. There are several types of mission encountered in STO:
Tour of Duty
This is the tutorial mission encountered by all players upon starting a new Federation character. The player assumes the role of an officer aboard his starting starship, during the Borg attack on the Vega colony. After assisting the USS Khitomer in repelling a Borg invasion (introducing basic movement, combat and interaction), the player finds themself in command of their ship, and must assist in recovery operations (introducing basic starship operations), engage a weakened Borg force in orbit (introducing starship combat) and on the surface (introducing power "kits" and combat tactics), and finally join a Starfleet task force to eliminate a Borg cube. Upon completion of the tutorial, the player proceeds to Earth Spacedock, to begin the game proper.
Episode Missions
These missions provide the central backbone of the STO storyline. Each "Episode" features an extended storyline across a number of individual missions, relating to a particular Trek race. The Episodes take place in separate "Fronts" made up of specific sectors. Most Fronts have at least one Starbase where the officers who provide missions are based and players can purchase equipment and upgrades.
Klingon Front
After an introductory mission to rescue a disabled freighter, the player encounters an Undine agent, prevents the kidnap of Miral Paris, follows a chain of listening posts to a Klingon base, stops a dangerous genetic engineering experiment, travels in time to complete a predestination paradox, and stops the Klingons from taking control of a Doomsday machine.
Romulan Front
The player encounters the mysterious Franklin Drake and becomes embroiled in the machinations of Section 31, unwittingly allows another Undine agent to infiltrate the Romulans, prevents data on Borg technology from being exploited by Romulan hands, uncovers the truth behind the Hobus supernova and its connection to Iconia, combats the Devidians, and deals with Empress Sela's alliance with the Hirogen.
Cardassian Front
Called to Deep Space 9 to help combat the True Way, a rogue Cardassian faction, the player again tangles with the Undine, recovers a Federation starship trapped in the Bajoran wormhole, learns what the Klingons want in the Minos Korva system, recovers an Orb, and encounters a resurgent Terran Empire before crossing into the mirror universe.
Borg Front
The Klingons and the Federation, recognizing the threat posed by the Borg, have combined forces in the Gamma Orionis sector. The player is caught in the crossfire of the Borg-Undine conflict, counteracts a Borg nanovirus, encounters the mischievous Q and travels back to the Battle of Wolf 359 to prevent the Borg from changing history.
Undine Front
The player discovers a third party in the ongoing conflict in the Gamma Orionis sector after a mysterious vessel destroys a Borg cube. Preventing the Borg from discovering the key to assimilating the Undine, entering fluidic space and gaining new allies, and attempting to negotiate a truce with the Undine leads to the discovery of an Iconian gateway in fluidic space...
There are two types of exploration mission provided in gameplay - Sector Exploration missions, and Star Cluster Exploration missions.
Sector Exploration missions (also known as Patrols) utilize the sectors present in the main galaxy map and the systems present there. These typically involve visiting four star systems within a particular sector and resolving individual missions in each. These mission, once completed, cannot be replayed.
Star Clusters are located in "deep space", outside the normal galaxy map, and are populated with systems generated by Cryptic's "Genesis Engine", which provides a randomized mission for each player. A mission involving exploration of these clusters typically requires the completion of three missions. These exploration mission are repeatable, and reward the player with dilithium which can be exchanged for equipment.
Introduced in the Season Two update, the Federation Diplomatic Corps provides a combat-minimal method of advancement for players. Diplomatic missions are provided by Ambassador Jiro Sugihara, and are typically Exploration missions where combat does not take place. Some special non-repeatable Diplomatic missions are also available, and progression through the Corps' ranking structure unlocks first contact missions, as well as transwarp capabilities and unique diplomatic titles.
Deep Space Encounters
These are simple combat encounters, triggered when approaching or encountering a wandering enemy vessel in Sector Space. The encounter is resolved after defeating nine-ten groups of enemy ships. "Defend the... Sector" missions require a player to complete three DSEs. The enemy ships are at a level roughly equivalent to the missions within the sector, are related to the front to which that sector belongs, and do not level up with the player.
Fleet Actions
Fleet Actions are extended combat encounters at fixed locations, involving groupings of players working together to combat a significant threat. Both space- and ground-based Fleet Actions can be found, and often require complex tactics needing coordination of players.
Feature Episodes
Feature Episodes [10] were introduced with Season Two. A series of five missions, forming a connected storyline, is released weekly. Each series focuses on a specific race, and provides unique rewards associated with the storyline, as well as limited-time additional rewards for completing the series soon after its release. Both Federation and Klingon players may attempt the missions, which are restricted to above a certain level. Additional daily missions may be added during the series, and all of the episodes are retained within the game following the end of the series. Feature Episode reruns introduced in May 2011 have allowed another chance for players to earn the limited-time rewards, as well as newly introduced rewards.
The Feature Episode series that have been released so far have been (with their debut dates in parentheses):
- Series 1: The Breen (August-September 2010) - The player must unravel the reasons for Breen interest in the Deferi, a newly-encountered race, and protect the Deferi from Breen encroachment.
- Series 2: The Devidians (October-November 2010) - The Devidians seek to use time, and the ongoing conflict in the Neutral Zone, to their own advantage.
- Series 3: Cloaked Intentions (February-March 2011) - The internal struggles of the Romulans continue, pulling the Federation and KDF into the predicament.
- Series 4: The 2800 (February-March 2012) - The Dominion fleet that disappeared in DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels" emerges from the Bajoran wormhole after having been displaced through time by the Prophets, and takes control of Deep Space Nine. The Odyssey class USS Enterprise-F made its formal debut in the series finale, "Boldly They Rode", on 10 March 2012.
Daily Missions
These are repeatable missions set on a timer, so that a player may only complete them, and receive the appropriate reward, once in a 24-hour period (although the actual reset time is 20-22 hours). Most Daily Missions are intended for maximum-level players, and provide rewards that can be traded for special equipment and weapons.
Special Task Forces
Special Task Forces (STFs) are a unique mission type, created as "endgame" content for maximum-level players. More difficult and extensive than ordinary missions, the STFs are intended to be undertaken by a team of five players. Four STFs are currently available - "Infected", "The Cure", "Khitomer Accord", and "Terradome" - all centered around the Borg-Undine conflict. Following the increase of the level cap in the Season Two update, two different versions of each STF were made available, one for each of the two upper ranks. With Season Three, the first three STFs reward the player with Borg technology that can be incorporated into their vessels, being reflected in the ship design. These missions received criticism because of their difficulty, along with the sheer number of enemies encountered, and the time required to complete. In Season Five, the first three STFs were split into shorter space- and ground-centric variants, and the rewards system was changed to be based on collecting data chips and salvage pieces to trade in for the old Borg items, as well as numerous new rewards and a tie-in to the accolades system to unlock costume pieces for one's character.
Episode Replay and Re-mastered Episodes
Episode Replay was added to the game during the Season Three update, allowing players to re-experience missions they have already completed, with some new rewards added for replaying. Additionally, certain episodes are being re-mastered, taking advantage of new storytelling technologies, such as career-specific objectives and cinematic cutscenes, added to the game's engine since the initial release.
Borg Red Alerts
Borg Red Alerts were added during Season Four as quasi-random Fleet Action-type events where players from both the Federation and Klingon Empire can team up to defeat Borg incursions into various sectors in the game. Players are given a limited amount of time to complete the event, but benefit from a XP-gain bonus during the event, and can earn special Accolades and (until the release of Season Five,) an XP-boosting item upon victory.
Crafting refers to the ability of players to research and create upgraded technologies for use by their character or their ship. Crafting takes place at Memory Alpha, and requires the collection of "data samples" which are acquired by scanning anomalies in space and on the ground. In the current crafting system, introduced as part of Season Three, these data samples are combined with "schematics", which provide the basic blueprint of the technology being researched. Certain very rare items can be crafted using rare "particle traces". The creation of new technologies provides the player with skill points, which increase the rarity of the technologies that can be crafted.
Additionally, special starship components, known as Aegis technologies, can be crafted at the highest end of the skill point range.
PvP gameplay, which is accessible to any player of level 5 or greater, is accomplished by means of a queuing system. Both ground and space mission types are available, and the queues are rank-limited so that only players of the same rank may play against each other. Three faction arrangements are possible - Federation versus Klingon, Klingon versus Klingon (House Battles), and Federation versus Federation (Wargames).
Regular patches provide bug fixes and improved features. Major updates are released under a "Season" banner on a semi-regular basis. Prior to release on the main gameplay server, "Holodeck", these patches and updates are tested on STO's test server, "Tribble".
Season One: Common Ground
The first major update to the STO system, Common Ground was released on 24 March 2010, providing a wide range of changes, improvements, and fixes. Amongst the most extensive changes were: the introduction of a respec system, which allowed players to reallocate their skill points if needed; Federation wargames in PvP, as well as a new ground map; the second Special Task Force mission, "The Cure"; two new Fleet Action missions; and additional perks for Lifetime Subscribers.
A supplemental update, Season 1.1 was released on 13 May 2010. It added the next Special Task Force mission, "Terradome", and introduced the first revamp to the crafting system.
Season 1.2, released on 3 June 2010, added Accolades, a level-balancing team formation system, and changes to starship powers and mechanics.
Season Two: Ancient Enemies
Season Two, released on 27 July 2010, saw the increase of the maximum level that can be achieved by players from 45 to 51. Along with this expansion came new starships and items that were associated with level 51. A new Undine Front was opened, with new missions developing the ongoing storyline. Klingon players received episode missions for the first time, moving away from the pure PvP concept of the original release. Diplomacy was introduced, allowing players to pursue a less combat-heavy progression track. Two new mini-games, Dabo and an anomaly-gathering task, were provided, as were arrangements for the first Feature Episode season.
Season Three: Genesis
Released on 9 December 2010, Season Three's central addition was the release of a beta version of the Foundry, a tool that allows players to generate their own missions and publish them for other players to attempt. At the time of release, the Foundry was only available to players on the Tribble server, but a full beta roll-out on Holodeck followed in March 2011. Additional improvements included: an overhaul to the graphics of the Sector Space navigation area, reducing the amount of elements present in order to present a more "realistic" portrayal of space; Episode Replay, which permits players to redo missions they have already completed; another revamp of the crafting system, to introduce the use of schematics for crafting rather than having to purchase basic versions of the technology being upgraded; a new arrangement for contacting superior officers and acquiring missions; a consolidation of equipment vendors across the various stations; allowing Klingon players access to the previously Federation-only Pi Canis sector; and numerous minor changes and fixes.
Season Four: Crossfire
Released on 7 July 2011, Season Four's principal focus was a complete revamp of ground combat, with an introduction of an optional over-the-shoulder reticule system, improved UI responsiveness, weapons functionality changes, kit power changes, AI updates, and animation enhancements. The release also saw a revamp of the Borg, allowing them to adapt to players' weapons, and providing them with the ability to assimilate players and their Bridge Officers. Other Season Four updates include: improved graphical compression; Vivox voice chat integration; further character customizations, including a new design for the Gorn; new loading screens; a Fleet Action queuing system; and a new Qo'noS First City zone. A patch released on 21 July 2011 also added Starfleet Academy as a second social area in the Sol system to compliment Earth Spacedock. On 1 September 2011, Borg Red Alerts were launched as part of the ongoing Borg Invasion content; both Starfleet and KDF factions combat the sudden resurgence of Borg incursions into nearly all sectors in a timed quasi-Fleet Action scenario.
Season Five: Call to Arms
Released on 1 December 2011 to existing subscribers, Season Five was the first major release of STO for F2P, with numerous changes to gameplay mechanics to fit the F2P model. The early game experience was revamped, with a refreshed tutorial for Federation characters, and a higher starting level for KDF characters for "tighter" early gameplay. Other changes geared to make the game easier for all players (but mostly new ones) included: faster leveling; mission journal upgrade with episode missions organized into storylines designed to be played sequentially and transwarp ability to a mission's starting point; space skills revamp to simplify the relationship between skills and abilities; and an event calendar with rotating events.
Originally intended to launch with Season Four, the Duty Officer System was part of Season Five's release. The system is separate from, but complementary to existing Bridge Officers, and has been likened to a trading card game, where duty officers can be added to a player's active roster to provide passive abilities to combat and non-combat gameplay. Duty officers can also be sent on assignments of varying requirements and length of time and return with rewards, like energy credits, skill points, or even additional assignments and new duty officers.
Continuing with the introduction of Borg Red Alerts during Season Four, Season Five introduced the Borg Invasion of Defera, a ground-based combat event where cross-faction players defend Defera by accepting missions of various difficulty levels to neutralize the Borg threat. The last stage of the Borg Invasion is the "re-envisioned" Borg Strategic Task Force maps (STFs), which have been refreshed with different mission objectives than before, split into smaller pieces for easier completion, and revamped rewards system to obtain some of the highest "elite gear" available in the game.
Season Five introduced the new dilithium economy which consolidated many of the old in-game currencies into dilithium ore. Dilthium cannot be directly exchanged with other players, but the new Dilithium Exchange is where players may set a price to exchange between one another their dilithium (in-game currency) for Cryptic Points (the microtransaction currency) and vice versa. The new economy also forced upon a change to the crafting system, in that dilithium is now a requirement to craft higher level items on top of preexisting crafting material prerequisites. Furthermore, many of the items available in the microtransaction Cryptic Store saw price and item functionality changes to reflect the realities of the new economy.
Minor changes include social map facelifts, expanded focus on Starfleet and Klingon Academy areas via lore missions, patrol mission revamp, new login screens, a compass for ground mission navigation, and the ability to purchase Foundry slots with dilithium to expand the number of user-created missions one can develop at a time.
Before Season Six's release, other notable game additions[11] include: the fourth Feature Episodes series, a dilithium mining minigame, a shuttle event, a Duty Officer system expansion, several new missions (some holiday-themed), and new C-Store items. An account-shared bank was also recently added to the game.[12]
Season Six: Under Siege
Season Six[13] was released on 7 July 2012[14]. The primary feature is the introduction of the Fleet Advancement system, which allows players to work collectively with their fleetmates to build a fleet starbase (with other fleet holdings planned for the future) through Projects, a similar mechanic as the Assignments from the Duty Officer system, which require contributions such as energy credits, dilithium, various in-game items, and a new currency called Fleet Marks.
Players can earn Fleet Marks from several new missions designed around defending fleet starbases in space and ground scenarios, such as protecting incoming freighters breaking a blockade, clearing one's cargo hold of enemy saboteurs, and a 20-player space Fleet Action with numerous waves of enemy starships.
Contributing to Fleet Starbase Projects rewards players with Fleet Credits, which can be used, along with other requirements, to purchase high-end space and ground combat items, boosts for starbase-oriented missions, and new starships. Higher-level starbases unlock better rewards in the Fleet Store for fleet member purchase.
Two new endgame replayable PvE missions were also released: a Colony Invasion ground scenario, and a No Win Scenario space mission with waves of enemies of progressing difficulty attacking a freighter.
The Tholians were introduced as a new enemy faction with new missions, starting with a ground event with multiple missions on a demon class world. They can also be found as the random opposition in the new starbase-oriented space missions.
The user-generated content tool, the Foundry, was updated as well with general usability and performance improvements.
Season Seven
Not much is yet known about Season Seven, other than the groundwork for it is being laid in Season Six, it will focus on "story", and it "will be the biggest single update (...) made since [game launch]."[15]
Characters are extensively customizable, with every aspect of their physical appearance - from height, hairstyle, uniform, to finger length and forehead protrusion - capable of being changed to suit the player's desires. A player selects from one of three character types - Tactical, Science and Engineering - each sharing some skills, but having their own unique trainable skills within their career path. A wide variety of template races are available with their own traits and customizations. In addition, both sides have the option to create an "alien" character with its own appearance and player-selected traits.
New player races, and uniforms and accessories are added to the game fairly regularly, most requiring purchase via the C-Store.
|Federation playable races
|Klingon playable races
Like characters, starships have a degree of customization - this is more limited, due to the need to ensure each customizable piece can fit together and not cause graphical errors - individual components of a ship type (saucer, warp nacelles, etc.) can be selected and used. All players begin with a light cruiser, and can then branch off into one of three ship paths - Cruiser, Escort and Science (although the player is not locked into that path, and may choose any vessel at any time). New vessels are introduced at each rank, with most of the vessels having at least three sub-types for customization purposes.
Vessel interiors are present, and can also be customized by selection of a specific bridge design - the remainder of the interior is largely fixed with a ready room, engineering deck (including main engineering, engineering lab, and transporter room), and crew deck (with captain's quarters, sickbay and a mess hall or lounge), although the size of decks can be altered. The interiors are largely intended to be for social interaction (as other players can be invited onto them), and STO staff have expressed a desire to further improve on the capabilities of the interior.
Each vessel has a number of assigned stations for Bridge Officers. Depending on the ship paths and rank, the Bridge Officers can use certain of their abilities when assigned to a particular station (for example, a Science Bridge Officer with rank of Commander may only use abilities up to Lieutenant if assigned to a Lieutenant Science station).
Ship equipment and consoles are used to provide boosts to vessel statistics, as well as temporary boosts to shields, weapons, engines, and auxiliary systems.
|Light Cruiser
| Light Cruisers
|Light Escort
|Light Escorts
|Light Science Vessel
| Light Science Vessels
|Lieutenant Commander
|Rear Admiral (Lower and Upper Halves)
|Vice Admiral
| Cruiser
Cruiser - Refit**
| Heavy Cruiser
Advanced Heavy Cruiser (with transwarp computer)**
| Exploration Cruiser
Exploration Cruiser - Refit (with antimatter spread)**
| Assault Cruiser
Star Cruiser
Advanced Heavy Cruiser - Retrofit (with transwarp drive)**
| Dreadnought Cruiser
Exploration Cruiser - Retrofit (with saucer separation)****
Star Cruiser
Advanced Odyssey Variants**
| Escort
Escort - Refit**
| Heavy Escort
Heavy Escort - Refit**
| Tactical Escort
Tactical Escort - Refit**
| Advanced Escort
Fleet Escort
| Tactical Escort - Retrofit (with cloaking device)****
Multi-Vector Advanced Escort (with multi-vector assault mode)**
Heavy Escort Carrier (with Photon Torpedo Point Defense System)**
|Science Vessel
| Science Vessel
Science Vessel - Refit**
| Research Science Vessel
Advanced Research Vessel**
| Long Range Science Vessel
'Long Range Science Vessel - Refit**
| Deep Space Science Vessel
Reconnaissance Science Vessel
Advanced Research Vessel - Retrofit (with tachyon detection grid)**
Vulcan Science Vessel (with Tal'Kyr Support Craft)**
| Long Range Science Vessel Retrofit (with ablative generator)****
Catian Carrier**
|Auxiliary Craft
| Shuttles
| Fighters
| * Available through a promotion or by purchase from the Cryptic Store.
** Only available by purchase from the Cryptic Store.
*** Only available as a Veteran Award.
**** Available through Cryptic Store or Veteran Award.
|Lieutenant Commander†
|Brigadier/Major General
|Lieutenant General
|Auxiliary Craft
| Fighters
| * Only available by purchase from the Cryptic Store.
** Only available as a Veteran Award.
*** Available through Cryptic Store or Veteran Award.
† Due to recent updates to the Klingon faction (raising the minimum rank to Commander), the vessels in this category are temporarily unavailable.
|Rear Admiral (Lower and Upper Halves) / Brigadier/Major General
Cryptic Store
The Cryptic Store, or C-Store, is a micro-transaction store which allows players to purchase unique vessels, ship and bridge designs, costume packs, playable races, and character services with Cryptic Points. Some of these purchases apply across all of the characters on a player's account.
External links
- StarTrekOnline.com - official site
- Template:NCwiki
- Star Trek Online at Wikipedia
- Star Trek Online wiki


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The military's commander of U.S. Strategic Command in charge of cyberspace, Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, warned that the underlying challenges and costs of operating in cyberspace often go unrecognized. And he proposed several measures to improve the security of the military's non-classified networks.
"The hardest thing we're challenged to do in cyberspace," said Chilton, isn't defending against cyberattacks. It is "operating the net under attack..."
"People talk about defending or exploiting cyberspace, but we don't talk much about operating it if it's under attack," Chilton said. "It's not easy work. And it's not work to be taken on by amateurs."
Chilton argued that many of the incidents that are billed as cyberattacks are more accurately just old-fashioned espionage — people looking for information who don't necessarily represent military threats.
At the same time, the "exfiltration of data is huge" and is cause for concern, he said...
"Every time we have a problem or a virus is loaded, or someone comes in and takes over systems administration of a computer or a server, we have to take that system offline, scrub it, and sometimes throw it away. Guess what: That ain't free," said Chilton.
"We're trying to get our arms around how much this is costing us every time someone breaks into our NIPRNet [unclassified but sensitive Internet protocol router network]. Some estimates are around $100 million a year; some people think that figure is low," Chilton said...
Another step, which Chilton detailed with reporters after his presentation, would involve investing more heavily on sensor technology to filter and monitor data traffic. That would not only improve awareness and response times but ease the mounting burden of forensic work, Chilton said.
Chilton also proposed making "the operation and the defense of our network, the commander's business," arguing for commanders to hold people more accountable when network incidents occur.
Looking ahead, Chilton stressed the importance of increasing the number of people who are trained and equipped in the workings of cyberspace to be ready for attacks during a time of war.
"Like in any other domain, we need to train like we're going to fight, and we're in the fight every day already," he said.
I am very interested in the cost question. I devised a "debt" scenario at work to describe this problem. It's common to try to justify a security program (product, process, and/or person) using loss avoidance terminology. However, not all of the losses one seeks to avoid will in fact be avoided. Speaking strictly from a system integrity point of view (to simplify this dicussion), each system that is compromised incurs a future cost. Again radically simplified, the most basic cost involves rebuilding the system from scratch (if one acts conservatively).
General Chilton undoubtedly wants to know how much that one process costs. Imagine that you defer that cost by not detecting and responding to the intrusion. Perhaps the intruder is stealthy. Perhaps you detect the attack but cannot respond for a variety of reasons (see Getting the Job Done). The longer the intrusion remains active, I would argue, the more debt one builds.
This should be easy to justify in a theoretical sense. For example, the longer an intrusion persists:
- The greater the likelihood the intruder finds and steals, alters or destroys something of value on the system
- The greater the likelihood the intruder will identify a way to compromise other systems
- The greater the likelihood that relevant log files from the beginning of the intrusion will expire
- The more difficult it could become for the IR team to determine the scope of the intrusion
- The more entrenched the intruder could become as he learns the inner workings of the victim's security and administration processes
I'm sure you could imagine other problems with having persistent intruders. For budget justification purposes, it would be helpful to quantify this financially. Perhaps it would be possible for teams who have spent money on outside IR consulting to reason backwards from the final bill to create a rough estimate of these costs?
I bet the $100 million figure is for clean-up costs alone. It doesn't factor the cost of the damage caused by an adversary power knowing how to detect American submarines in the Taiwan Strait, or knowing how to fool missiles fired by American jets, or any other costs in lives and hardware associated with a future battle with an enemy well-versed in American military technology.
Overall, it's great to see this much attention at the four-star level.


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I was lucky enough to obtain a Earthmate PN-20 yesterday. Waite let me rephrase that. My wife obtained a PN-20 yesterday.
After playing with it for a long time (I still am) I found that at this time you can not use it with GSAK. I found a way to get around this until Clyde from GSAK incorporates this into GSAK.


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Business Update: Jobs Report, Consumer Sentiment, Missouri Layoffs
U.S. Markets ended mixed last week as investors weighed an encouraging jobs report against evidence of waning consumer confidence, KOMU's Katie Brennan reports in this week's Business Update.
The Labor Department released its November jobs report before the opening bell Friday. The report found the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected with 146,000 new jobs in November.
In hand, the nation's unemployment rate fell 0.2 percent to 7.7 percent- that's a four-year low. But manufacturing cut 7,000 jobs, mostly in food manufacturing - which speaks to some local layoffs by Hostess.
Missouri has seen layoffs across the state: Not only by Hostess but by Energizer, Enersays Energy Products, and it could see more as the low levels of the Mississippi river impact shipping. So, unfortunately, Missouri's November unemployment rate is not expected to follow the national trend. Missourians filed 31,500 initial jobless claims in the final four weeks of November, up more than 15 hundred from October's total.
Also, Citigroup's new CEO announced Wednesday the bank will cut more than 11,000 jobs to drive down costs. Citi's mortgage lending subsidiary, CitiMortgage, is based in O'Fallon, Missouri. The third-largest bank in the country employs 6,000 people in Missouri. About 5 percent of those positions - roughly 300 jobs - will be cut, a spokesman told the Saint Louis Post Dispatch.Not great news for Missouri's economy, but the plans sent Citigroup's stock price soaring 8.9 percent.
That surge helped the S&P 500 keep up its winning streak for the third week. The S&P 500 increased 0.6 percent to 1,418 for the week, finishing at its highest level since election day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 170 points throughout the week, closing at 13,155. But the NASDAQ dropped 24 points to 2,978 last week - dragged down by a nearly 9 percent sell off in Apple shares.
Also weighing on the markets- consumer confidence unexpectedly plunged to 74.5 from November's reading of 82.7, according to the monthly survey by Thompson Reuters and the University of Michigan. It came in way below forecasts of 82, serving as a stark reminder that Americans are still nervous about the economy. Perhaps they should be; lawmakers continue to bicker over a budget deal. Each day without a deal inches the country closer to $500 billion of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts.
KOMU8's Katie Brennan will have more on the fiscal cliff threat, now only three weeks away, in the next business update.


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| 6.7°C Belfast
Online fashion firm ASOS insisted it was keeping its sights on the long-term picture after expansion costs sent half-year profits plunging by 22%.
The group saw pre-tax profits drop to £20.1 million in the six months to February 28 from £25.7 million a year earlier despite notching up a 34% hike in retail sales to £481.7 million.
Chief executive Nick Robertson said the group has "never been about the short-term" as he put faith in a ramped-up £68 million investment plan this financial year to double annual sales capacity to £2.5 billion.
ASOS, which stands for As Seen On Screen, warned last month that costs of new warehousing in the UK and Germany as well as start-up expenses in China would hit profits.
More than a fifth of its stock market value was wiped off at one stage after the warning in March and as its second quarter sales growth failed to match forecasts.
But Mr Robertson said: " This increased pace of investment has reduced our profitability in the period, but will deliver significantly increased capacity as well as efficiencies in the longer term.
"The scale of the global opportunity remains as exciting as ever and we are investing for the many opportunities ahead."
ASOS launched in China last October and the venture cost the group £3.7 million in the first half, with overall spend in the year to August 31 expected to total around £9 million.
Its rapid expansion in recent years has made it one of the London market's best performing stocks, but last month's disappointing update prompted many to sell shares and lock in gains.
Shares edged around 1% higher today as the interim figures came in as expected.
ASOS said UK retail sales rose 32% to £182 million, while international revenues lifted 35% to £290 million.
Andrew Wade, retail analyst at Numis Securities, said he remained "confident in the ASOS proposition" despite the profit impact.
But Freddie George, retail analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, flagged up concerns over the group's womenswear offering, which he said might have been expanded " beyond the levels management can adequately control".
He added: "W e believe the company has seen significantly higher levels of markdown activity in womenswear and higher returns over the last two months.
"As with 'bricks and mortar' retailers having a poor fashion season, ASOS will now have to reassess their womenswear strategy and reduce the number of womenswear lines, which is likely to impact sales over the spring/summer 2014 and autumn/winter 2014/15 season."
ASOS has nine local language websites in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, Russia and China.
The brand - targeted at ''fashion forward twenty somethings'' - attracts 71 million visits per month to its websites while it had 8.2 million active customers in the last year, of which 3.2 million were in the UK.


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David Jones will stop selling DVDs, music and video games as part of a move to exit low-performing categories, as the retailer reported a 1.4 per cent drop in total sales revenue to $590.1 million during the Christmas season.
David Jones chief executive and managing director Paul Zahra said the results for the quarter, which included the Christmas period, reflected growth in high-margin categories such as womenswear, beauty and accessories.
Sales performance 'adversely impacted'
But he said that the company's sales performance was "adversely impacted" by products in the home categories such as electronics.
Shares dropped 1.9 per cent to $2.63 in early trade, but closed half a cent higher at $2.69.
"Our focus is on improving the profitability of sales. We are exiting the low-performing categories of DVDs, music and games," Mr Zahra said.
"We also continue to reduce the depth and breadth of our promotional discounting events and continue to work on changing our category mix to increase focus on higher margin categories."
About 35 per cent of a David Jones store's floor space is dedicated to home categories such as furniture, homewares and white goods, while the remaining 65 per cent is used to stock fashion and beauty products, a company spokeswoman said.
The department store plans to reduce the floor space for home category items to 25 per cent. A decade ago, products in the home categories took up 45 per cent of a store's floor space.
Sales revenue for the six months to December was down 0.7 per cent to $1 billion from the previous corresponding period.
The second quarter of sales revenue stretches from October 28, 2012, to January 26.
Last year, the department store's departing chairman Bob Savage said the firm was expecting flat sales during the holiday period, with consumer sentiment remaining weak despite the Reserve Bank's interest rate cuts in October and December.
Mr Zahra said at the David Jones' shareholder meeting in November that consumer sentiment was the company's biggest drag on performance.
Omni-channel retailing
Commonwealth Bank retail analyst Andrew McLennan said while the headline results were disappointing, the key profit drivers of the stores, such as fashion and beauty, had performed reasonably.
He welcomed David Jones' focus on improving their sales profitability as significant costs incurred from upgrading the point-of-sale systems and investing in omni-channel retailing - the seamless integration of bricks-and-mortar stores and online shopping channels - kick in.
"The headline [result] was weaker-than-expected but they are well-positioned for when the consumer does come back, so it's not too negative overall in terms of an outcome," Mr McLennan said.
"They were very much behind the curve with their capabilities in [information technology] and they've made significant advances in the last 12 months, so I think that those factors are more important to the business in the long-term than deflation in consumer electronics."
Changing consumer behaviour
Consumers have increasingly moved towards online shopping and music and films internet downloads, leaving traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers such as David Jones struggling to profit from the entertainment sector.
Sales of traditional retail video games also fell 23 per cent last year, as consumers turned to digital downloads and game apps, data from market researcher NPD Group Australia released this week showed.
"The big trend for consumers is that they see online as a discount channel. So it's more lucrative to purchase a product online if price is the determining factor," Sam Yip. of technology analysis firm Telsyte, said.
"With those trends happening, retailers like David Jones need to invest more in their online platforms, but at the same time give people reasons to come in-store.
"So significant improvements [are needed] in the in-store environment, at point-of-sale and with staffing to come through this trend with flying colours."
Mr Yip said not all consumers were price sensitive and that a fulfilling in-store experience was also a key selling point for some customers.
"There's nothing wrong with selling something at full price, as long as you have the servicing and theatre and a reason for the consumer to come in-store," Mr Yip said.
"It's wrong to say that online is taking over offline, because that would only be the case if price is the key and only 'silver bullet' for the industry. ... A place like David Jones needs to evolve and look beyond price."
Consumer confidence
Yesterday, retailers received a boost from the latest data on consumer confidence, which found sentiment had risen to its highest level in more than two years.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment soared to 108.3 in February, from 100.6 in January. Values above 100 indicate positivity rather than negativity.
But the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) described consumers as ''fickle'' and said ''confidence rises have not necessarily corresponded with retail spend increases''.
''After the disappointment of the December figures and a 2012 annual growth rate just over 2 per cent retailers will not be holding their breath that confidence will equal spending in February,'' ANRA chief executive Margy Osmond said.


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Set in America's Deep South, the story begins in 1887 on the Cotton Blossom show boat as it sets sail on the Mississippi River. Following the lives of the performers, dock workers, musicians and stagehands over a period of forty years, Show Boat is rich with nostalgia, humour, love stories and well-loved melodies including Ol' Man River and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man.
With all the glamour of the American-style big family musical and a cast of over 50 talented performers, Cape Town Opera lovingly bring this classic musical back to life alongside the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.
Show Boat: Birmingham is not available to book, please sign up to our newsletter for updates and offers on forthcoming and available shows.
Under 3's will not be admitted into the Auditorium.
Find out more about the venue for your show: Directions, Transport options and facilities.


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No living thing needs to have babies to stay alive. But passing on genes to the next generation is necessary for a species' survival. Uncover the facts about how living things reproduce and develop, from frogs and chickens to ourselves.
Exhibit Highlights
The Human Miracle
See the steps of human development from a single cell into a two-trillion-celled baby by viewing 11 preserved embryos and fetuses.
The Chicken and the Egg
Take a visit to the chick hatchery to watch chicks break out of their eggs or to see some newly hatched chicks.
Click for an official statement about the Science Center's chick hatchery.
Life's Instructions
Discover DNA, the secret code within every cell that makes all living things look, sound and function like they do.


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2105 - Generator Protection
- Course Delivery: On Demand
- Duration: 4
The objective of this course is to review the types of fault that can occur on generators and discuss the various protection schemes that are used on both small and large generators. After studying this course and the associated workbook, the participant should be able to understand the following overall concepts and apply them to his day-to-day work activities. He will also be able to answer related test questions on these subjects: Types of prime movers, Generator terminal connections, Generator bus connections, Unit and station service transformers, Generator mechanical problems, General electrical faults, Generator and prime mover tripping arrangements, Phase fault primary protection, Ground fault primary protection, Backup protection, Negative phase sequence protection, Generator capability curve, Loss of field protection, Effect of system disturbances, Generator off-line protection.
If you are taking this course for NERC credit, the following credits will be reported.
NERC CE HOURS: CE HOURS = 4.00 OPS Topics=4.00 Standards=0.00 Simulation=0.00 EO=0.00
Course Objectives
Learning Objectives:
- Trainees will be able to describe the main features of large and small generators from the perspective of protection.
- Trainees will be able to describe typical generator terminal connections and location of CTs, as well as the most common types of generator bus connections.
- Trainees will be able to describe the types of faults that can typically occur on generators.
- Trainees will be able to describe various types of differential protection that can be installed on generators to protect against phase-to-phase faults in the generator windings and interconnected unit transformers.
- Trainees will be able to describe specific connections for differential CTs, for wye, delta and split-winding generators.
- Trainees will be able to describe the nature of generator ground faults.
- Trainees will be able to describe different types of ground fault protection schemes used on generators.
- Trainees will be able to describe various types of backup protection and other forms of protection that is often provided on generators.
- Trainees will be able to describe various types of disturbances that can occur on power systems and their impact on generators.
- Trainees will be able to describe protection schemes that can be installed on generators to prevent damage to the generators from disturbances on the power system.
Topics Covered
SEGMENT A - OPERATING SECURITY LIMITS and VOLTAGE CONTROLSEGMENT B - SYSTEM COORDINATIONSEGMENT C - EMERGENCY OPERATIONS SEGMENT D - RESTORATION and REPORTING
End of Course Instructions
Congratulations on completing the course! Your credits earned on completion of this program will be reported to RCEP.net within 30 days of completion. Once we report your completion at RCEP.net, you will receive a certificate of completion provided by RCEP on the email address you have provided at the time of enrollment. Please keep the certificate for your record. You may be required to submit this certificate to the state to record your PDH or present it in case if you are audited. If you have any questions or concerns please contact customer service at http://www.360trainingsupport.com
Why Choose 360training.com?
- Fast and easy courses completion
- Get an education faster than at traditional colleges!
- 100% online - No classroom attendance required.
- Online customer support
- Over 500,000+ certified nationwide.


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Progress Report on REALLY Boring Socks
by exercisebeforeknitting
Sock knitters beware: the photos below depict the most boring sock pattern ever!!!! It's killing me. I'm several inches away from the top of Aaron's sock. I'm doing a 3 x 1 rib up from the ankle. It's hard to see the ribbing but you'll see it more clearly when I post an FO picture with Aaron wearing them! I hope will fit around his leg. The DPNs make it impossible for him to try it on. I suppose I could take out the DPNs, string it on a piece of scrap yarn and then have him try it on but I've just decided I'll frog it a few inches if necessary. At least I made it to the ankle. Why do men have such long feet??? Ugh – it took forever!
I fit in lots of knitting this week because I was really tired and spent much of my free time on the couch. It must have been a baby growth spurt! I've posted more recent belly pictures over on my Flickr account, in case you're interested. There are only about 8 weeks left. I've been having little discussions with the kid about how it should really come in about 5 weeks but I don't know if it's getting the message.
Speaking of baby arrivals, go congratulate Cari on the birth of the long awaited Thumper!!!!
Finally, I'll leave you with a picture of Jacques asleep on the couch. This dog sleeps on his back with all four paws in the air and his mouth open. I think he's actually drooling in this picture. He is such an old man dog. *sigh*.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Congress Thursday of "irrevocable damage" that an unprecedented federal default could cause, even as House Republicans explored a short-term debt limit increase to provide more time to resolve their budget battle with President Barack Obama.
Lew testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the 10th day of a partial federal shutdown and one week before Lew has said the government will deplete its ability to borrow money. Most economists say the federal default that could result would deal a staggering blow to the world economy, though some Republicans have said the damage would be manageable.
Lew warned that failure to renew the government's ability to borrow money "could be deeply damaging" to financial markets and threaten Americans' jobs and savings. It would also leave the government unsure of when it could make payments ranging from food aid to Medicare reimbursements to doctors, he said.
"The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens," the secretary said. "There is no way of knowing the irrevocable damage such an approach would have on our economy and financial markets."
As Lew testified, Obama prepared to host top House Republicans at the White House in hopes of finding an opening in an impasse that has shuttered much of the government and threatens federal default. And Thursday morning, a short-term debt limit measure was expected to be a topic at a closed-door House GOP meeting.
It wasn't clear what conditions, if any, GOP leaders might seek to attach to the bill, but conservatives consistently have been pushing Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to add conditions beyond what Obama says he'll accept. The president has said he will negotiate on the budget — but only once Congress unconditionally ends the shutdown and extends the debt limit.
The game of Washington chicken over increasing the debt limit — required so Treasury can borrow more money to pay the government's bills in full and on time — already has sent the stock market south, spiked the interest rate for one-month Treasury bills and prompted Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest manager of money market mutual funds, to sell federal debt that comes due around the time the nation could hit its borrowing limit.
At the Finance committee hearing, Lew met a buzzsaw of incredulity from Republicans, who said the bigger problem was the soaring costs of benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare and the long-term budget deficits the country faces. Many expressed doubt about Lew's description of the consequences of default.
The senior Republican on the panel, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, accused the Obama administration of "an apparent effort to whip up uncertainty in the markets." And veteran Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, said, "I think this is 11th time I've been through this discussion about the sky is falling and the earth will erupt."
Lew also rejected GOP suggestions that in the event federal borrowing authority expires, the government could use the dwindling cash it has to make payments to debt holders and other high priority needs. He said federal payment systems are not designed to prioritize and said he didn't believe such an approach was technically possible.
"I think prioritization is just a default by another name," Lew said.
He also fended off attempts by the top Republican on the committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, and other GOP senators to learn how long a debt limit extension the president would like to see.
"Our view is this economy would benefit from more certainty and less brinksmanship. So the longer the period of time is, the better for the economy," said Lew, who also repeated Obama's willingness to accept a short-term extension for now.
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said GOP demands to curb Obama's 2010 health care law as the price for ending the shutdown "is not up for debate" and would not happen.
"We need to reopen the government and pay the nation's bills, no strings attached," said Baucus.
Wednesday featured lots of activity but no progress toward ending the budget and debt limit impasses.
Obama had House Democrats over to the White House, while Republican conservatives heard a pitch from the House Budget Committee chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on his plan to extend the U.S. borrowing cap for four to six weeks while jump-starting talks on a broader budget deal that could replace cuts to defense and domestic agency budgets with cuts to benefit programs like Medicare and reforms to the loophole-cluttered tax code. Curbs to "Obamacare" were not mentioned.
At the White House, Obama told House Democratic loyalists that he still would prefer a long-term increase in the nation's $16.7 trillion borrowing cap but said he's willing to sign a short-term increase to "give Boehner some time to deal with the tea party wing of his party," said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
A midday meeting Wednesday between the two top House Republicans and Democrats, meanwhile, yielded no progress.
Obama also invited the entire House GOP to the White House on Thursday but Boehner opted to send a smaller squadron of about 20 mostly senior members, which prompted White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to issue an unusual statement criticizing the move to exclude tea party Republicans from the session.
"The president thought it was important to talk directly with the members who forced this economic crisis on the country about how the shutdown and a failure to pay the country's bills could devastate the economy," Carney said.
The frustrating standoff in Washington is weighing down each side's poll numbers, but Republicans are taking the worst drubbing. A Gallup poll put the approval rating for the Republican Party at a record-low 28 percent. Polls have consistently said the Republicans deserve the greater share of blame for the shutdown.
Lew warns of 'irrevocable damage' from default
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Congress Thursday of "irrevocable damage" that an unprecedented federal default could cause, even as House Republicans explored a short-term debt limit increase to provide more time to resolve their budget battle with President Barack Obama.


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Today Trunkline 2012 brings you some good and bad news for Newt, Michele Bachmann's strong stance against extending the payroll tax holiday, Herman Cain's decision to make a decision about keeping his going , Mitt Romney's attempt to prevent Newt from passing him by, Chris Christie's attempt to prove that Mitt is the man, Allen West on becoming the next Vice President and more tid-bits from the campaign trail.
- Field Poll: California Republican voters still not thrilled with potential candidates
- Herman Cain promises to make a decision about his presidential campaign in two days
- Romney opens fire on Newt Gingrich
- Chris Christie: Barack Obama and 'henchmen' fear Mitt Romney
- Rasmussen Shows Gingrich Over Obama
- Newt Gingrich moves ahead in Florida polls
- Gingrich trails in organizing in early-voting Iowa
- Michele Bachmann says she'll fight any effort to extend the payroll tax cut on the verge of expiring.
- Allen West Would Accept the Vice Presidential Nomination If He "Can Make A Difference"
- Which Republican Presidential Candidate is Most Capable of Beating Obama in a Debate?
- Twitter of the Day:
MittRomney Mitt Romney
- Quote of the Day:
"Real leadership is not what you see in the White House right now. I think it's a sad day in our country's history to have a bystander in the Oval Office, and that's we have." – NJ Governor Chris Christie during a meeting of the RGA on 11/30/11
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text: Blakeney is a master planned, 300-acre development south of I-485 at Rea Road and Ardrey Kell Road in southeast corner of Charlotte, NC. Blakeney is located just outside Ballantyne, and it is a new development with the upscale, Blakeney Shopping Center, which features restaurants, outdoor cafes, retiail shops, apartments and office parks. Some residential subdivisions in Blakeney include: Blakeney Greens, Blakeney Heath and Blakeney Preserve. This is a fast-growing South Charlotte area, with easy highway access and an award-winning school district. Most of the Charlotte homes in Blakeney are neo-traditional or transitional in design. Easy access to shopping and schools, with a tight knit, neighborhood feel.


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by SCOTT McCANDLESS & CAITLIN MACKAY
There could be enough votes to pass the new United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. But based on historical trends, passage is not guaranteed.
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August 2020
View as Online Magazine
In this edition
Modernizing U.S. Energy Policy
To Young Republicans, Climate Change is Fact, Not Fiction
Climate Change is Inevitable, Good Policy is Critical
Wear a Mask, Maintain Distance, and Avoid Crowds
College in the Age of Corona: Will it Ever Be the Same?
Creating a Trusted and Unified Contact Tracing Strategy
Saving Our Economy: Are Taxpayers Getting Their Money's Worth?
Is the Time Right to Cut the Payroll Tax?
A Smart Investment to Fuel Economic Growth
Democracies Must Work Together in the Fight Against COVID-19
Ripon Profile of Randy Feenstra
Will college in the age of corona ever be the same?
Opinion: Trump and the GOP's control of the U.S. Senate
Pollster: Trump must 'drive Biden's negatives up' to win, like in 2016
Trump's meatpacking plant order fails to prevent shortages
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An 84-year-old Indian activist who says he respects all religions has drawn global criticism after forcing the withdrawal and destruction of an American scholar's "alternative" history of the Hindu faith.
A controversial history of Hinduism is to be withdrawn from sale in India, with copies in stores yanked from shelves and destroyed, giving a Hindu activist a victory that has drawn protests from within India and outside of the country. "The Hindus: An Alternative History" by Wendy Doniger, a University of Chicago Divinity School professor, was a National Book Critics' Circle nonfiction award finalist in 2009, when it was published in the United States by Penguin. The Washington Post called it the "equivalent of a brilliant graduate course from a feisty and exhilarating teacher," according to reviewer Michael Dirda, who also noted the author's "cheeky tone, given to jokes and wordplay" when discussing some of Hinduisms most sacred stories, such as the Mahabarata. While such a casual treatment of faith elements might be more tolerated in the West, it appears to be anathema to some in India. Dinanath Batra, an 84-year-old retired English teacher and headmaster, brought the lawsuit that led to Penguin India's decision to "pulp" Doniger's book. India's livemint.com headlined its Batra profile with the dour words, "Here come the book police." Though describing Batra as "affable," the profile quotes stern words from Batra's civil lawsuit against Doniger's Indian publishers: The book is "shallow, distorted ... a haphazard presentation riddled with heresies and factual inaccuracies," and accused Doniger of being motivated by a "Christian missionary zeal and hidden agenda to denigrate Hindus and show their religion in poor light." In an interview with Time magazine, Batra cast his objections in a global context: "If someone makes a cartoon of the prophet Mohammad, Muslims are outraged around the world. So why should anyone write anything against Hinduism and get away with it? It matters because this book is hurting the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. I am a Hindu. When I read the book, I felt hurt. It hurt my sentiments." British author William Dalrymple, who resides in Delhi, told The Wall Street Journal that Penguin India's action had wider implications: "Banning books and intimidating authors is to begin the process of destroying the sort of freedoms that make India such a joyful, creative and fertile place compared to any of its neighbors," he said. And India's artistic community, including a celebrated novelist also published by Penguin India, has expressed its concern. "What you have done affects us all," writer Arundhati Roy, author of "The God of Small Things" and winner of the Man Booker Prize, declared in an open letter to Penguin India published in the Times of India. "Now, even though there was no fatwa, no ban, not even a court order, you have not only caved in, you have humiliated yourself abjectly before a fly-by-night outfit by signing (this) settlement," she wrote. Doniger issued a public statement in response to the lawsuit settlement. The professor defended Penguin India, noting, "they were finally defeated by the true villain of this piece - the Indian law that makes it a criminal rather than civil offense to publish a book that offends any Hindu, a law that jeopardizes the physical safety of any publisher, no matter how ludicrous the accusation brought against a book." Doniger added, "I am glad that, in the age of the Internet, it is no longer possible to suppress a book. 'The Hindus' is available on Kindle; and if legal means of publication fail, the Internet has other ways of keeping books in circulation. People in India will always be able to read books of all sorts, including some that may offend some Hindus."%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D145332%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E


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syngo.CT Colonography
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ISU's student government association says a dress code that took effect this week for some students in the business college violates the students' constitution..
The Illinois State University Student Government Association plans to fight a dress code implemented this week by the marketing department in the College of Business.
Representatives of the student government are investigating whether the dress code requiring students to wear business-casual attire in marketing and business teacher education courses violates the student bill of rights in their constitution.
Section 1, Letter J, of the bill of rights states that each member of the student body is afforded "the right to be free from any mandatory dress code."
Student body Vice President Kevin Martin said the bill of rights, which was affirmed by a student referendum in 2006, is to be consulted when policy changes are implemented at the university.
"When a new policy comes out, we should abide by that policy, as long as it is not breaking our contract, the bill of rights for students. The institution enacted a policy that we feel is breaking the contract we have with the student body," Martin said.
Martin, a business teacher education major affected directly by the new dress code, said the marketing departmentdid not consult with the Student Government Association or gather a wide range of feedback from students and professors before implementing the policy, which affects more than 750 students.
Department of Marketing Chairman Tim Longfellow said he has not spoken with student government representatives but hopes to reach a mutual agreement.
"Hopefully we'll get a chance to speak with Dave Horstein, the student body president, and see what we have to do," Longfellow said. "Through those discussions, hopefully we'll be able to come up with some kind of compromise and move forward."
The marketing department began testing the dress code in select classes in 2003. Last fall, all students in the professional sales sequence were required to dress in business casual attire to class.
Students were notified of the dress code in letters sent out Aug. 3. Last week, students were given a grace period before students and professors were required to fully adhere to the code Monday.
Reach Journal Star reporter Fitzgerald M. Doubet at (309) 686-3041 or email@example.com.


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Comparison Shopping Engines have become an industry standard for e-merchants who want to drive the most traffic to their e-commerce store. Both start ups and established companies are using shopping search engines to generate new orders. Advertising with shopping search engines is essential to acquire customers and give your store the visibility it needs to compete in e-commerce.
Comparison Shopping Engines typically fall into two different price structures, either Cost Per Click or Cost Per Action. Cost Per Click shopping engines charge you for every landing, while Cost Per Action charge you only when an order was placed. If you are new to the world of search engine advertising or working with a limited budget, FeedPerfect offers two Free engines where you can sell your products. Google Product Search and TheFind are both free to merchants for product submission. FeedPerfect also offers several Cost Per Action engines like Bing Cashback and buySAFE Bonded Shopping Network. You can start small and scale up as the results pay off, no need to have a big budget to see results.
If your store is more established, you probably already realize the value of visibility that comes from advertising on the big engines like Shopzilla, Shopping.com, PriceGrabber, Amazon Product Ads and Yahoo! Shopping. These engines are the larger Pay Per Click, or Cost Per Click venues and they can provide revenue as well as valuable brand exposure for your store. To be successful in this arena, you need a few key pieces FeedPerfect can provide. First, you can easily map products once for each engine's specific format and category structure. Second, see the trends on the tracked orders to help adjust your feeds quickly and optimize your spending.
Whether you decide to use Cost Per Action or Cost Per Click engines, or perhaps both, FeedPerfect is designed to make product feeds easier. FeedPerfect allows you to import your products automatically from Yahoo! or Storehost stores, or upload product data from any .csv file. Map your products to the categories and set a schedule to feed the engine. Once your products are in the engines view performance estimates along with a viewable winners and losers dashboard. See what products need work, optimize them, or simply exclude them from certain engines.
An all in one web based application, FeedPerfect allows you to feed and manage your products from one source saving you time and labor. Whether just entering the world of Comparison Shopping Engines, or a grizzled veteran, FeedPerfect can help make your job easier and let you focus on getting a return on your advertising dollars. With a free 14 day trial, what do you have to lose?
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I've started observing variable stars after many years stargazing. Splitting doubles is fun, but doesn't last long with my 10x50s. Tracking a variable star makes me much more interested in getting out in the cold, because you never know what you may find :)
The 10 star tutorial was my first step, but now that I control the VSP better I wanted to print some charts for those stars. However, I cannot get a good chart for eta Aql or bet Lyr, for example. All the comparison stars in the tutorial seem to be now "suspected" variables, so their magnitude is not shown.
Could I get updated charts for the tutorial? Are the observations done with the charts in the tutorial valid to report?
Thanks in advance for helping this newbie!