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The following piece by Provost Bill Bussey was first published in the Sept. 2011 edition of the parent newsletter. It has since become a community favorite both for its wisdom and good humor.
About six months after my wife Nan and I moved into our first home, we were held hostage by a massive blizzard. At that time we hadn't really gotten to know the couple across the street, but I could see that he had just bought a truck with a plow to earn a little extra cash. I couldn't believe my good luck when my neighbor told me that if I got my cars out of the driveway, he'd plow it. I pulled the cars out and, in five minutes, he took care of it. He wouldn't take any money; said it was no big deal. Excited and energized by my good fortune, I waved thanks, backed out of my driveway and nailed the rear of his parked truck. As we stood staring at the damage done, I stammered out an apology and said I'd take care of it. I then waited for him to explode. Without missing a beat, he shrugged, "Ah, forget it. It's just a truck." And with a pat on my shoulder, he said nothing more and disappeared back into his house.
I have often felt the true measure of any individual is how they respond when bad fortune comes to visit. In that regard, this guy set the bar.
People have different reasons for sending their children to an independent school like Nobles, but how we as parents, choose to navigate our children when things go awry has, in my mind, a far more lasting and profound impact on this community than all the college acceptances stacked together. At critical junctures we are capable of being our own worst enemy. The "damned if you do, damned if you don't" question for most parents is: how much involvement is too much? With this in mind, I hope you will find what follows of some use.
You must outlast your child. As you get older and lose a little of your fastball, they grow stronger, as if almost feeding off your demise. They are energized by the sheer fact that you are in the other room snoring as they are typing away on Facebook well past two in the morning. They own the night. They will wear you down about how late to stay out and with whom, berate you when you want to call the parents of the child hosting the party, push the buttons that make you say something instantly regrettable and a month later throw it back at you, and remind you time and again that you "don't own them." They will, at any given moment and for no apparent reason, find fault with the following: you, Nobles and everybody. Stay the course. Be the parent not the friend. Know that despite what they say and do, they love and need you more than anything else in the world. Above all, be ready for those important conversations that they seem to quietly initiate just as the house catches fire or the cat is giving birth. On those occasions, you must drop everything and just listen or you will blow your chance. They often are not seeking advice. They need you to just listen.
It is important that your child owns his/her setbacks. I cannot stress just how important this one is in the grand scheme of things. Kids need to face their setbacks without demonizing others or making face-saving excuses. Nobles is as solid a place as any that I have ever known for a kid to experience setbacks or make mistakes. The sooner they learn to face the facts, accept responsibility, and most importantly, get to the heart of why things played out the way they did, the better. By learning to advocate for themselves (not to be confused with self-promotion or currying favor), students learn not only valuable social skills but also how to build genuine, demystifying relationships with the intimidating adult world. The students who can find the self-confidence to engage adults in conversations, employing the same honest attitude and tone that they use with their friends, are often viewed among their peers as the most respected and trusted students in the community. If your child finds it difficult to advocate for him/herself for whatever reasons, reach out to the advisor for a little help.
Don't let them put all their eggs in one basket. The one regret that most graduates acknowledge is that they did not participate in a play or musical. They also wish that they could have gotten to know certain teachers and some of their classmates better. Yet, one could argue that the one understandable misstep that many kids make, even more pronounced these days in the era of specialization, is that they often allow what they believe to be their area of expertise and/or a certain group of kids to define them far past the expiration date. Once it becomes clear that they may not make the J.V. squad or bring home high marks, many students understandably struggle with their own identity and where they fit in. Friendships can turn on a dime, too, and arguably there is nothing more wrenching than sensing that your child has had a falling out or does not seem to be connecting with peers. Don't hesitate to reach out to someone at the school if this becomes a growing concern, but know that there are limitations and real pitfalls with social engineering. Know, too, that the shame and anxiety that kids feel at falling short in any area that also causes you to be anxious often results with two things taking place, neither one ideal. They will shut you out in large measure to spare themselves the agony of seeing your disappointment or they will dish the inside scoop, often omitting or adding key elements, about everything and everybody in order to assuage you that things could be worse. That's not bonding; that's binding. You need to be patient and allow your children the time and room to find their way. The wider your children's experience at this School and the more opportunities that they seize to "play well with others", from clubs to Community Service to Ultimate Frisbee, the greater likelihood they will evolve into the confident and empathetic adults that they were meant to be.
Plan for the unexpected. Your child is going to make mistakes and some of them may test you in ways that will rattle the family dynamic. Do you have a plan if your child repeatedly lies to you, swipes a bottle from the liquor cabinet, or plagiarizes a school assignment? Before you initiate the conversation in which all the cards are laid on the table, make sure that you know exactly what you are going to say, what actions will follow, and what is the endgame. If the School is involved, let's agree at the outset to be partners: we both want what is best for your child.
For me, as a kid, the most indelible, life-changing moments came out of nowhere, when my own actions had painted me into a corner, leaving me staring at someone who had a firm grip on all the facts and who had every right to tighten that grip and leave me deservedly breathless. But the ones who made a difference, the folks I thought about years later, were the ones who at that moment chose to loosen their grip, and with a few well-chosen words figuratively throw an arm around my shoulder. And then they let go.
By managing our own expectations and taking a long view of things, we are better able to give our kids the breathing room that will allow them to maintain their dignity as they navigate the thousand paper cuts that come with being a teenager. When they are at their worst—that is when we must love them the most.
—Bill Bussey, Provost


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Fifteen years ago, Toys R Us Canada was squeezing space from the backrooms of stores to create more room on the selling floor.
Now it's expanding backrooms to provide faster and better service to customers who order online, said Kevin Macnab, president of Toys R Us Canada, speaking at Store 2014, the annual conference for retailers in Canada, held annually in Toronto by the Retail Council of Canada.
"What I see happening in five years...probably a similar store count for us, but I see less for retail and more for backroom," Macnab said, responding to questions from moderator Kevin O'Leary, a co-host of ABC's Shark Tank, and chairman of O'Leary Funds.The focus of the conference on Tuesday was squarely on e-commerce, social media and stores of the future, beginning with a drone that delivered Timbits to keynote speaker Michael Medline, president of Canadian Tire, at the start of his address.
After lagging behind the U.S. for years when it comes to digital innovation and investment, Canadian retailers seem ready to invest more heavily in online commerce — even if it comes at the expense of bricks-and-mortar stores.
"Bricks-and-mortar stores will continue, but how do we rationalize that so that it makes sense, given how much business is being transferred online," said Steve Matyas, president, Staples Canada, speaking at the same session as Macnab.
He said Staples might not need as dense a store network moving forward, pointing out that while some older stores are 27,000 square feet they are looking at ways to bring that down to 15,000-20,000 square feet.
He estimates that in five years, Staples Canada will have 20 per cent less retail space, mostly because they are currently in locations with long-term leases.
"Over the long term, there will be a decline in total square footage, but the number of stores, there won't be much of a difference," said Matyas.
Anna Martini, president, Groupe Dynamite, which operates the fashion chains Garage and Dynamite, says their customers still like the in-store experience, especially teenager customers, who don't have credit cards to use online and who like to shop with their friends.
But engaging with customers via Facebook and Instagram is an important part of their business.
In fact, Groupe Dynamite just invested the equivalent of what they would spend on five bricks and mortar stores in a new digital platform.
"We refresh stores every five years, every seven (years) we have a new concept. We have delayed some of these concepts because we deployed online," said Martini.
Shipping in a country like Canada erodes profit margins when it comes to online sales, according to the speakers.
"When you go into a store and can't find a size, we ship for free. That's where it is tricky," said Martini.
Macnab said profits from digital investments happen quicker than investing in bricks and mortar stores, but the in-store experience remains important for parents and children.
"We have 83 stores of 40,000 square feet. We have a good footprint, so we are ramping up the digital world," said Macnab.
Canadian Tire made the point that digital is the future with a pop-up-store featuring many of the innovations that have made the new interactive SportChek store at the West Edmonton Mall a hit, with sales outstripping expectations.
Among other innovations, the pop-up store included a treadmill flanked by cameras to help analyze gait and choose the best pair of athletic shoes for customers. It included a screen that reads chips embedded in shoes on display — wave the shoe in front of the screen and all the specifications pop up.
"You have to be exciting in-store," said Medline. "It's too easy to sit at home and order from the Internet."
He said Canadian Tire has been able to excel since the arrival of Target in 2013 because it had a head start.
"If you give great retailers two-and-a-half years to prepare, we will be prepared," he said.
He said innovation at Canadian Tire is encouraged from the top down.
"The key is to never, ever stop. You can't be happy if you have a great quarter."

subset: commoncrawl


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Investigating Whitney Houston's Death
Aired February 15, 2012 - 20:00 ET
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. Special coverage tonight in the death of Whitney Houston, starting with breaking news. A source briefed on her behavior and activity in her final days now telling CNN that Whitney Houston was seen drinking by the pool at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday morning, the day she died. Her behavior according to this source did not appear erratic. However, that same source telling us though that she was seen drinking heavily last Wednesday and Thursday morning as early as 10:00 a.m. poolside and in the -- in the hotel bar. And her appearance suggested she was intoxicated. The source saying other hotel guests on both those days overheard her accusing the bartender of watering down her drinks. This picture from TMZ shows her poolside Wednesday, a drink by her side. Now we don't know what that drink contained. We should also underscore that the account of her drinking comes from a single source, one whom CNN believes to be reliable. We've also obtained a copy of the preliminary death certificate. You can see the immediate cause of death is listed as deferred. Deferred in this case because drug screening results will not be complete for as many as several weeks. The funeral, as we've been reporting, is on Saturday. We're going to be joined tonight shortly by the Reverend Marvin Winans who's going to be giving the eulogy who also married Whitney Houston in Bobby -- to Bobby Brown. Also Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Drew Pinsky are here to weigh in on the dangers of mixing booze and pills. Something which goes beyond or far beyond what may have happened to Whitney Houston. It was a conversation I urge you to listen to. It was eye-opening for me. We just did it right before the show began. First, though, here's what investigators are looking into right now. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): Prescription pills found inside Whitney Houston's Beverly Hills hotel room are now the focus of the investigation into her still unexplained death. Authorities tell CNN they've issued subpoenas to Houston's doctors in Los Angeles and on the East Coast seeking her medical records and are looking specifically into what type of prescriptions she was given. Investigators also are contacting various pharmacies where her prescriptions were filled including this one, the Mickey Fine Pharmacy in Beverly Hills which was raided by the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2009 after Michael Jackson died from an overdose of prescription drugs. The DA is not involved in Houston's case but sources say issuing subpoenas is an unusual step for an investigation into a death that's not considered a homicide. LT. MARK ROSEN, L.A. COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: As of right now it's not a criminal investigation. COOPER: The prescription pill bottles found by police were all under Houston's name. Officials say it does not appear Houston was filling out multiple prescriptions from different doctors commonly known as doctor shopping but they've not ruled it out. It's too soon in the investigation to determine if Houston was prescribed any drugs she didn't need or if she used an alias to secure some of the pills. The doctors and pharmacies contacted by investigators have been cooperating, according to the coroner's office and nothing out of the ordinary has been found so far. The "New York Daily News" reports some of the pill bottles were not labeled. A couple of the bottles were older prescriptions and at least one was filled recently. CNN has confirmed Houston visited Dr. Shawn Nasseri shown here on "Extra" four days before she died. Nasseri has been treating the singer for throat and vocal problems for several years. A family friend told CNN Houston had recently been on prescription medication for a throat infection and also had been taking other anti-anxiety medicines. Houston may have mixed some of these medicines with alcohol. According to friends, she was drinking champagne two nights before her death and another source tells CNN she was seen drinking that weekend in the hotel. A close family friend tells CNN Houston was known to have a drink if she went out. The singer battled drug and alcohol problems for many years. She entered rehab last year and a family friend said she'd been clean of hard drugs for several years. Investigators said they'd be looking for the presence of illegal as well as prescription drugs in the results of the toxicology test which may be ready within weeks. Houston's funeral is set for Saturday. A private service in her hometown, Newark, New Jersey. As for reports that the Houston family had banned the singer's ex-husband Bobby Brown from attending the funeral sources tell CNN that was never the case. And Brown may very well be at the service after all to pay tribute to Houston's life. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, the funeral as I said will be held at Whitney Houston's childhood church as her friends and family Aretha Franklin will sing. And the Reverend Marvin Winans of the gospel-singing The Winans and his family will give the eulogy. He's going to join us shortly. Digging deeper now, though, into that new reporting on Houston's drinking, what light, if any, it sheds on her death. Just a short time ago I spoke with 360 MD Sanjay Gupta, host of "Sanjay Gupta MD". Also addiction specialist, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of "Dr. Drew" on HLN. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Dr. Drew, what do you make of this report now from a single source to CNN about Whitney Houston being seen drinking in the morning, though, last -- in the hotel over the weekend? DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST, HLN'S "DR. DREW": A couple of things, Anderson. One is -- first of all, I hate to think that we have to have this report of humiliating behavior to understand simply that if she is drinking, she is in harm's way. OK? So the fact that there were multiple reports of her toasting and partying a couple of nights before her death, it should have been enough for anyone near her to understand that she was in real serious trouble. We don't have to necessarily bring in these other stories that sound rather humiliating but not surprising. And the fact, the level of consumption that's being reported begins to make sense in terms of the potential of causing respiratory suppression simply adding that level of alcohol that has been reported to one or two of those benzodiazepine medication would be sufficient to cause her to stop breathing. COOPER: So it can be as simple as alcohol in combination with a drug like Xanax or one or two other drugs? PINSKY: Yes. COOPER: Because I mean don't plenty of people -- PINSKY: Yes, that -- COOPER: -- take Xanax also drink and not end up dead? PINSKY: And, Anderson, you know, I have been getting so -- people are accusing me of being -- getting excited about this story. And I'm getting angry. And I want people to listen. Because this is something I have been fighting most of my career as an addictionologist. People don't understand how problematic these medicines are, especially if somebody has a history of addiction. It is potentially a life-threatening exposure when they're exposed to these medication. And add to that -- how many stories, Anderson, have we reported of people, celebrities dying pharmaceutical deaths and these are the medicines that have always been involved with that. COOPER: But are you saying that anybody who has had a past history of drug abuse can never drink? PINSKY: Can never drink. COOPER: Because I mean -- because people would say, well, look, OK, she was having some drinks. That doesn't necessarily mean she was relapsing, does it? PINSKY: Anderson, I am trying not to get as excited as I've been the last couple of nights on this show. Categorically that's a severe relapse. She is not somebody who is in the early stages of addiction. She is somebody that had many years of severe addiction, had been treated three times, and believe me, Anderson, in each of those treatments, abstinence was the goal. And that what they insisted upon in every one of those treatments -- and the fact that she could go to those treatments as recently as last May and come out and she and the people around her think that partying with alcohol is somehow OK, because her problem is other drugs, is it shows that the treatments were abject failures. Abject failures. And that she needed a lot more treatment. She didn't need to be out in public. She didn't need to be paraded around a party. She didn't need even to work on a movie. Her life was in danger as we now know. But we should have known that four months ago. COOPER: Sanjay, one of the things you've done a lot of reporting on is doctor shopping. You know somebody going to multiple doctors for different kinds of prescriptions and we've seen people do that in the past. There's no evidence Whitney Houston did that. The coroners said they want to rule that out that's why they're now subpoenaing and in contact with the pharmacies and doctors. But you had actually done a report on just how easy it is to get multiple prescriptions. I want to show some of that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED PHARMACIST: Is there a contact number for you? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 404-827 -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Patient Gupta, please return to the pharmacy. GUPTA: So that took about 15 minutes. I was able to walk in with my prescription about $20 on my charge card. They asked for my address and I walked out with 40 pills of narcotics. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: So how does that happen? GUPTA: Well, you know, one thing that's important to point out, you know, as you said, there's no evidence or at least suggestion of doctor shopping here. But what I was trying to prove and show in that report was that the regulation, the sort of keeping tabs on people filling these types of prescriptions is pretty woefully inadequate in just about every state. So you have a prescription from one doctor, you go to one pharmacy literally 10 minutes later you can go to another pharmacy, fill another prescription that -- when you start aggregating all these medicines you're giving a lot of different pills. And it's very, very hard for someone who wants to get these pills. Maybe not the fault of the doctor, maybe not the fault of the pharmacy. It's just the system is not designed to be able to catch people like that. And you can see within 15 minutes what I was able to do. COOPER: And Dr. Drew, there's going to be people now watching this who are taking multiple prescriptions for things who are suddenly going to get worried or wait a minute, do I know about the interaction of all these drugs. The point, though, that you make time and time again, besides that they should be, but for an addict, an addict is more likely to take extra, to take more than -- PINSKY: Right. COOPER: -- the doctor has told them to take. PINSKY: That's right. And it doesn't take much extra, by the way. In fact, in their mind, they're probably taking it as prescribed. And of course their perception is that it is safe. But, Sanjay, I've got to ask you a question. She's alleged to have had Xanax and Valium and Lorezapam in her bathroom. Can you think of any condition where she should have all three of those medications? I mean any condition. And furthermore -- GUPTA: I -- PINSKY: Go ahead. GUPTA: No, I mean, I don't know. I heard that Xanax was in -- was in her bathroom. I hadn't heard about the other things. But the point that I think is important here, there's really two things. One is that, you know, you always hear from the doctor when you get these pills, don't take this with alcohol. And I think it's been this sort of perception that's not a great idea but I'll be fine if I do. And I think -- COOPER: Yes, I got to tell you, I've taken things that I wasn't supposed to take with alcohol with alcohol, and think, well, look, how bad can it really be? I mean not like -- I don't -- you know, like an Ambien. (CROSSTALK) GUPTA: One in -- PINSKY: You bet. COOPER: Or something like that. GUPTA: One in 20 people do this over the age of 12. This is some alarming statistics. And, Drew, one of the things I think that's important, a lot -- this 1 in 20 number, 1 in 20 people misuse these medications in some way. Take too much, take it the wrong way or they combine it with something else. PINSKY: Yes. Yes. GUPTA: A lot of them are not addicts. And Drew, let me ask you, you know, the addicts may have a higher tolerance so maybe -- PINSKY: Yes. GUPTA: Maybe it takes more than someone who doesn't do this and they have an accidental overdose. I think this is an important message for -- PINSKY: Right. GUPTA: Like what Anderson is saying. The average person out there thinks look, it's not a great idea but it's not going to kill me. PINSKY: And I believe this Whitney Houston circumstance is not going to be doctor shopping. It's not going to be. She doesn't have to shop. She is an addict. Was given benzodiazepines. She should not have had it. And now she -- she had three different kinds. And as I said, Sanjay, that if indeed those are what were in the bathroom, neither you or I can think of any circumstance where any patient should be -- have all those -- three of those medications. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: We're going to have more with both these guys in just a moment. The whole notion of the dangers of mixing something like a sleeping pill with even two glasses of wine, again, I find really eye- opening. We're going to talk more about that after break. We'll dig deeper. Also into celebrity culture and how it may be a destructive force in the life of a recovering addict. Stay with us. Also let us know what you think. Join us on Facebook, Google Plus, you can add us to your circles. Or follow me on Twitter tonight @andersoncooper. I'll be tweeting in the hour ahead. Later video out of Syria. It makes your blood boil. A child fleeing apparently as a sniper takes aim at the child. Pretty unbelievable. It's not all that's happening. The Syrian regime denies almost all of it. We're "Keeping Them Honest." Our Arwa Damon is there on ground in Homs. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Well, the breaking news tonight, the details of the death of Whitney Houston including a report that she was seen drinking on the morning she died and seen drinking heavily on the Wednesday and Thursday mornings prior to her death. Before the break, Dr. Drew and our 360 MD Sanjay Gupta are weighing in on that. More now of that conversation which turned to talk about celebrity culture and how it may enable addiction. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: And one of the -- you know, one of the reasons we're covering this story a lot beyond the tragedy of Whitney Houston, and you know, I mean, again, I was listening to her music just again last night and it is just -- it just hits you time and time again what a tragedy this is. What a waste this is, regardless of the cause of her death. But this is a larger story. And the story of prescription abuse and the dangers of prescription drugs is, I think, really an important story. PINSKY: Yes. Absolutely. (CROSSTALK) COOPER: I want to shoe you -- PINSKY: I have been -- go ahead. COOPER: Yes. I want to show you something that Celine Dion said on "Good Morning America." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CELINE DION, SINGER: When you -- when you, you know, you think about Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse, I mean, to get into drugs like that for whatever reason is because of the stress and bad influence, what happens? What happens when you have everything? What happens when you have love, the support, the family, motherhood? You have -- you have responsibilities of a mother, and then something happens and it destroys everything. There's something that happened that I don't understand. And that's why I'm so scared. I'm scared of -- I'm scared show business, I'm scared of drugs. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: I mean is it -- does that miss the point? Is it just something about show business? PINSKY: Yes. COOPER: Or is this is a -- PINSKY: No. COOPER: I mean this is a larger issue as well, no? PINSKY: My patients today -- my addicted patients when they die they die a pharmaceutical death without exception. It's the third night in a row -- I'm saying this on your show, Anderson. And I would urge people to think back to the rock stars of the last 20 to 30 years who've used tons of illicit drugs. The exception being IV heroin, but all the illicit drug use, they're all still with us. They are all still alive. But the ones that graduate to the prescription drug, which really has been the last five years that we've seen this title wave of this problem. And again, as Celine Dion said, by the way, she's not an addict, you can tell. An addict but she listed all the people that have died and there are many, many more. They are all pharmaceutical deaths. And what's happening in Hollywood and in the musical field is simply a reflection of what's going on in this country. COOPER: Well, do you think it's -- I mean as somebody who -- and we heart about it so much when a celebrity -- as you say, this is happening every few seconds and minute in the United States. But is there something and I think you and I have talked about this, Dr. Drew. Is there something about, you know, what that drives people to be a celebrity, what drives people to be in the public eye that also then is more likely to drive them to seek a high? PINSKY: Yes. They do have more trauma. They do tend -- I have explicit objective research on this that I have published. And yes, they do have more trauma, they do have more of the genetic heritage of addiction. They do have more narcissistic pathology, and celebrity is sort of a bid to solve that problem for them. But as you know, celebrity ends up with power, with sycophants surrounding them. And so when they do manifest their problems, they tend to progress more severely. The rest of us would have an employer. Again these -- I mean these people are all independent contractors. They don't have an employer that can come in and pull them aside and say hey, you're going to lose your job if you don't get it together. And they -- similarly they have sycophants surrounding them that are afraid of losing their access to them. And they have power. If you remember Deepak Chopra told us a story about how he confronted Michael Jackson about his drug use and was dismissed from the inner circle. They have the power to do that. They have the power for their disease to progress. COOPER: It does seem, Sanjay, that some doctors -- not all certainly, but there are some doctors who like having celebrities in their lives and may be more willing to prescribe them something just -- you know, to kind of keep them in their lives. GUPTA: Yes, and we just saw this obviously this trial with Conrad Murray. We've heard about this with other celebrities. There are these concierge doctors which we reported on. They just take a few patients, they're celebrities. And those celebrities expect that doctor to essentially, you know, take care of them and get them the things that they say they need. But, Anderson, to your point earlier where you say there is a larger point here, we do talk about the celebrities because they're famous and perhaps because they have this access. But there are a lot of people out there that have these sorts of problems. I mean -- and I can't express that enough. I mean, you know, we've talked about all these famous people but 1 in 20 people are misusing these medications right now. We may not hear about their deaths but every 19 minutes one of them will die. So again the warning about, you know, don't misuse these drugs isn't supposed to be a polite thing saying hey, if you think about it, don't misuse this. It literally should say this could kill you. COOPER: So what's the advice, Sanjay -- GUPTA: And doctors don't like to say it but they -- I think they need to in this case. COOPER: What's the advice, Sanjay, then for a family watching tonight who's taking multiple things. Maybe they have an Ambien prescription and a Xanax prescription, and you know, they're not sure of how it all -- is it -- just of course -- GUPTA: I would -- GUPTA: Question your doctor as much as possible? GUPTA: Well, I think you need to be very transparent. And you know, I don't want to condemn anybody in particular, but a lot of these patients were getting these types of medications, to Drew's point earlier, is because they are getting -- you know, someone to get Xanax and to get another benzodiazepine or another anti-anxiety medication they're probably not being forthright. Because any doctor would say look, why are you taking all these various medications? So be very, very transparent about. But also look, if you're just somebody who says look, I'm not an addict, I haven't had this problem, I'm watching all this stuff about Whitney Houston, that's not me. I don't have to worry about this. Yes, you do. You have to think about this because the next time you think about it may be because you've had a catastrophic event as a result of combining, misusing or overdosing on these medications. COOPER: I got to say, Dr. Drew, it really to me is an eye-opener because - I mean, I'm not a drinker but you know I'll have an occasional glass of wine. But the idea that -- I sort of -- if I'm, you know, if I'm going to take an Ambien one night, you know, I don't think -- I just kind of pooh-pooh the whole alcohol/drug combination thing but clearly -- PINSKY: Sanjay, this is the third time our patient has mentioned Ambien. I think we ought to pull him aside for a little talk here. COOPER: I don't really take Ambien either. PINSKY: Maybe there's an opportunity to -- COOPER: But I mean I -- I do occasionally have if I'm traveling or whatever on a plane. PINSKY: I got that the first time you said it. I heard it. But yes -- COOPER: Now you're saying I'm an addict. PINSKY: No, I'm not. I'm not. COOPER: OK. All right. PINSKY: I'm making fun of you. But the fact is, you're a great example of how cautious someone must be. You're someone who is trying to use these things intelligently. You saw the caution on the label, and so you're trying to be careful. If I had a glass of wine, what's the big deal? I'm being careful. I'm not driving a vehicle. But the fact is, you have two glasses of wine and Ambien, you really could be in harm's way. COOPER: Really? GUPTA: And let me just say one thing more about that specific. COOPER: Yes. GUPTA: Because I think this illustrates a point. When you combine these things, we've mentioned that they're synergistic. It's not just adding it. It becomes exponentially worse. PINSKY: Right. GUPTA: But specifically it sort of tinkers with this part of your brain known as your hypothalamus. That's a part of the brain that's sort of, you know, tells you to breathe so you don't have to think about it. Regulates your heart rate. If your hypothalamus is tinkered with, and this is more science than maybe your audience wants to know, but if it tinkered with, when you go to sleep, your drive to breathe may go away. You can see how potentially deadly that can be. So I mean this is -- this has been known for awhile but I -- COOPER: Your drive to breathe goes away. GUPTA: Your drive to breathe -- PINSKY: Your drive to breathe and also your swallowing mechanism becomes suppressed. And you can aspirate which is the other thing I see all the time which is you either stop breathing or you come out with a bad -- overwhelming pneumonias. COOPER: Wow. You know, we keep having this conversation but I got to tell you, I think this is an important conversation to have. Again, it's a much larger issue than just this one tragedy. Dr. Drew, I appreciate it. And Sanjay, I appreciate it, thanks. GUPTA: You got it, Anderson. PINSKY: Yes. COOPER: So just to underscore, even legitimately prescribed medicine can kill especially in combination with as few as a couple of drinks. By the same token, it also bears repeating. We do not yet know what happened in the case of Whitney Houston. It's important not to get ahead of the facts. But the fact is sadly, abundantly clear, as Dr. Drew mentioned. If prescription drugs played a role in the death of Whitney Houston, it would not be the first time. More in that angle tonight from Miguel Marquez. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this video taken days before Michael Jackson's death, the king of pop rehearsing for an upcoming tour looks like the picture of physical health. But off stage, he was suffering from a crippling addiction to the powerful anesthetic Propofol or milk, as he liked to call it. It was an addiction enabled by his doctor, Conrad Murray. CONRAD MURRAY, MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR: I then decided to go ahead and give him some of the milk so he could get a coupe of hours' sleep so that he could produce. Because I cared about him. I did not want him to fail. I had no intentions of hurting him. MARQUEZ: Just six months later, Hollywood would be rocked by yet another death. Actress Brittany Murphy who played Eminem's love interest in "Eight Mile" and was an ugly duckling who became a swan with the help of Alicia Silverstone in the teen comedy, "Clueless." BRITTANY MURPHY, ACTRESS: Why am I even listening to you to begin with? You're a virgin who can't drive. ALICIA SILVERSTONE, ACTRESS: That was way harsh, Ty. MARQUEZ: The coroner ruled that Murphy's death at age 32 was an accident due to combination of pneumonia, iron deficiency and, quote, "multiple drug intoxication." But Murphy's husband and mother disputed those findings to Larry King. SIMON MONJACK, BRITTANY MURPHY'S HUSBAND: For the record, as a clarity statement, my wife had not taken any drugs that could harm her that morning. That is for -- I will -- LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: No drug overdose? MONJACK: Please. Brittany was -- (CROSSTALK) MONJACK: Brittany was scared to take -- KING: So she never had a drug problem? SHARON MURPHY, BRITTANY MURPHY'S MOTHER: She had a heart murmur. MONJACK: Not so much. MARQUEZ: And there was Heath Ledger, the actor known for his groundbreaking performance in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" where he played a gay cowboy opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. JAKE GYLLENHAAL, ACTOR: I wish I knew how to quit you. HEATH LEDGER, ACTOR: Well, why don't you? Why don't you just let me be, huh? MARQUEZ: But he died just months before the release of his biggest blockbuster, "The Dark Knight." Critics and audiences raved over his turn as the arch villain, the Joker. LEDGER: No, no, you, you complete me. MARQUEZ: Ledger died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills. He was only 28. Singer Amy Winehouse's struggles with addiction were well known. But in the end, the singer wasn't done in by drugs. In a ruling disputed by Winehouse's father, the coroner said she died from accidental alcohol poisoning. (On camera): Celebrities dying from drug and alcohol abuse isn't new. Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Anna Nicole Smith, just to name a few. But recent deaths have focused attention on one of Hollywood's dirty little secret. Doctors who make prescription drugs readily available to the stars. (Voice-over): Actress McKenzie Phillips told Kareen Wynter that despite her history as an addict, doctors willingly overprescribed her pills. KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: There's some doctors out there, many doctors perhaps who may be enamored by a star. And they're just trying to please their client. But come on, you have to have stars on the other end who may be using their fame to get these drugs. MCKENZIE PHILLIPS, ACTRESS: Well, I'm sure that that is definitely something that helps them to get the doctor to give them whatever they want. And I know I've been in that position myself. MARQUEZ: Now, investigators also want to know, is that what happened to Whitney Houston? Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Still ahead tonight, family and friends of Whitney Houston are going to pay tribute to the singer on Saturday. Pastor Marvin Winans will deliver the eulogy. He joins me next live. And later what CNN's Arwa Damon is seeing right now in Homs, a one-sided war. Her words, the government using everything it has to crush its people. We're "Keeping Them Honest. " (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Breaking news tonight, a source telling CNN that Whitney Houston was seen drinking on the morning that she died and drinking heavily the prior Wednesday and Thursday. The official cause of death that will not be determined until toxicology results come back. The funeral we know takes place on Saturday at Whitney Houston's childhood church. This is you'll recall where her mom run the music program. That's where a young Whitney Houston sang in the choir, then soloed and then grew into that voice. Those who'll be there to pay tribute will indeed be members of popular and gospel music royalty, her mother, of course, Cissy, godmother Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, the Winans family, BBC, and Pastor Marvin Winans will deliver the eulogy. The Houstons and the Winans have been close for decades. Here is Whitney performing with Didi and Cissy in 1989. That was Whitney Houston and Didi Winans and Cissy Winans in 1989 NAACP Image Awards. Joining me now another member of the Winans family, gospel singer and pastor of the New Perfecting Church in Detroit, Marvin Winans. Reverend, I appreciate you being with us, Pastor. You and your family obviously are so close to the Houston family. How is your family doing and how is Whitney's family doing? PASTOR MARVIN WINANS, PERFECTING CHURCH, DETROIT: Well, my mother, after we heard it said she felt as if she had lost one of her children. I said mom, it's because you have. Talking with Cissy, just, you know, when I called I said mom, it's going to be all right. Faith plays a great part in how we cope with uncertainties in life. It is not something that we run from in difficulty. It's something that we run to. So, by the grace of God, everyone is holding up pretty well. COOPER: You were there for her wedding and you are there for her coming home, a celebration of her life this weekend. How do you even go about writing the words that you are going to say? I mean, do you know what you are going to say? WINANS: Well, it's -- it's about praying and, you know, folk will talk about doing the eulogy. My job is not that of a eulogist. In technical term my job is homilist and my job is to speak on behalf of God as it relates to where we are and how we go further. So we pray, we speak from our heart and we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us so we might begin to minister hope and healing to those who are there. COOPER: And how do you give that? I mean, obviously you said faith is extraordinarily important. But, you know, in times like this, people question their faith and say, you know, why would a young woman be taken from us with such talent and such potential and such life ahead of her? WINANS: Well, the wonderful thing about salvation is that it is a choice. As I was talking to some people the other day, I thought about an old gospel song that says we are our Heavenly Father's children and he loves us one and all. Yet there are times when we will answer to another's beckon call. So, salvation is constantly a choice. It is a constant vigil of doing the right things. It's not a blame game on God that somehow God just took Whitney from us. It is a fact that we have choices and the choices that we make may not be the best choices, but just as a son or daughter may disappoint their father doesn't mean that he doesn't love them. COOPER: You and I were talking right before the show and I was asking what you want to get across. One of the things you said to me was really important, which is that the importance of praising people and telling them how much you care about them and love them in their life, not just after they passed. WINANS: It is amazing. We take life and love for granted so often. As you play that video of Bibi and Cissy, Whitney was actually supposed to sing with the Winans first. But we ran into contractual problems and she ended up with Bibi and Cissy. But just as a family, we lost our brother, Ronald and Whitney came and sat with us and rolled with us to the cemetery. That's what families do. We rally around each other when someone is hurting. We lay aside what we do professionally and we find the time to be there. The power of presence is so great. So, people need to learn how to say I love you and I miss you. Last week, Whitney was alive. I was here preaching. There were no cameras. No one was calling me. But since her death, you know, we are fighting off news agencies simply because they don't understand that we lost a sister. This is not a break or an opportunity. We are really hurting and seriously grieving. It amazes me the insensitivity of the media when it comes to things like this. COOPER: I think, you know, often people see this as, you know, reporters see this as a news story and there's facts to get out for family in the epicenter of this, and family and friends, it's not a story. It is life and death. It's heart break. WINANS: Yes. COOPER: A heart break that never heals. WINANS: It's someone that was there and now you can no longer speak to them. Maybe you didn't tell them that you loved them. Maybe if you had known, you would have did some things differently. So, there's a lot of questions, a lot of things that go through minds, why wasn't I there? Why didn't I help? What if I picked up the phone? What if I went and got her? You have to reconcile all of that within yourself and you miss that person so greatly. COOPER: There had been some discussion, I understand or talk publicly about a public service. Obviously, this is going to be a private service now. I think a lot of her fans, you know, wanted some sort of public service that they could take part in. For you, the importance of it being private and of it being family is clear? WINANS: I don't think knowing Cissy and the Houston family, I don't think it was a matter of public or private as it was this is my daughter, this is my sister, this is my mother, this is my friend and we want to do this with dignity. We don't want to have a parade. We loved her when she was nippy in New Jersey. The world loves her because of her voice, but if nippy could not sing, the Houston family would love her. I knew that momma Houston would do it the way she wanted it done. We are going to church and we are not going to be worried about if the world can get in. We are going to lay our daughter to rest in the confines and the tradition of what we do. COOPER: Well, there are so many people around the world listening to her music and sadly now who weren't listening to it last week, but I hope you know that -- and I hope the family knows there are countless people around the world sending their prayers. I wish you the best. It's going to be a difficult weekend for you. WINANS: It will be difficult, but God answers prayer and prayer changes things, people and circumstances. COOPER: Pastor Winans, I really appreciate you being on tonight. Thank you, sir. WINANS: Thank you. COOPER: We are going to look at politics coming up next. We want you to be part of the conversation. Ask your question to our panel in our digital dashboard, on Facebook, Twitter, Google plus. Still ahead, "Keeping Them Honest," what's really happening inside Syria? CNN's Arwa Damon has gotten inside Homs tonight. She's there seeing the slaughter of civilians firsthand. She joins me ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Tonight, "Keeping Them Honest," on the campaign trail. Talking to reporters last night, Rick Santorum was asked about Washington State's recent vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said I think this is a national issue. We can't have two marriage laws. We have to have consistency in what marriage is. I think we need to have a national discussion about it and develop a national policy. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: It's not the first time Santorum's called for a national policy on a social issue important to Christian conservatives. Abortion is another example. What interesting is that Santorum's called for a national policy does seem completely at odds with what he says is his strong support for states' rights. Another issue that resonate with social conservatives like banning birth control, he's argued for states having the right to make their own laws. Here he is talking about why the Supreme Court was wrong to overturn a Connecticut law banning birth control. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANTORUM: I never questioned whether the state had the right to do it. It's not a constitutional right. The state has a right to pass whatever statutes they have. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: He says the states have the right unless the issue on the table same-sex marriage. Tonight, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Santorum with a seven-point lead over Romney in Ohio. It's a key race on Super Tuesday. There's also this, a new CNN/ORC international poll shows Republican enthusiasm about the election is faltering. Meantime, President Obama's approval rating has climbed to 50 percent for the first time in eight months. Let's talk about it now with Ari Fleischer, CNN political contributor and former White House press secretary for George W. Bush. Also Bill Burton, a former deputy White House press secretary for President Obama and senior strategist of "Priorities USA Action." So Ari, the Romney "Super PAC" came out last night with ads attacking Santorum in three states. We e saw what happened when Gingrich was the focus of the ads. Do you think Santorum is any different? Do you think this is now really going to chip away at Santorum? ARI FLEISCHER, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. I mean, if you do the advertising properly, it picks up on what people actually on their own or inclined to believe about a candidate for better or for worse. There are some vulnerabilities with Rick Santorum. I think that's what Mitt Romney is going to seek to expose them. That is part of running for office. Rick Santorum needs to show he can take a shot, give a shot and return the ball. COOPER: It's interesting. You know, listening to the alleged political experts over the last couple of months, on paper, there's no way Santorum should be in this position. His campaign doesn't have an advance team, doesn't have a pollster, not even a campaign headquarters, really, but a lot of very passionate followers. Doesn't the fact that he is in this position, does that tell you that maybe Republicans really are enthusiastic about the election after all whatever some of these polls show enthusiasm faltering? BILL BURTON, SENIOR STRATEGIST, PRIORITIES USA ACTION: Well, I don't know if they are enthusiastic about the election. If you look state by state, the turnout has actually been lower than it was in 2008 when the primary was really competitive. This time around, you know, Santorum benefits from the fact that Republicans are having a tough time coalescing around Mitt Romney for one reason or for another. I think that conservatives just don't trust him because his record just doesn't match up with everything that he's been saying on the campaign trail this time around. But I will say, on the spending, you know, Romney and Romney "Super PAC" have a lot of money up in the air. And the one thing that has been determinative in this race is when Romney and the "Super PAC" and his allies spend a lot of money, Romney does well. When they don't, he doesn't. He's problem is that this time, Santorum's "Super PAC" is matching them dollar for dollar in Michigan. So we'll see what kind of impact that has on the race there. COOPER: Ari, do you buy that there's a lack of enthusiasm? FLEISCHER: Well, I think there's a lack of conservative enthusiasm for Mitt Romney. A lot of the Rick Santorum vote is anti- Romney vote. And people are kind of hoping that Rick Santorum is who they want. There's still a lot of question about everything with Rick Santorum's record that people don't know yet. He's largely unknown quantity in Republican circles. He's filling in the blanks. He's in a rush to fill in those blanks before Mitt Romney does it for him. As for the overall enthusiasm issue, I think there has been a decline in Republican enthusiasm since last fall. I think there's some part of frustration of how Republicans are going after each other. I anticipate that that's going to build back up once Republicans have a nominee. It's going to be exciting once they do. As for turnout, you know, it's hard to measure because you have Florida is a big quirk because of a 2008 ballot initiative, which brought out hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise, don't vote presidential. Missouri, four years ago, had it been a real primary with real delegates that counted, this year was a beauty contest. So if you compare the two states, there's a huge drop off. Without that, you have record Republican turnout in Iowa, in New Hampshire and South Carolina so it's inconclusive, Anderson, is how I would put it so far. COOPER: I want to ask this digital dashboard question we got from one of our viewers. If Santorum wins Michigan, will he take on the beloved frontrunner status or will it remain with Romney, Ari? FLEISCHER: I think it still remains with Mitt Romney in large part because he still has, and when I talk about organization, so what does that mean. He's getting on the ballot everywhere. The fact that nobody is contesting Mitt Romney seriously in Arizona is a huge issue. The press is going to focus on Michigan because it's where a fight takes place. But if you are Mitt Romney, you are saying, I'm also chalking up delegates there. These people aren't taking me on in Arizona, which has a primary the same night as Michigan. COOPER: But Bill, if Mitt Romney cannot win in Michigan where his father has a long history, where he was born, I mean, that could be crippling for him, no? BURTON: I think it's going to be a big problem for Mitt Romney. I don't think the issue is going to be whether or not he wins the nomination. I think that as Ari pointed out, he's the only candidate in this race who actually has the infrastructure to bring this all the way to the end. But if he loses Michigan, which is not looking great for him right now, a big problem could be that his fundraising dries up a little bit and he's not able to have the kind of impact in a campaign that he needs to have throughout the primary. In 2008, President Obama and Hillary Clinton went through this long drawn out primary. But through that process, the president built support in almost every single state. It's not what's happening with Mitt Romney. If his money dries up, he's really not going to be able to do that. COOPER: Bill, Ari, appreciate your time. Thank you, guys. Just ahead, Iran stages a public showing of what it call advance in its nuclear program. We'll see how the Obama administration reacted. And an expensive Rolex watch vanished in the Florida airport's security check. Sheriff's are looking for a suspect. They have a good idea of what he looks like. Also the latest from Syria, ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Tonight, Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad is calling for a national vote on a new draft constitution that he says contains major reforms. Critics frankly just say it's window dressing. Activists say at least 32 more people were killed today. This little boy, take a look at this video, running from sniper fire in Daraa where all this began. You can hear the shots being fired. A man runs after him, carries the boy to safety. Video from the Damascus suburb apparently shows civilians being forced to stand and lie down next to an army tank. Activists say it's to serve as human shields. We can't verify these reports firsthand because the Assad regime won't let us in. We weren't there. Today, CNN's Arwa Damon, however is there in Homs. Here is what she said. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: I know you saw a patient who had a brain injury. Pieces of this man's brain came out of his head. They basically just sewed back his head up just to keep it inside and has some sort of a tube in there. But he desperately needed to get out and will die if he doesn't. ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He will. He's not the only one in there in that kind of dire condition. There was another young volunteer at the clinic actually who has been injured in one of the strikes on the clinic itself. He was in an incredibly difficult situation. We later on heard that he had died. He didn't make it and that is quite simply because he wasn't able to receive the medical care that he so desperately needed. The nurse that was tending to him, she was 27 years old. She was also a volunteer and she was crying out, wanting to know how it was that the international community could watch human beings continuously die and do nothing. She pointed to this young man pressing his head and was saying this is a human being. This is not something made of stone. Life has value. How is it in the 21st Century that the world can watch and let this type of massacre take place? COOPER: Arwa, you have covered a lot of places where violence is happening and suffering is happening. How does this compare? DAMON: It doesn't, Anderson. It really doesn't. I mean, on the one hand, yes, we are covering all the conflicts you come across. Death you come across. Sorrow, you come across. Atrocities, but what we have witnessed happening inside Syria does not compare to anything that's taken place in any other country. Whether you compare it to the other revolutions that you saw happening across the Middle East or the other types of violence and various conflict zones, what's happening here, it's very difficult to put it into words, Anderson. The level of despair, what's happening, how one-sided this war and it is now a war really is. You have a massive entity that's power that is the Syrian government using every single tool at its disposal to crush this opposition that really, as they put it is crying out for freedom. We hear all the stories of children being mercilessly massacred at the hands of the regime, of no one being spared. You really just can't compare it to anything else. COOPER: Arwa Damon, stay safe. Thank you. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Arwa Damon inside Homs. Susan Hendricks joins us now with the "360 News and Bulletin" -- Susan. SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Iran showed off what it called advances in its nuclear program today. Iran's president to view what his country claim is a new generation of centrifuges to be used at a nuclear research center. The State Department dismissed it as a lot of hype. House Speaker John Boehner today defended a payroll tax extension deal that will cost the Treasury $100 billion. President Obama said he will sign the bill if it passes Congress. And the sheriff's office at Broward County, Florida would like to speak to this man who they believe took an expensive Rolex watch that didn't belong to him. He was going through security at the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport last month when he spotted the watch in one of those bins and he took it. Police say it was left in the bin accidentally by another passenger who was ahead of that guy. The man who took it boarded his plane before security could talk to him. COOPER: Maybe somebody will recognize him. Susan, we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: We ran out of time for "The Ridiculist" because of the conversation with Dr. Drew and Sanjay went long about prescription drugs. We thought it was an important conversation to have though. We'll have "The Ridiculist" again tomorrow night as we always do. We'll see you again one hour from now, another edition of "360" at 10:00. "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" starts now.


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When did a blank edit field become On May 9, 2006, at 7:11 AM, Alastair Campbell wrote: > Puting in an x or a word or two which if left in would return an > invalid entry message would be the solution. So people enter 5x instead? (For example.) I don't consider that a good solution, as people then have to go through the form again. We have a conflict here of people using screen readers versus people on Braille displays. (There are probably exceptions on both sides, but in general there isn't a clear solution.) When you have this, surely the best/easiest option for the general populace should win out? In that way even sites which have no regard for accessibility aren't tripping up on this checkpoint, and everyone is following the same (defacto) method. I just don't see the advantage for anyone in catering for a user agent that doesn't understand basic HTML. Kind regards, -Alastair -- Alastair Campbell | Director of User Experience Nomensa Email Disclaimer: http://www.nomensa.com/email-disclaimer.htmlReceived on Tuesday, 9 May 2006 11:22:40 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 13 October 2015 16:21:34 UTC


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Lenny Kravitz, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Rodrigo Santoro and Riccardo Scamarcio are all attached to star in "The Blind Bastard Club" reports Screen Daily.
The story follows a group of blind thrillseekers who begin bar brawls, jump out of planes and pretend they're not blind – all in order to live life on the edge. The leader of the pack soon falls for a rollerblading call girl.
Ash Baron-Cohen ("This Girl's Life") will direct the $6 million feature and shooting kicks off in Brazil in April. Frank Desmarais, Andrew Mysko and Cory Neal will produce.


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Pisces Foundation
Program Associate, Water
San Francisco, CA
Full Time
About the Organization
The Pisces Foundation believes if we act now and boldly, we can quickly accelerate to a world where people and nature thrive together. Pisces mainstreams powerful new solutions to support innovators who know what it takes and are doing what's necessary to have clean and abundant water, a safe climate, and an environmentally literate society.
To learn more about Pisces' work and collaborations, visit: http://piscesfoundation.org/
Program Associate
We are seeking a collaborative, solutions-oriented self-starter to join our mission-driven team as Program Associate, Water. The Program Associate plays a critical role in grants management and monitoring as well as core operating functions for the program and the Foundation. The position reports to the Water Program Officer.
Grantmaking and Monitoring: Support Program Officer in the strategic development of the program and grant portfolios by assisting in: planning, research, development, monitoring, and assessing grant proposals and reports. Assist in assessing grantee and program progress toward strategic outcomes and goals.
Grant Management: Support the mechanics of the program and grant portfolios by: managing program pipeline, budget, and document workflow, maintaining files, and acting as internal/external liaison on document requests and submissions. Collaborates with the Chief Operating Officer, the Grants Manager, and fellow Program Associates.
Communications: Contribute to the Foundation's voice and presence by drafting presentations, blogs, social media.
Program Operations: Support the program's day-to-day operations and events by scheduling, producing expense reports, and providing meeting support and events planning.
Foundation Support: Contribute to the Foundation operations by working with colleagues on board meeting preparation, staff committees, organization development (contacts and mailing lists, teambuilding, recruiting/training). Executes special projects as assigned.
Research, Analysis, and Synthesis: Conducts research as directed by the Program Officer to advance and stay apprised of field developments.
Skills and Qualifications
Pisces Foundation offers an excellent benefits package and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience.
How to apply:
Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and relevant writing sample combined as a single document in PDF format to: Carol Ting at firstname.lastname@example.com. Please indicate in the subject line, "PROGRAM ASSOCIATE."
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
See piscesfoundation.org/ for more information on the Foundation.
We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and with a variety of skills, experiences, and ideas. We are an equal opportunity employer. Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, color, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.


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I'm a fan of Murray Head's One Night In Bangkok. As an aside a cherished memory I have is of travelling in the back seat of the car with my uncle driving, aunt in the passenger seat and brother next to me. We were listening to this song on the radio, in the early eighties. I just can't describe the feelings that accompany that memory.
Anyway, the point of this post is that in the song there's an ongoing conversation between Murray Head and the chorus. I wondered what Myers-Briggs types the two fell into. I'd put Head as a ENTJ, and the chorus as ESFJ. What do you think?


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[Sneak Peek]THE ITALIAN'S RAGS-TO-RICHES WIFE
Laura wanted nothing to do with her father, or his family, after he abandoned her and her mother. But when she needs money to pay off her inheritance taxes, Allesandro di Vicenzo, sent by her paternal grandfather, arrives just in time. Allesandro is told that if he succeeds in delivering Laura, he'll be promised a chance at a CEO position, so he offers her a small fortune to help pay off her taxes. Laura doesn't like the rude and moody Allesandro, and initially he doesn't care much for his boss's cold, plain-looking granddaughter. But the moreshe opens herself up to her grandfather, the more Allesandro sees a side of her he can't resist. Unfortunately, rumors begin swirling around the two of them, driving Laura away once again. Will Allesandro go after her and convince her to be the beautiful woman he knows she is inside?
|31 Pages
|129 Pages
Share This BookFree Preview from : January 18th, 2015
Release Date : January 21st, 2015


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Sage Cellars is a Rhode Island based company owned and operated by trained professionals in wine and beer. Our passion for great craftsmanship runs deep and is born out of a life of dedicated study. Our business model is based on a simple premise: We choose to work with companies with whom we feel an equal excitement for their wines or beers and believe pairs well with the Rhode Island consumer. Our focus has been with family run vineyards, we are also a family business and understand the value in our industry. We listen closely, provide genuine and valuable support both for our quality products in our portfolio and our customers who sustain us.
About Anne & Jesse
Anne Sage and Jesse Sgro met in Rhode Island at the RI Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School while Anne was taking drum lessons. They discovered another shared path in the world of culinary arts and wine which brought them closer together and ultimately led to their marriage. Now they share a family and their dream business, Sage Cellars.
Meet the team
Anne Sage started studying wine in 1996 in Boston under the instruction of Sandy Block, the first American Master of Wine. She continued her studies at Le Cordon Bleu Paris with the sommelier from the Paris Ritz; finally receiving the Advanced Certificate from London's Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). A classically trained French chef, Anne catered for a decade, owning Fat Cat Catering while teaching food & wine pairing classes during that time. Anne also serves on the board of the RI Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School.
Jesse Sgro completed his Bachelor's in Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He continued his education at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was at Johnson & Wales that Jesse ignited his passion for food & wine, achieving an Associates degree in Culinary Arts. After working "the line" for a time, Jesse's focus on the world of wine grew. He studied for his Advanced level certificate from the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) based in London, UK. After passing the exam (with merit) Jesse soon became a wine manager for one of the largest, and most profitable retail liquor stores in the state of Massachusetts. Since then Jesse has worked for a wine distributor in Rhode Island and has continued to fuel his passion by traveling to various wine producing regions in the United States and in Europe.
Andrew Doolan, Sales Associate Andrew has extensive hospitality experience, having worked at Vanderbilt Grace, The White Barn Inn, Kennebunkport, Maine and The Point on Saranac Lake. Andrew came to Sage Cellars from Persimmon Restaurant in Bristol. He has taken both the Introductory Sommelier exam and Sommelier Certification and is a member of the RI Chapter of the Boston Sommelier Society. Andrew's experience has diversified his library of wine knowledge while he offers customer service in an approachable, friendly and fun manner.
Nick Sampson, Shipping & Receiving While Nick is currently a server at The Boat House is Tiverton, he is also our delivery driver. Nick has a passion for both wine and craft beer. He has been known to travel far and wide for that unique, hard to find, one of a kind craft beer while he has knowledge of the both industries. His customer service skills, while influenced by hospitality, are also natural to his friendly, genuine and kind spirit. It is not uncommon to see Nick deliver cases of wine with a smile while it's pouring rain outside.
Awards & Recognition


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I must support the person who wrote to you concerning treatment of old people in the area, (News Post Leader, July 30).
Originally, these OAP bungalows were built for seclusion and peace and quiet for people in their old age.
Nothing silly like that now.
Some ambitious councillor may be trying to make a name for him/herself by creating a play area so that they can look back and say, 'I did that'.
If so, I would like to discuss this further with the lady or gentleman.
Charles Stewart
Seaton Delaval


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Obituary & Guest Book Preview for Edward C. Kurtz Jr.
Edward C. Kurtz Jr. Obituary
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: KURTZ Edward C. Kurtz, Jr. Former documentary filmmaker, writer, community activist Edward C. Kurtz, Jr. passed away on January 12th after a brief illness. He...
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When you maximize garage space you'll find ways to store possessions and engage in activities you may have reserved for the house. The garage can be a neglected source of much needed extra space.
Because if there's one thing that we homeowners complain about time and time again is not having enough room; both inside and outside the house. Even if we were convinced that a three bedroom property with a garden was more than enough when we sealed the purchase all those years ago, it could well be a very different story in the present day.
Having children, buying a pet, and simply accumulating items over the years all too often leads to a pretty messy, cluttered home. This can make the house a stressful environment in which to live, especially when you and your family are living on top of each other every day. It is usually at this point where we start browsing property websites and looking in the windows of estate agents on our way back from work – even though we SWORE that we weren't going to move again.
But hold your horses, as you may not need to move to a bigger home at all. Before you even entertain the idea of upgrading your property to a larger model, ask yourself this: are you making the most of the space you have in your current home?
For example, the majority of properties these days come with a garage. What's in yours right now? Here are a few ways you can maximize garage space and turn it into a much more useful space, for the benefit of everyone in your home!
Maximize Garage Space: Clear It Out
We humans are hoarders, and many of us are reluctant to throw anything away "just in case we need it one day". This, however, is a dangerous mindset to have as we can often end up drowning under piles of items from decades ago. The garage is often where a lot of these items end up because it is largely separate to the rest of the home and thus, we forget about it. Make a conscious effort to clear out your garage of all the stuff you've been hiding in there – it will create space you never knew you had!
Make a conscious effort to clear out your garage of all the stuff you've been hiding in there. Have a yard sale, donate good quality items to charity, or just chuck stuff out. Be sensible and ruthless, and this will create space you never knew you had!
Maximize Garage Space: Make It Functional
Most people use garages to store their cars and outdoor tools. So, once you've cleared out all the junk, take some time to make your garage more functional. Now you can actually fit your car in there, invest in garage doors automation so you can open and shut it them on wintry days without having to leave your vehicle. As far as storing things go, utilize the walls as much as you can by installing shelves or even by making your own DIY tool rack. It's amazing what can be achieved with a large sheet of pre-holed mdf and some dowling.
Maximize Garage Space: Transform It Into A Whole New Room
If you don't own a car and you're not really the gardening type, don't fear: there are still ways you can get the most out of your garage. For example, why not treat it as an extension of your family home by turning it into a games room or a second living room? This can be really useful for when your children enter their teenage years and want a little more privacy with their friends.
Purchase some second-hand furniture or recycle and reupholster your own old furniture that's been secretly lurking in your cluttered garage. Add a flat screen TV, pool table, and a microwave and you won't have to worry about teenagers cluttering up your house ever again.
A coat of paint and new floor coverings needn't be an expensive redecorating exercise and will make the space more user-friendly and comfortable.
Sure, you may need to add some heating and an extra entry door. But if you don't mind having a big project on your hands, it is a great way to truly make the most of this spare space.
Rethink how to maximize garage space and turn a cluttered and dusty area into a highly useable extra room for storage and recreation.
Header image courtesy of Carolyn Reyes.


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To Buy the Book
I encourage you to buy my book from your local independent bookseller. To find an independent bookstore,visit IndieBound. If you prefer to purchase the book online, I suggest ordering directly from the publisher,
Chicago Review Press, from
Barnes & Noble or from Amazon.
"Elegant, eye-opening, and memorable"--Kirkus Reviews
Now available!


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Three Tips to Make Facebook Manageable
To Facebook or not to Facebook? That is the question—at least for many credit unions in Missouri. In today's world, more people are turning to social media as one of their primary ways to communicate, especially when it comes to interacting with businesses. That's why a sweeping majority of credit unions in Missouri have opted to create social media business pages and accounts.
So you have your credit union's Facebook page all set up, and now you're not sure how often to post or how to add managing a Facebook page to your daily duties. Don't fret! Facebook can be quite manageable if you utilize a few social media tricks.
|This dropdown menu allows you to quickly switch from using Facebook as your credit union's page or your personal account.
Listen, Follow and Interact
Use Facebook as your credit union. To do this, use the dropdown menu from the gear at the far right (in the dark blue banner at the top of the page). Now that you have switched to your credit union, find pages that are relevant to your credit union, your members and potential members. Like pages of local businesses that you have relationships with or the pages of local organizations, such as the city government or nonprofits.
Once you've liked a page, you can stay informed of everything from the home page (or news feed) of your credit union. You can access this when you're using Facebook as your credit union. Try to like at least one or two statuses a day, and comment whenever you have something to add to the conversation.
Also, you can find some really shareable material within your credit union's news feed, such as local events, emergency info or weather alerts.
Time Management
Set aside 10 minutes in the morning or afternoon to see what's going on. Visit your credit union's news feed and check to see if anyone has commented on any of the pictures or statuses posted to your credit union's page.
Notifications don't always work, so it's important that you visit it at least once every other day. You wouldn't want any negative comments lingering out there.
It's a good idea to set a time limit on these daily interactions. Facebook can hurt your productivity if you let it. Setting a timer on your phone is a great way to avoid getting pulled too far into Facebook.
|Scheduling your credit union's Facebook posts ahead of time can save you some major headaches.
Planning Ahead
You can schedule posts ahead of time for your credit union. Set aside some time once every week, every few weeks or month to plan out any activities that your credit union might be hosting or participating in. While not every post can be scheduled ahead of time, planning a few each week (or couple of weeks) ensures that your Facebook stays fresh and more appealing to members and potential members.
To begin scheduling, make sure that you're using Facebook as your credit union.
- Upload your photo or enter the text for your post.
- Instead of hitting post, click on the small grey clock at the far left, directly under the status box. Once you hit the clock, you'll have the option to insert the year, month, date, hour and minute to publish the post.
- Once you have scheduled a post you can view the update in your "Activity Log," which is located under the "Edit Page" dropdown menu at the very top of your Facebook page.
These are just a few ways to make managing that Facebook page a little bit easier. As you manage your page, you'll pick up other tricks of the trade.
Please feel free to contact Nora with any Facebook questions or general social media queries. You can contact her via phone (314.542.1349) or email.
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Ingredient: burgers, burger buns, onion, cabbage, tomato, ketchup, mayo, mustard, oregano and chilli sauce.
Make up the sauce by mixing 1 tbls mayo, 2 tbls ketchup, 1 tbls mustard, pinch of oregano and a dash of chilli sauce.
Cook your burgers as you usually do. Sadly it wasn't quite the weather for the barbecue. Slice the onion and cabbage then saute them until they're soft.
Toast your bread buns and assemble the burgers. Burger then tomato then cabbage/onion then sauce.
We had one Chimi each and another burger with cheese and home-made tomato chutney each. Served with cider from the freezer.
The burgers were great! I really loved the fried onion and cabbage on top. I'm not usually a fan of tomato in a burger but it wasn't too bad at all. The sauce was nice but a bit bland, I'd maybe use more chilli sauce next time to spice it up. These burgers are perfect for a summer's day barbecue to have a change from the usual cheeseburger. I can't rely on JD for comments this time as he's got a cold and his taste buds aren't working properly.
Ratings: JD - 3/5 Emma - 4/5


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|Winners of the Shop Brownsville First - Big Prize Giveaway with their prizes.
Pictured (from left) are Julie Taylor, Lori Hatcher and Santia Taylor.
We had a fun time last Friday preparing to give away three great prizes from the Brownsville Business Association (BBA). This was the second year the BBA has sponsored a give-a-way and this year it got a lot bigger and included his and her Citizen watches, a 7-inch E-reader and a 40" flat screen TV.
|Look at all the tickets that were entered in the giveaway!
|Kenny Ellington was on hand to give the box a good shaking before the drawing.
|And you always need a child around to do the drawing ....
Thanks to the BBA for choosing us as the drawing location and congratulations to the winners. I think it was a very successful event with 20 merchants participating. We're looking forward to next year already!
Remember it pays to Shop Brownsville First!


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Rossford, Ohio 43460
Phone: (419) 666-8088
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
JATC Website: www.tejatc.org
Affiliated College(s):
Apprentices of Electrical Workers Local 8 can receive course credit towards an associate degree in a program offered by Northwest State Community College(Archbold, OH).
Facility & Certifications:
The Toledo Electrical JATC is a registered apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
Courses Taught:
– Apprenticeship-
Residential Apprenticeship Program – 4 years
Inside/Commercial Electrical Wiring Apprenticeship – 5 year
Voice-Data-Video (telecommunications) Apprenticeship Program – 3 year
– Journeyman Education –
Basic Motor Control
Building Automation
Safety Training (1st Aid, OSHA, NFPA)
Electrical Grounding
Fire Alarm
Fork lift training
Fundamentals of Instrumentation
Project Control Rigging
Teledata Classes ( Sumitomo, Fiber Testing, CCTV, Access Control Security and BICSI Levels 1-3)
Welding Classes
Wind Turbine Training
Training Program Info:
The Toledo Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) is committed to not only providing an educated, well-trained workforce through a cooperative labor-management education program, but also to helping workers develop the complex skills, knowledge and abilities needed to retain highly paid, prestigious jobs in the electrical construction industry. The Toledo Electrical JATC pledges to educate workers through diversified on-the-job training supervised by qualified journeypersons and related technical classroom instruction.
Training Coordinator: David Wellington
Educational History: 1969 Graduated Gibsonburg High School; 1969-1971 Terra Community College; Has completed the 4-Year National Training Institute, Knoxville, TN; Ohio State Fire Alarm; NFPA Electrical Section; Certified by the NJATC as an instructor to teach the Significant Changes to the 2011 NEC®.
Bio: David was on the NFPA Code making panel for the 2005 Code Cycle and has been a Journeyman Electrician with LOCAL 8 since 1977. He has been the training director at the Toledo Electrical JATC for 22 years.
Instructor: Raymond Struffolino
Educational History: Raymond graduated from Macomber High School; he completed the two year Residential Training Program with the JATC and went on to complete the five year Commercial Program as well; Raymond had one year of Safety Training with Ohio State.
Bio: He was a residential Wireman from 1979 to 1981; Commercial Industrial Journeyman wireman from 1986 to present and an Instructor for Residential and Commercial training at the JATC from 1993 to present.
Instructor: Nathan Eaton
Educational History: Nate graduated from Whitmer High School; attended Owens Community College and then completed the 5 year Inside Apprenticeship program at the Toledo Electrical JATC. Since becoming a Journeyman Inside Wireman, Nate has attended many journeyperson education classes to further his education. Nate has since graduated from the 4 year NJATC's National Training Institute at the University of Michigan..
Bio: Nate is a proud member of IBEW Local 8; he is a Safety committee member; he serves on the Benevelent Committee; the By-Laws committee; the Entertainment committee; the "Perch" Tournament chairman; he serves as a Toledo Precinct committee member and is a member of Damascus-Collingwood Lodge No. 643 F. & A.M., Toledo, OH
Instructor: James Hamel
Education: A class of 2012 graduate of the National Training Institute with a diplomas as a Master Instructor/trainer from the University of Michigan.
Bio: 1997 - 2008 Journeyman Installer/Technician for several Local 8 contractors. Eleven years as a field service technician as well as project foreman. Currently a full time instructor at the Toledo Electrical JATC since 2008; he teaches apprentice classes in Telecommunications and assists the electrical and residential programs. He is also a certified BICSI instructor.


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Last year was then, this year is now. Last year, we gave out a whole mess of shwag, this year, we'll be giving out even more. (I know a lot of you have heard this before but we mean it. Take our stuff. We're going to appreciate the added space in the vehicles.) Ladies and Gents on the East Coast. Come get your PBP & Bula love at one of these cities that will be showing "Reasons" below:We're loading up the vans with shwag, athletes, and of course, the film, and coming to city near you!Following the success of last year's release of Yeah Dude! and the world premiere at IF3 in Montreal, Bula is proud to announce the 2nd edition of the Poor boyz East Coast Tour featuring the most anticipated ski film of the year, REASONS. Touring six major East Coast cities, Poorboyz Productions, the most respected film company in freeskiing, will present its latest featured film: REASONSAfter the film stick around or head to the bar for the always equally important After Party, celebrating the film and winter being right around the corner. We'll be giving out tons of free shwag as well as many other prizes including limited edition Bula/Poorboyz hats.Tour dates:- Sept 13th - Montreal - Cinema L'Imperial, 1432 Bleury, 8:00pm- Sept 17th - Quebec City - Le Cercle, 228 St-Joseph Est, 8:00pm- Sept 18th - Burlington - UVM Theatre, Grand Maple Ballroom, UVM Campus 7:00pm- Sept 19th - Boston - The Greatest Bar, 262 Friend St, 7:00pm- Sept 20th - New York City - Red Bull Space, 40 Thompson St, 7:00pm * VIP only- Sept 21st - Glens Falls - West Mountain Main Lodge *All Proceeds donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation - Time: TBDDon't miss the occasion to meet some of your favorite riders as Charles Gagnier, Simon Dumont, JP Auclair and JF Cusson will show up for some of the premieres.Be there on time! First ones to receive an exclusive Bula/Poor boyz hat!-Rogge
PBP + Bula + East Coast = ?
published by Rogge


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If you work with installation on ships, oil rigs, or similar within the Marine & Offshore industry, we have the neccesary approvals and cables perfectly suited for your project.
Why choose Scankab Cables as your cable supplier?
If you are looking for other cable types, choose one of the industries listed below and find the cable you are looking for:
Click here to see the whole cabel assortment or see our section with detailed technical information.
Our personal service is always free, so save time and contact us via telephone:
+45 7020 3455 and we will guide you to the best solution.
We make it easy for you:
Day-to-day shipment
Free cutting
Always the same contact person
Customer adapted setup
Your contacts
Account Manager, email@example.com
Group Operations email@example.com


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Him Academy Public School, Vikasnagar is always focuses to develop "International Understanding" among its' students. Under 'Internationalism' pillar of Round Square, students of grade 10th were made aware about life style, personal hygiene and geographical conditions of Italy.
A detailed comparative study of Italy and India were also told to students. Above mentioned students were made enlightened in detail about every aspect of Italy, through Power Point Presentation. Gymnasium High School Italy, an International partner of HAPS-VN is going to visit Him Academy Public School, Vikasnagar for cultural exchange programme in the month of November, in which students of the Italy delegation will be made familiar about every cultural aspect of India. Students of Him Academy Public School, Vikasnagar are being made aware accordingly so that they can also understand each and every aspect of Italy.
Mr. Anil Chandel, Mrs. Shelly Dhiman and Mr. Amit Thakur supported the whole programme enthusiastically. Mrs. Naina Lakhanpal, Principal HAPS-VN supervised the whole programme.


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Laser technology expected to produce major savings, reduced maintenance for commercial aircraft partsLIVERMORE, Calif. - There's more life in store for critical components for commercial aircraft.
That's the result of an advanced laser peening technology developed by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a New Jersey firm.
The payoff is already proving to be huge: turbine engine parts that last longer, reduced maintenance costs, and annual savings of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The breakthrough that provides these benefits is a powerful LLNL laser and shock-generation technology used by Metal Improvement Co. Inc. of Paramus, N.J., to treat the surface of metal parts.
"This is 21st century technology that will enable engineers to design aircraft parts that are safer, lighter, perform better and are more economical," said Lloyd Hackel, leader of LLNL's Laser Science and Technology Program and initial developer of laser peening at LLNL.
During the past 21 months, Rolls-Royce plc has used Metal Improvement to laser peen critical fan blade components installed in over 250 Rolls-Royce Trent 800/Trent 500 engines.
Due to the deeper compressive residual stress imparted by the laser peening process, components are more resistant to fatigue stress,
improving the cost effectiveness of the operation of the component in terms of increased life and reduced maintenance costs. Other applications are under development for Rolls-Royce.
Traditionally, metals have been peened by bombarding the material with tiny metal balls known as "shot" to induce a layer of compressive stress at the surface that prevents metal fatigue and reduces corrosion. Metal Improvement is the world's leading provider of outsourced shot peening services for the metal working industry.
Laser peening was invented in the 1970s, and uses short bursts of intense laser light to create pressure pulses on the metal surface, which generate shock waves that travel into the metal and compress it. However, this technology had never been used in production on commercial parts because of its high costs and slow lasers - until now.
Metal Improvement is using an LLNL-developed neodymium-doped glass laser that produces one billion watts of peak power, about the output of a large commercial power plant, in 20-billionth of a second bursts. With 125 watts of average power, the LLNL laser can fire five pulses per second compared with one pulse every four seconds for the best commercially available lasers.
The Livermore laser allows compressive stress to be imparted to a depth of 4/100ths of an inch beneath the surface, about four times deeper than conventional shot peening. This added depth is important as a means of inhibiting crack initiation and propagation.
Laser peening may find use in the future for upgrading other commercial aircraft components, such as discs, landing gears, spars, bulkheads and drive gears.
"We can 'surgically' apply laser peening and place compressive stress exactly in the areas that are vulnerable to crack propagation, thus strengthening these components," Hackel said.
"Overall, during the lifetime of all these laser-peened components, we anticipate savings to the aviation industry of hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced maintenance and fewer parts," said Dave Francis, Metal Improvement's executive vice-president for laser peening.
"We've been thrilled with the progress Metal Improvement has made on this technology, and as important as the current applications are, we believe it's only the tip of the iceberg," said Karena McKinley, the head of LLNL's Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization Program.
In the future, laser peening is expected by Hackel and Francis to be used in other industries, including automobiles and trucks, initially for high-performance race engines; components and structures for high-performance military jets; parts for deep-sea oil drilling equipment; welds for nuclear waste storage containers, and for medical devices such as knee and hip implants.
Livermore's technology for laser peening was licensed to Metal Improvement in 1997 and has been extended through joint research with the company during the past seven years.
During their collaboration, LLNL's Laser Science and Technology Division and Metal Improvement have won four prestigious R&D-100 awards for developing laser peening-related technologies. Metal Improvement's manufacturing and processing facilities in Livermore, Calif., and Earby, U.K., each have two laser peening systems and about 35 employees.
" We wouldn't have been able to commercialize this technology without the Laboratory," Francis said. "In the early years, we relied heavily on the Lab's technological expertise, but the technology
transfer has evolved as Congress intended so that we've developed our own technological expertise, adding new capabilities and jobs to U.S. industry."
A spinoff of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program, the laser used for peening was developed at LLNL through funding from the Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Air Force for X-ray lithography and satellite imaging research.
Founded in 1946, Paramus, N.J.-based Metal Improvement Co. Inc. is a subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright. The firm performs conventional shot peening - and laser peening - for the majority of aircraft engine and airframe builders worldwide.