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To report an emergency in progress, call 911.
350 Nevada Street
Auburn, CA 95603-3789
Hours vary during holidays and closures. See Holidays and Closures Schedule
For more information, see Library Services.
Auburn Library has meeting space available to rent. Learn more.
Adjacent to the Auburn Library is the Garden Theater. Garden Theater reservations and maintenance are handled through Placer County Facility Services Parks and Grounds division. For details, please visit the Placer County Facility Services, Parks and Grounds Division page.
The Auburn Library offers a variety of reading areas, puppets and toys for imaginative play, an oversized storybook chair; expanded teen seating area, a Local History collection, and a popular community room that features monthly art displays, Friends of the Library Noon programs, and ongoing events.
Senior Librarian: Sophie Bruno
According to library trustee Mrs. K.D. Robinson, the idea for a local Auburn library began in 1888 when a group of women published "The Little Gem Cook Book," in which they compiled their favorite recipes. Proceeds from the sale of this book went to support the creation of the first Auburn Library, which was housed in a variety of locations until 1906 when the city assumed responsibility for it. In 1907, a $10,000.00 grant was approved courtesy of the Andrew Carnegie Corporation and a permanent library building was constructed the following year at 175 Almond Street. The new Auburn City Library was dedicated on May 26, 1909. In 1937, free library service for those who lived outside the city limits came to fruition when the Placer County Library was added to the lower floor of the City Library Building. By 1958, the county library outgrew the space and relocated to the Shepard Square Building. By 1967, the city and county libraries were merged, and the city library joined the county library in the same building. The combined libraries were temporarily housed in Palm Center and then in a building on the former DeWitt Hospital grounds. Finally on August 10, 1971, ground was broken for a new building on 350 Nevada Street, its present location.
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Ignoustats provide you the direct links & step by step video tutorials to download Date Sheet for Bachelor Preparatory Programme ...
Ignoustats provide you the direct links & step by step video tutorials to download Date Sheet for Bachelor Preparatory Programme (BPP) Examination to be held in December, 2017.
Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU organised term-end examination two times such like December.
Basic Information
|Indra Gandhi National Open University
|BPP - Bachelor Preparatory Programme
|December 2017
|Date Sheet Status
|Term-End Examination
|Official Website
Min Duration: 6 month
Max Duration: 2 Years
Course Fee: Rs. 1,000
Min Age: No bar
Max Age: No bar
The students who giving the Ignou examination for the first time must be thinking that how can they download their Ignou date sheet for December 2017 examinations. To those students they might not be knowing the procedure to download the date sheet. Keep calm we have given some step by step procedure so that candidates can also download their date sheet very easily.
STEPS TO DOWNLOAD IGNOU BPP TEE DATE SHEET/TIME TABLE December 2017
✓ First go to the official website of Indra Gandhi National Open University ( IGNOU ) i.e. www.ignou.ac.in
✓ Now you will see the link named "STUDENT SUPPORT" click on it and then a drop down menu will appear.
✓ Now click on the " Student Zone "
✓ Now follow the 'Download' link given on web page and click on it.
✓ Now c lick on to the 'Pre Examination' link visible under Download section
✓ Now find and open 'Date Sheet for Term End Exam December 2017'
✓ The Date Sheet provided by IGNOU will be in .pdf format.
✓ Take a printout or save it for further reference.
Note : The date sheet/time table link will be visible on official website before 15 days starting of examination. So don't panic and keep watch this section regularly.
Don't Forget
When you download your date sheet/time table successfully kindly check following details & If you find any issues in your Time table/Date sheet, contact your examination concern department for a help.
|Examination Date
|Examination Time
|Programme Paper Code
|Course Name
Thank you for choosing our web portal. Bookmark us to directly jump into our website for more IGNOU related information.
Don't forget to comment below or email us email@example.com if you want some another courses info which we are not covering yet. WE HAPPY TO HELP YOU !


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Civil libertarians like me, already angry and disappointed over the Obama administration's many broken promises when it comes to the drug war, are likely to be irritated even more now that two states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. It seems the administration is preparing for a federal crackdown on pot users in those states:
enior White House and Justice Department officials are considering plans for legal action against Colorado and Washington that could undermine voter-approved initiatives to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in those states, according to several people familiar with the deliberations.
Even as marijuana legalization supporters are celebrating their victories in the two states, the Obama administration has been holding high-level meetings since the election to debate the response of federal law enforcement agencies to the decriminalization efforts…
Federal officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Several cautioned that the issue had raised complex legal and policy considerations — including enforcement priorities, litigation strategy and the impact of international antidrug treaties — that remain unresolved, and that no decision was imminent.
The Obama administration declined to comment on the deliberations, but pointed to a statement the Justice Department issued on Wednesday — the day before the initiative took effect in Washington — in the name of the United States attorney in Seattle, Jenny A. Durkan. She warned Washington residents that the drug remained illegal."In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance," she said. "Regardless of any changes in state law, including the change that will go into effect on December 6 in Washington State, growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law."…
One option is for federal prosecutors to bring some cases against low-level marijuana users of the sort they until now have rarely bothered with, waiting for a defendant to make a motion to dismiss the case because the drug is now legal in that state. The department could then obtain a court ruling that federal law trumps the state one.
A more aggressive option is for the Justice Department to file lawsuits against the states to prevent them from setting up systems to regulate and tax marijuana, as the initiatives contemplated. If a court agrees that such regulations are pre-empted by federal ones, it will open the door to a broader ruling about whether the regulatory provisions can be "severed" from those eliminating state prohibitions — or whether the entire initiatives must be struck down.
Another potential avenue would be to cut off federal grants to the states unless their legislatures restored antimarijuana laws, said Gregory Katsas, who led the civil division of the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration.
Yes, by all means we need to put more pot smokers in jail — just like we should have put President Obama in jail when he admittedly smoked pot as a young man. That would have helped him — and the country — a lot, wouldn't it?


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I wrote a small little vb.net app that should connect to a MS search server 2010 web service.
I added the web reference, which worked fine, but whenever I run the code, I get this strange error:
I Googled it, but found very little info on it.
Can anyone make sense of it?Thanks!
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I want to integrate FedEx ship web service in my website. It works fine for local but for production it gives error. I changed test credentials by production credentials. also changed test url "https://gatewaybeta.fedex.com:443/webservices" by production url "https://gateway.fedex.com:443/webservices" But I am getting error that meter number is not registered. Please advice.
A little background because I feel I have an out of the ordinary architecture in place and don't know if this is contributing to the problem.
We have an existing ASP.net application that is undergoing expansion. The new functionality is all written in Silverlight 4. As part of that expansion I gutted all the old Linq to SQL and put Entity Framework 4 into place. To do this I created a standard .net Class Library and added my edmx files there. Naturally, the business entities created by this cannot be used in Silverlight. So I created a Silverlight Class Library and added all the business entities to that Silverlight Class Library as linked files. I changed the name space to be the same.
So I have the following assembly / namespaces
Company.Project.Dal.csproj / Company.Project.Entities (.net 4 class library)
Company.Project.Entities.csproj / Company.Project.Entities (SL4 class library)
With this architecture I was able to share my business entities with my SL enabled web services, my asp.net projects, my silverlight projects. Really it's a beautiful thing.
Once this was done I added "message" classes to Company.Project.Dal and again shared them with the other entites using linked files. These messages are things like MyObjectRequest; they are class
i have a problem with search function where everytime i search any file/doc the error message "Your search cannot be completed because of a service error. Try your search again or contact your administrator for more information." occurred. I realized that
there are items in central admin but it is "not available" in my site. I already follow several guides that had been provided in this forum but still the same. Even, i already create new SSP and configure the search scope, content source and also crawling.
FYI, i used Microsoft Sharepoint 2007.
Hope anyone could help me to solve this problem. Thanks.
I have a serious problem that cannot be solved by googling around the keywords below: sharepoint, moss 2007, reporting service, ssrs 2008, rendering, internal server error, ....
The error is;
"An error occurred during client rendering. The remote server returned an error: (500) Internal Server Error. "
Everything is O.K.;
* When I render the report from the REPORTSERVER (http://localhost/ReportServer) * When the reports are scheduled to be sent by the reporting service (planned via MOSS 2007)ÃÂ
But if I open (render) the RDL file from the sharepoint REPORTS LIBRARY interface, all of the reports fail with that internal error message above.ÃÂ
It is weird also that parametrized reports are displayed without errors although the parameters are queried from a sql dataset. But I got the error when rendering the report after I've chosen a parameterÃÂ and order "apply/report"...
Possible causes how I met that error may be;
After I have installed (then uninstalled) AJAX extensions After I have re-configured IIS Web Service Extensions list items
Possible solution alternatives I've found;
I've found a solution on MSDN replying a similar issue with an ideal cause of the error but an evreka answer but no sol
As I say in the title of my post this "may" be a bug in VS2k8 Pro, I have seen these strange little things happen before but whenever you utter the word "bug" people tend to get defensive, so I say it "may" be ;)
Basically I have two List(Of MyOwnClass) and I am going to enumerate through these lists on my view.
I add the Import statement to the top of my view so that my custom class can be used on it.
I add a very simple loop,
<%For Each CPDCourse As Download In CType(ViewData("CPDAvailable"), List(Of Download))%>

<a href="<%=CPDCourse.URL%>">
<a href="<%=CPDCourse.URL%>">

In VS2008 / C# / ASP.NET 3.5, I wrote a test web service app. Here is an extract from the code:
namespace emed.MathWebService{ ///  /// Sample Math Services For Learning Web Services Deployment ///  [WebService(Namespace = " http://localhost/MathService")] [WebServiceBinding(ConformsTo = WsiProfiles.BasicProfile1_1)] [ToolboxItem(false)] public class MathService { [WebMethod] public float Add(float a, float b) { return a + b; }
I have published this to an IIS virtual directory named MathService, and when I try to launch it with the URL http://localhost/mathservice/MathService.asmx is works fine and displays all the operations (Add, Subtract etc) in the service.
I then created a test web application in VS2008 (named WebSvcTe
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text:
With learning centers in 900 communities and on the internet, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is the world's preeminent network of Jewish learning.
Read more >
"Our nation is not a nation without Torah."Saadia Gaon
"God peered into Torah and created the universe"Holy Zohar II, 161a
"I [God] have inscribed Myself and handed it over"Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 105a
"Torah is our life and the length of days."Liturgy
Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics
Course Overview
Money Matters will present Judaism's approach to practical economic dilemmas and monetary quandaries that we face daily in both our personal and professional lives.
The goal of this course is to provide a sensitive, fair, and unshakable economic paradigm grounded in 3,000 years of tradition and practical experience—an ancient yet fresh spin on how we view ethics of money.
Students will emerge from this course with an understanding that only a divine economic system can ensure unequivocal justice while recognizing the virtue in each stakeholder's position. Money Matters will show how the Torah's sharply discerning yet holistic rulings inspire us with the confidence to confront any ethical economic dilemma.
This course is eligible for CLE credits in the following US States: Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
Course Outline
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This is what you get down on the beach on a Saturday afternoon—if you're in the West of England. Experts detonated a German mine from the Second World War after they discovered it in Bridgwater Bay. The 10 x 2.5-foot mine was dropped during the war by a German bomber, and was discovered sitting in mud by a fisherman. UPDATED: a couple of videos, one of the ka-boom itself, and another of the bomb disposal team with the six-decades-old behemoth, after the jump.
The Navy boys look so relaxed—and just look at the size of that shiny bomb. [Daily Mail and Burham-on-Sea]


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Breaking NewsKanye West is spiking the football ... bragging that he defeated NBA and NFL players like Reggie Bush and Kris Humphries to win the rights to bang Kim Kardashian.
West just appeared on Future's new single, "I Won" -- and raps about his most prized conquest, Kim ... saying, "I want to dip that ass in gold, I want to dip that ass in gold."
Then comes the smack talk -- "I made it over NBA, NFL players ... So every time I score it's like the Super Bowl."
K's obviously referring to Bush, Humphries and NFL wide receiver Miles Austin -- who all dated Kim and all happen to be pro athletes.
It's not the first time K's gone after one of Kim's exes -- he ripped Humphries in a song called "Cold" -- when he bragged that Kris was lucky K didn't get his pal Jay Z to drop him from the Nets.


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No. 5 Jayhawks wrap up share of 10th straight Big 12 title with 83-75 win over Oklahoma
- Image 1 of 2
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Naadir Tharpe had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Oklahoma 83-75 on Monday night to wrap up a share of their 10th consecutive Big 12 championship.
Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2), who poured off the bench at the buzzer to celebrate the latest addition to their nation-leading 57 conference titles.
It might be the only one for Wiggins and Embiid, the dynamic freshman duo projected to be lottery picks if they come out this season. Wiggins has already stated his intention to do so.
Cameron Clark had 18 points and Buddy Hield finished with 16 for the Sooners (20-8, 9-6), who have lost 12 of their last 13 games against the Jayhawks, including both this season.


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[Published on 3:AM Magazine]
As is normal in the summer in Scotland, I awoke to torrential rain and clouds so dark it might have been night-time already. But I had not overslept 'til the evening; the whiskey had not been that strong. It was only ten in the morning. Black boots, jeans, leather. Layers in case of sun.
By noon, the weather had made it's first shift, as the train scuttled along the Forth Road bridge, past waves sparkling like granite and grey clouds now brushed with white. I kept looking at this familiar, tempestuous view, trying to lift myself in mind if not body from the crammed, hyper carriage. The Festival does that to Edinburgh-bound trains. The recently brought in alcohol ban doesn't start 'til nine at night. Hours to go 'til then. Drinking in the morning has been made a socially practical thing to do now. The Scots are pragmatic like that.
I had an unfortunate seat near the toilet, where men dressed in leotards on stag weekends would conspicuously cram into the grimy little space in pairs. As we got closer to the city, and passengers rolled their eyes, bored of the farce already, a naïve, impatient man, who had only just wandered in, asked out loudly: "Is the door broken? How can it be engaged if a man just walked OUT?"
We hurtled into Waverly, only after yet another awkward moment upon the switch to VACANT. Men in leotards swigged canned Guinness. Dancers picked up their bags. I ran for a rare cab, got through the crowds to Summerhall within the hour.
Before I had a chance to see any exhibitions or shows, though, I bumped into Robert McDowell, mastermind behind the phenomenal new venue of the Summerhall Arts Laboratory. The day got it's glamour back, the sun brightened, and wine was served. We talked about cross-dressing, Paris, Ireland and malady. It was indeed, my new found "arrhythmia" that let me to my first show. I had been telling Robert about my irregular heart (what a surprise!) and reminiscing about the fleeting concern of my family, (which I put a stop to quickly by singing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion – didn't want them to get too upset about my exaggerated likeliness of dropping melodramatically dead). – When along came the producer of a libretto about neurosis and illness called, "Dr. Quimpugh's Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions". Quickly and cleverly, Robert saw a cure for my panic, and got me a free ticket to go with the wine. And it worked: seeing these characters even more melodramatic than myself cured my own libretto-suited ailment in a shot.
And the libretto – by composer Martin Ward (Royal Opera, ENB) and librettist Phil Porter (Royal Opera, RSC) – was brilliant aside of being a cure for the oddness of my heart. Telling the story of a brilliant but neurotic Doctor and his long career of diagnosing rare afflictions of the mind and body, the libretto was perfectly at home in the venue, which was until recently the University's Vetinary School. This must have been an old lecture hall, and I was uncharacteristically (I promise) in the front row.
Particular high points were the patient with the "Alien Hand" who hilariously sang of how her independent-minded hand would ruin her life by randomly groping authority figures and stabbing her lover. She was convincingly tragic and remorseful as she sang: "Oh my alien hand / gets me in terrible trouble…"
Also ingenious was the depiction of the "walking, talking corpse," who sang, "My heart was the first to go," before railing off his other organs and singing of his "Illogic immortality / oneness with infinity / it breaks my decomposing heart".
Up next was a pious, chaste girl from Yorkshire whose mother despaired when she unravelled into hysterical orgasm upon recollecting the churches and art she visited on an education trip to Florence, and which the Doctor could not cure (though he seemed to identify, vocally).
By the end the Doctor was in crisis himself, having only diagnosed, and never cured, his ridiculous patients. But judging from the enraptured audience, his neurotic song had medicated the crowds to happiness, if not medical enlightenment. I certainly enjoyed every moment of the original and delightfully silly libretto, which balanced quite perfectly the playfulness of the libretto with its comically neurotic subject matter.
After the libretto, the weirdness continued, as I got lost trying to find an art exhibition. After wandering around empty, windowless corridors for a while, I met a nice technician (with a special access key / card thing) who proceeded to give me a secret tour of the old buildings, taking the long route to finding my way out. Certainly it's a fascinating old place: we saw old animal cages (where they used to clone things, apparently), dusty old pill bottles, a model of a decomposing sheep, and more cages. Eventually, these cages became frames for art installations for the Fashion Festival's "Syn / Aesthesia" show. At times it was hard to tell what was old animal hospital, and what was fashion-as-art. I do mean that as a compliment too: there was something perfectly Gothic about this subtle merge between the medicinal and the creative.
Eventually, we opened a door onto the main courtyard, where we met some nice Polish technicians, who were arranging an old car for a stunt show later on. He wouldn't tell us what would happen, but, "A person being run over is a given, of course." There were bottles of cheap Russian fake champagne, which he said we could have a bottle of if we came to the show, but sadly we never got to taste this sinister concoction. Moments later, I bumped into Michael from Tangerine Press, Joe Ridgwell and Jenni Fagan, who were in town for Jenni's reading for the Neu! Reekie! Event. This was pretty brilliant, with Irvine Welsh, Kevin Williamson, John Hemingway and others also delivering energetic, at times aggressive performances.
We sat in another old lecture theatre, sipping wine as Chicago and Edinburgh battled it out (Edinburgh won). Never been to a more intense book reading, that's for sure. More Fight Club than Eng. Lit – with a mixture of Welsh-ian profanities and Hemingway family histories of cross-dressing and tuna fishing. They competed for varying ideas of masculinity and similar pitches of aggression – followed by more stories of guns, prisons, and women being treated badly. When the door opened onto the breezy summer night, it was a relief to be released, just as the catharsis of all those endings set in. The best writing makes you feel free – so however aggressive, maybe that's what those writers, in that evening, managed to do.
I had to get a train home, anyway, so I left soon after, and went to Waverly. I got refused a drink at the bar because of the pedantic ID insistence, despite clearly not being seventeen (one day I'll miss it, I guess). But two girls from Manchester – Emily and Emily – came to my aid with gin and coke and good conversation. As I ran for my train, they ran to the night; it was only beginning for them. And so the cycle of visitors and trains and rounds and shows went on, in the ever-magical festival where night is day and day looks like night. My odd heart beat played up a little as the train set off; perhaps my arrhythmia is only the city's, perhaps I am a Fringe child at heart.


text:
Too Funny: Kate Spits On Kendra's Face & The Girl Almost Busts Out With A Pillow Fight On Bad Girls Club!
Bad Girls Club
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USC athletic director has his No. 1 jersey retired before the Gamecocks' season opener on Friday in Columbia.
COLUMBIA — No. 1 is No. 1 again.
Ray Tanner, who led South Carolina to back-to-back national championships and three straight trips to the College World Series finals, had his jersey retired before Friday's season opener. His No. 1 jersey is the first to be retired by Carolina.
Tanner transitioned from the baseball dugout to the athletic director's office after spending 16 seasons as South Carolina's head coach, and although he'll no longer be wearing No. 1 on the diamond, his number and name will still be seen every time USC plays at Carolina Stadium.
"What happened here today was overwhelming to be quite honest with you. I am very grateful, honored and humbled to be in this position," Tanner said. "I hope I can do a lot more in the capacity that I'm in now (as AD). It has been a wonderful journey, and I am excited about what went on here today."
In addition to having his number retired, Williams Street, which runs in front of Carolina Stadium, was honorably named Tanner Way.
"I can't find the words to describe how wonderful the opening ceremonies were and again how honored and humbled I am," he said. "I am really just a by-product of the tradition and history that has been here at South Carolina in the sport of baseball. I am just grateful I had the opportunity to be a part of it."
Former USC players and even Liberty's head coach Jim Toman, who played for Tanner and coached with him at N.C. State and USC before becoming the Flames head coach, delivered messages for Tanner on the video board throughout the game.
Jackie Bradley Jr., Scott Wingo, Justin Smoak, Blake Cooper, Christian Walker, Michael Roth, Evan Marzilli, Matt Price and Drew Meyer were among the many speakers throughout the game on the board.
"Nobody told me that was going to happen," Tanner said. "That's a lot of fun. We have had a lot of great players here."
Tanner threw out the ceremonial first pitch with many of his former players standing behind him. He fired a strike right down the middle as the sellout crowd, which was already in its seats 25 minutes before the game to witness the ceremony, looked on.
Chad Holbrook, who replaced Tanner as USC's head coach, said he was glad to be able to honor Tanner in such a special way.
"The day started out great with the presentation for Coach Tanner. It was neat for me to be a part of that, it was neat for our players and I'm sure it was neat for Coach Tanner's former players," he said. "That was very emotional and meaningful to people who had worked under coach."


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I spend most of my waking hours at work, teaching college students about sustainability and the environment. So, like the plumber with leaky faucets at home, I don't get as many opportunities as I like to make a difference when it comes to my own house. But as someone who is acutely aware of the destructive effects of fossil fuel use and extraction, I feel a great need to walk my talk—especially here in Kentucky, where almost all electricity is generated by coal-burning power plants.
When I heard about the Kentucky Solar Partnership's (KSP) program to provide homeowners with a $500 cash rebate and low-interest loans for solar hot water (SHW) systems, I decided to start planning my own project. Heating water with the sun is one of the most cost-effective ways to use solar energy, and it's a smart financial investment too.
Although the climate here in Berea, Kentucky, is fairly temperate, winter nighttime temperatures routinely fall below freezing. That ruled out simple batch solar water heaters. It also eliminated open-loop direct systems, which circulate water directly from the collectors to a storage tank, leaving collectors and pipes vulnerable to freezing. A thermosyphon system was out of the question because locating the storage tank above the collectors was not an option at my two-story home.
One solution was a PV-driven, closed-loop system that circulates antifreeze through the solar hot water collectors and uses a heat exchanger to transfer this collected heat to household water. When the sun shines on the PV modules, the DC pump that circulates a propylene glycol solution through the pipes and collectors runs in rough proportion to how much energy the sun can provide—an elegant, grid-free solution. But dealing with the maintenance requirements of periodically checking the pH (acidity–alkalinity scale) of the propylene glycol antifreeze and recharging the system held little appeal for me.
Instead, I considered a closed-loop drainback system that uses demineralized or distilled water as the heat-transfer fluid. In these systems, a pump moves water through the collectors and circulates it through a heat exchanger. When the pump is off, the water drains from the collectors and outdoor piping to a storage tank, assuring freeze protection.
Drainback systems are effective and reliable—some systems can operate twenty years or more without needing service. Their only downside is that larger, higher power AC pumps—requiring more energy—usually have to be used. This is especially true if you're pumping water two stories or more, since the drainback pump has to lift the water to the height of the solar collectors.
In the pressurized loop of a glycol system, all the pump has to do is overcome the friction head of the piping itself. This isn't the case in a drainback system. When the pump first turns on, it has to move the water from the drainback tank to the top of the collectors to start the flow. This head (vertical lift) requirement is equal to the vertical distance from the water level in the drainback tank to the top of the collectors and is generally much more than the pipe friction head. But once the pipes to and from the collector are full, the amount of pumping energy required is nearly the same as a pressurized glycol system.
The energy penalty required to run the high-head AC pumps needed in drainback systems bothered me. When I described this issue to my wife Laura, she reminded me that using AC pumps would also mean that our solar hot water system—along with the rest of the appliances in our all-electric house—would be inoperable during power outages, which occur occasionally in our semirural location.
Although all the resources I found said that using a PV-driven pump to achieve the vertical lift my system would require just wasn't feasible, I was sure that a little ingenuity, paired with the right pump and a well-located drainback tank, could overcome this challenge.
I began researching DC pumps for SHW systems, examining their data sheets and performance curves to see which pumps could deliver enough water to meet the flow requirements of the collectors I'd chosen (0.5 to 1.8 gpm per 4- by 8-foot collector), and how much vertical lift they could provide (see Drainback Pumps table).
At the same time, I assessed our two-story house and explored the attic with a tape measure to determine the best location for the drainback tank. It needed to be placed high enough to minimize the head required to pump water to the collectors, and low enough to ensure adequate slope in the piping from the collectors to the tank. To protect it against freezing, the tank also needed to be located in a heated space. The best location in our house for the tank was in the upstairs bathroom, near the ceiling. From my rough measurements, this would require a 10-foot start-up head from the pump, which would be installed in the garage, along with the other balance-of-system components.
All the pumps I compared could provide sufficient flow for the two-collector system I wanted to install. But one pump I considered barely had enough head capacity. Although higher-head models were available, this would cause the flow (and power requirements) to be even more out of line with the system's need. Two other pumps I evaluated lacked the head capacity my system would require, which left the March HS ("high speed") model as the best option.
The pump search was a useful learning exercise in another way. While researching PV-driven water pumps, I stumbled across linear current boosters (LCBs), electronic circuits that better match PV output directly to a motor. LCBs boost the current available to the pump, enabling start-ups even under low sunlight conditions. This translates into earlier pump start-ups and longer run-times.
Although the numbers looked good on paper, skepticism remained that the head requirements would overwhelm the pump's abilities. And to receive the rebate and loan, KSP had to approve my system. I detailed the PV-direct system design and provided additional calculations to account for pipe-friction losses. To assuage their concerns (and mine), I agreed to test the PV pumping capacity before installing the system. If the test results weren't in line with the calculations, or the system didn't perform as expected, I would reconfigure it along more conventional lines, using AC pumps.
I put together a test system in my backyard, placing my two 75-watt PV modules at the same orientation and tilt angle that they would be set on my roof. I connected the modules to the pumps (the second pump serves the heat exchanger-to-storage loop) via the LCB, and connected the pumps to a vertical copper pipe that simulated the head required of the pump. The pipe then dumped the water back into a barrel connected to the pump inlet.
I'm sure my neighbors thought this rocketlike arrangement was a bit odd, especially when I set up my test at 6 a.m. to catch the early morning sun. After a few hours of testing, it became clear that the PV and pumps combination could drive the water to more than the required 10 feet of head. Success!
After the pumps had passed their test, it was time to install the system. I chose two 4- by 8-foot AET collectors based on reports of their reliability and long history, and purchased them locally from Sunbelievable Services. A couple of friends helped me mount the collectors on our roof. Because Laura and I are often gone during Kentucky's steamy summers, I set the collectors at a 52-degree angle (our latitude—37.58°N—plus 15 degrees) to maximize winter sunlight collection.
To save money and resources, I plumbed two used tank-style water heaters together. These quality tanks had been replaced long before the end of their useful lives. Now they provide 90 gallons of solar hot water storage, supplying preheated water to my backup electric tank-style water heater.
I purchased a 12-gallon water heater from a home improvement store to serve as the drainback tank, and suspended it from the ceiling by threaded rod, bolted through 2 by 4s laid across the ceiling joists. A tank half that size would have been adequate, but I hope someday to expand the system to provide hydronic space heating.
I used Bert Echt's homebrew heat exchanger plans (HP97) to create my own "pipe inside a pipe" heat exchanger, running a 3/4-inch copper pipe for the drainback loop inside a 1-inch-diameter copper pipe. The 10-foot run of the heat exchanger is configured in a U-shape to help it fit in the available space.
The PV modules deliver their electricity to the LCB and pumps via a disconnect switch. Following the LCB manufacturer's recommendations, I installed a 10-amp fuse in the pump circuit as additional insurance, in case the internal fuse failed. The thermostatically activated switch (snap switch) connected to the LCB remains open until the temperature of the collector outlet reaches 88ºF. It closes at this setpoint and energizes the pump. When the outlet temperature drops to 73°F, the switch opens, deactivating the pump. This causes the circulating fluid to drain back to the tank, preventing it from freezing in the collector or pipes, as well as minimizing the possibility of the pump running too long and actually cooling the water stored in the solar tanks.
One hitch with using a snap-switch as a controller is that the factory setpoints can cause the pumps to cycle in colder weather. If the tanks contain cold water in the morning, they quickly cool the collector water to below 73°F, causing the system to shut down until the collectors warm again. After a few more cycles like this, the drainback water loop stays above 73ºF and the pumps stay on. To eliminate the inefficiency of those on–off cycles, I'm considering replacing the switch with a limit switch with a lower threshold or just using a single-point snap switch that will turn off the pumps at temperatures below 40°F. Another option would be to use a DC differential controller available from Art Tec.
Retrofitting a drainback system into an existing home can be challenging. In my case, the collectors and plumbing had to be precisely placed to minimize the vertical lift needed, and plumbing sloped enough to achieve good drainback. With copper prices on the rise, the plumbing complexity translated into high balance-of-system costs, and the layout of the storage tanks and heat exchanger in the garage resulted in some extra twists and turns. Because I used PV modules from two different manufacturers, I had to design and build my own aluminum roof mounts, which also added to the system's costs.
Although this system requires more PV capacity than the 10- or 20-watt module used in most PV-direct glycol systems, having two 75 W modules is probably overkill. The rated power of the pumps is about 70 watts, and they run for about 6 hours each day, consuming about 420 watt-hours. Factoring in efficiency losses, with an average daily solar resource of 4.5 sun-hours, the modules typically can produce about 600 watt-hours on a sunny day. One 100 W module would probably have been optimal, but I'd picked up the used modules for a song. I am currently exploring ways to piggyback a charge controller into the circuit to charge a battery with the surplus electricity the modules produce during portions of the year.
On the first sunny morning after I completed the connections, the thermostat switch activated the pumps, which circulated water through the collectors. By late afternoon, the system had heated 90 gallons of water to 120°F—providing ample hot water for our household.
Several measurements I'd taken before the SHW system installation showed that our electric water heater typically used about 9.7 KWH per day. During 24 days of testing after the system installation (most of which were in November, a cloudy month in Kentucky), the backup water heater averaged 4.7 KWH per day—more than a 50 percent reduction in consumption due to the SHW system (see Consumption table).
Coal is king in Kentucky, and electricity is cheap. We pay about $0.06 per KWH, so our savings from the SHW system was about $9 a month during the winter. When sunshine is more abundant, the system should meet almost all our water heating needs, providing an annual savings of about $175. But the payback goes beyond greenbacks. Coal-generated electricity contributes to acid rain and smog formation, and mountaintop removal mining for this finite resource carries its own set of environmental consequences. By using the sun's energy to meet most of our water heating needs we're minimizing our reliance on King Coal and making a difference right at home.
James Dontje
Kentucky Solar Partnership • www.kysolar.org • SHW incentives
System Components:
Alternate Energy Technologies • 800-874-2190 • www.aetsolar.com • Flat-plate solar collectors
BP Solar • 301-698-4200 • www.bpsolar.com • PV module
March Manufacturing Inc. • 847-729-5300 • www.marchpump.com • DC pump
Solar Converters Inc. • 519-824-5272 • www.solarconverters.com • Linear current booster
SolarWorld AG (purchased Shell Solar) • 800-947-6527 • www.solarworld-usa.com • PV module


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Prince William condemns rhino poachers
The Duke of Cambridge is calling for action to stop the illegal trade in rhino horns, warning that the animals are being slaughtered at such a rate they could soon be extinct.
"Along with elephants, they're two of the most heavily poached animals currently in the world," Prince William told the BBC.
"If we don't do something about them it's going to be a tragic loss for everyone."
The royal patron of wildlife charity the Tusk Trust has just lent his support to a programme - run by conservation charity the Aspinall Foundation - to return three rare black rhino born in captivity and raised in Kent to the wild in Tanzania.
'Neglect and ignorance'
Poachers are killing more rhinos in Africa than ever before, conservationists warn, with horns fetching up to $60,000 (£38,000) a kilo on the black market.
The practice is undermining efforts to stabilise the populations of both black and white rhino which together total some 18,000 in Africa, according to the conservation charity WWF.
It estimates that despite being "critically endangered", 245 black rhino have already been shot this year.
Demand is being driven by a market in Asia which believes powdered rhino horn can cure ailments including cancers - despite no scientific evidence to back this up.
Prince William said: "There's a massive need for education on poaching... rhinos are very vulnerable animals and I think a lot of people don't realise what happens and how rhino horn, or ivory, ends up in a particular area.
"I think [we need to] make people aware of how delicate and fragile these animals are, and how much damage we are doing to them and to the wildlife and natural ecosystem around them just by our neglect and ignorance."
He said those who knowingly took part in the illegal trade were "extremely ignorant, selfish and utterly wrong".
'Culture shock'
Speaking at Port Lympne wildlife park in Kent - where the three young rhinos were raised - the duke said he was keen to work with communities on the ground to ensure they benefited as well as the animals.
"Otherwise many of these countries in Africa will lose prime tourism, prime assets," he added.
The three black rhino, who have now arrived in Tanzania, have armed guards with them 24 hours a day.
Damian Aspinall, from the Aspinall Foundation, said they would have to cope with the stress of adjusting from a "cosy life" in England to the wilds of Africa.
"We think it's fantastic sending them home, but they probably think 'what the hell, strange noises, strange climate', I think any animal you send back will have a bit of a culture shock."
He said educating people in China that there was no medical value in rhino horn would be hard as they had been bought up their entire lives to believe it.
But he said he believed technology could help in the fight - potentially fitting transmitters to horns, or using unmanned drone aircraft to monitor the movement of both rhino and poachers.
'Someone's mantelpiece'
As he fed Zawadi, a five-year-old female now in Tanzania, Prince William explained that his love of rhino stemmed from his time helping to hand rear them at a friend's reserve in Kenya.
He explained that despite looking "bombproof", they were sensitive creatures with wonderful characters.
But his tone changed as he explained how Max, one of those he fed, was killed just this year by poachers in an act he described as a "complete waste".
"Sadly he ran into the wrong people and he is now on someone's mantelpiece somewhere probably," he said.
The duke said he wanted to send a message of support to all those taking part in the fight to stop the killing of rhino, but he also wanted to see more education and awareness raised about the issue.
Tusk Trust chief executive Charlie Mayhew said the killing of both white and black rhino was out of control.
He said 13 black rhino were killed in South Africa in 2007, compared with 434 just four years later.
Recent rumours that rhino horn powder cured a prominent (but unnamed) politician's cancer have seen prices rise higher than those for gold.
The Aspinall project had been a collaborative effort, with charities and big business coming together - a message echoed by the duke.
"These guys are prehistoric looking. They are the most incredible things and do we really want to live in a world 20, 30 years down the line where there's no such thing as a 'big five' [elephants, lions, rhino, cape buffalo and leopard]?," he said.
"It'll be the big four, then possibly the big three and then where do we go after that?
"Are our grandchildren ever going to be able to see the big five? I think that's terribly sad and that should never happen."


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Anyone concerned about changing copyright laws? (orphan works bill)
Posted 21 April 2008 - 08:07 AM
I read about the possibility of copyright laws changing in the near future:
read article
It's worthwhile to read that link to stay on top of things.
Anyone concerned about this changes?
Any more information about what is going on?
www.magicsea.com www.villoch.com
It´s better down there...
Posted 21 April 2008 - 10:07 AM
- Mark Twain's Notebook, 1902-1903
As a lawyer who has worked on some copyright issues over the years (I am by no means an expert) I think anyone who is concerned about copyright protection in the U.S. should read the report by the Registrar of Copyrights @
There is a summary of the report here:
You can see the video transcript of the most recent hearing (March 13) in the House of Representatives here:
You can see what the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has to say about it here:
I think folks should know the facts before they engage in a discussion.
While the law has a legitimate purpose (to free up the use of untraceable historic works) the protections afforded authors (it denies them the right to attorneyâs fees otherwise provided in every other instance of copyright infringement) is insufficient. It has been my experience, that the fact the copyright law has a mandatory attorney fee component, often hastens settlement of an authorâs claim.
I am also concerned about how âdiligentâ a copyright user has to be in searching for an author of a work. See the link below about the millions in unpaid royalties that record companies did not pay because they âcould not findâ such âunknownsâ as David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli, Dave Matthews, Sean Combs and Gloria Estefan:
Posted 08 May 2008 - 12:20 PM
Take Action: Don't Let Congress Orphan Your Work
And this time the wheels have been greased for quick passage.
Yesterday a revived Orphan Works Bill sailed through a House panel. Today the Senate bill will be marked up. These bills will expose any work of art to commercial infringement. This will include everything from professional paintings to personal photos placed on the net.
The bills will coerce you to register your work with for-profit registries as a condition of protecting your copyrights. Any unregistered pictures will be subject to Orphan Works infringement. This is a radical departure from international copyright law and normal business practice.
If you wish to oppose this legislation, you must act now. We've set up an online site for anyone to e-mail their Senators and Representatives with one click. This site is open to professional artists, photographers and any member of the image-making public.
We've provided sample letters from individuals representing different sectors of the visual arts. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, reps, licensing firms, designers:
If you're opposed to the Orphan Works act, this site is yours to use.
For international artists and our colleagues overseas, we've provided a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write.
2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and fight for your copyrights. Go here:
Pick a sample letter or write your own. Type in your zip code. Your letter will be automatically addressed to your congressman and senators. Click and send.
For more information about the Orphan Works Act of 2008:
IPA Statement to House Subcommittee March 20, 2008:
IPA Senate Mark-up Comments April 30, 2008:
Geneva/ May 7, 2008 Orphan Works Bill Catches Global Attention/ Intellectual Property Watch: http://www.ip-watch....ndex.php?p=1028
MP3 Interview: http://www.sellyourt...com/orphan.html
Please post this message or forward it to any interested party.
If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at:
Place "Add Name" in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area.
Posted 08 May 2008 - 05:14 PM
Big greedy USA company's at work again.
I'm in good old AUS and I don't think rubbish like that would work here.
Amphibico Phenom & EVO PRO & Navigator 900
Share Your Underwater Videos | www.flykam.com.au
Posted 10 May 2008 - 09:19 AM
It can only happen in the USA....what a joke.
Big greedy USA company's at work again.
I'm in good old AUS and I don't think rubbish like that would work here.
I only wish this was a joke.
This Orphan Works BS has me more worried about my future than anything else I've faced in my 15 years in this business.
Posted 10 May 2008 - 10:11 AM
My work is protected under English Law as a Statutory Right. I will vigorously pursue and unlicensed reproduction of my work in the High Court of Her Majesty and seek to enforce judgement against any US citizen/or entity should they have assets on any UK territory.
I buy my own photographic kit. Diving equipment manufacturers and diving services suppliers get even-handed treatment from me whether they choose to advertise in the publications I write for or not. All the equipment I get on loan is returned as soon as it is finished with. Did you know you can now get Diver Mag as an iPad/Android app?
Posted 15 May 2008 - 03:26 PM
I got this back from my Congresswoman:
427 Cannon House Office Building
Washingon, D.C. 20515-5301
Phone: (202) 225-1188
Fax: (202) 226-0341
May 15, 2008
Mr. Timothy Rock
P.O. Box 24666
Barrigada, GU 96921
Dear Mr. Rock,
Thank you for your e-mail regarding H.R. 5889, The Orphan Works Act of 2008, and for sharing your concerns for artists' rights with me. I am supportive of the visual arts and of copyright laws that are in the best interests of artists and innovators. I will examine this issue closely and will evaluate its ability to best protect visual artists and their businesses. Thank you again for your input. I will keep your views in mind if this legislation progresses in the legislative process.
Member of Congress
Barrigada, Guam 96921 USA
New Rock Bookstore: http://www.blurb.com...r/store/timrock
See the Newest Images: http://www.photosour...aunch=pdn-31809
Website: http://www.doubleblue.com
Tim's Blog: http://timrockblog.blogspot.com/
Posted 17 May 2008 - 08:33 PM
Posted 18 May 2008 - 07:59 AM
An acquaintance of mine, Dan Heller, has posted a good article about the Orphan Works Act. It is worth a read...
A good analysis of the general situation, but the Act still is something I am not fond of, probably as much emotionally as practically. The thought of being forced to allow someone to be permitted to use something a person created on the provisions in proposed law is unsettling. Of course the Copyright Laws has many provisions that have to be looked at, and this amendment is not made in a vaccum. To wind through the laws and all the "what ifs" would would be very interesting, but rather lengthy. For instance, the law provides time limits on when actions may be commenced.
I would prefer to see the entities listed in Sec. 514 ( c ) ( 1 ) ( B ) - "a nonprofit educational institution, library, or archives, or a public broadcasting entity" as the only parties who could receive protection under the Orphan Works in any manner whatsoever.
Even then it is not difficult to construct a scenario where a photographer would not permit an entity to use a photograph if the photographer was initially approached for use of the photograph. The limits on injunctive relief are also something of a concern. You can wordsmith the proposed law forever.
For instance the Sec. 514 ( c ) ( 1 ) ( B ) entities, in order to not pay compensation, need to prove by a "preponderance" of the evidence that
(ii) the infringement was primarily educational, religious, or charitable in nature
"primarily", "educational", "religious" and "charitable" would all be open to argument.
Hopefully the Copyright Office, between fees and paperwork, makes the Notice of Use filings a bit a pain to deal with and does make it more difficult so the "bad guys" to try to slip into this protection.
Though it is relatively easy to file with the Copyright Office, the paperwork and cost is something that many people will not do and they are ultimately adding alot of overhead to the system. Professionals probably file their works, but in the digital age there is a huge amount of photographers out there. If someone posts a photo on the POTW and it gets picked up and winds its way through the internet, does it mean the photographer meant to free it to the world? Should someone force be forced to have it licensed? How difficult will it be for someone to determine whether a Notice of Use has been filed? And a slew of other questions.
It is funny, but there could be an ancillary benefit to this proposed bill. The uproar it has made is focusing the attention of photographers on the Copyright Law where they may not have thought about it as much before.
Posted 22 May 2008 - 09:32 AM
Lets just say that if I was executive for the recording industry or the poor librarains. I would be getting a nice warm feeling about how He plans on vote on this bill.
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913). I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.
As you know, S. 2913 was introduced in the Senate on April 24, 2008. This legislation provides a limitation on judicial remedies in copyright infringement cases involving ââ¬Åorphan worksââ¬Âââ¬âcopyrighted works whose owners may be impossible to identify and locate. I strongly believe that we must protect the intellectual property rights of the authors, journalists, and artists who, through their creative pursuits, benefit all Americans. I also understand that the issue of ââ¬Åorphan worksââ¬Â presents a real problem to both content creators and to content users. Potential users of "orphan works"ââ¬âsuch as the libraries and museums who work to preserve historical journals, records, and filmsââ¬âshy away from materials for fear of being sued should an owner emerge.
While potential users suffer as "orphan works" fade into disuse, the creators also lose. Not only do creators receive no monetary compensation for "orphan works" that are never used, but they also lose the benefit of having their work viewed and appreciated. For example, a vast treasure trove of documentary and artistic films from the early days of cinema are now disintegrating in their boxes because the film preservationists and historians who would restore them are afraid of copyright liability.
On May 15, 2008, an amended version of S. 2913 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits further consideration by the full Senate. This legislation is intended to help fix the "orphan works" problem while taking into account concerns expressed by content creators. You may be interested to learn that S. 2913 has been endorsed by the Recording Industry Association of America, as well as independent librarians, historians, and preservationists.
I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate, and you may be certain I will keep your thoughts in mind as S. 2913 and other relevant legislation is considered. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
Posted 22 May 2008 - 09:47 AM
Reply to my letter from Senator CORNYN.
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913). I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.
On May 15, 2008, an amended version of S. 2913 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits further consideration by the full Senate. This legislation is intended to help fix the "orphan works" problem while taking into account concerns expressed by content creators. You may be interested to learn that S. 2913 has been endorsed by the Recording Industry Association of America, as well as independent librarians, historians, and preservationists.
Here is the revision with highlights
Started reading through it, still winding through it but this part which was added is good
`(f) Exclusion for Fixations in or on Useful Articles- The limitations on remedies under this section shall not be available to an infringer for infringements resulting from fixation of a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work in or on a useful article that is offered for sale or other distribution to the public.'.
Posted 06 June 2008 - 09:33 AM
Dear Mr. Cheng:
Thank you for writing about S. 2913, the "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act." I appreciate hearing from you.
America's copyright industry is one of our most important economic engines, and giving artists the incentive to produce their works is vital to our country. As I am sure you know, the creative process is so important that our Founding Fathers put copyright protection into the U.S. Constitution. That is why I feel so strongly that we must continue to give copyrighted works the protection they deserve.
I understand your concerns regarding certain provisions in this bill. I believe that all artists should be able to maintain their right to be compensated for their hard work, and I worked with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to make improvements to the bill that would further protect the rights of visual artists. The bill now also requires the user of an orphan work to search for all persons and entities that can license the intended use of the work before they may use it.
On May 15, 2008, the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, unanimously approved the orphan works bill. Please know that if the Senate considers this legislation any further I will be sure to keep your thoughts and concerns in mind.
Again, thank you for writing. If you should have any further comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
A lobbyist friend told me that the bill was "the baby of someone who died of cancer, so unfortunately, it's being seen as a sort of tribute to him. Unfortunately, that's sometimes the way it is."
Posted 06 June 2008 - 04:59 PM
But those big greedy US companies will be able to use your photographs and you won't be protected.
I'm in good old AUS and I don't think rubbish like that would work here.
Posted 06 June 2008 - 05:41 PM
Amphibico Phenom & EVO PRO & Navigator 900
Share Your Underwater Videos | www.flykam.com.au


text:
Shawna Robinson's
Happy Chair
enter site
Latest News
Miranda Lambert furnished some of her new bed-and-breakfast with Happy Chair. Check it out!
We're at Zapp Hall 2014 in Warrenton, TX! Check out the event details here.
Shawna Robinson, former NASCAR driver, is the creator and owner of Happy Chair, and also loves interior and event design.
About Shawna


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Bold Blue-Greens: Teal Interiors from Around the Web
Whether it's a whole room, or just a pop of color, teal can really liven up drab decor. From turquoise to seafoam, blue-greens seem to inject a rich, bold burst of pigment that lifts the spirits.
• This retro living room, via House to Home, has a graphic light-teal and silver wallpaper. The silver and aqua theme prevails, warmed up a bit with honey colored wood and beige paint.
• Great in the kitchen, teal also pings nicely with other bright colors. In this kitchen, seen in Elle Decor, the green and yellow are harmonious, while the pop of red contrasts nicely!
• I've always wanted to be adventurous and paint my floors, but I've never had the courage. Whether you're open to the daring maneuver or not, the turquoise floors seen here in Martha Stewart, are striking!
• The Walker Residence, as seen on Whorange, has a deep seafoam teal color running throughout the home. It's a great contrast to the rich deep golden wood and green floors in the home.
• In Shaunta's recently redone living room, seen on RealSimple, teal curtains are a bold color contrast to the rich browns and persimmons of the rest of the decor.
Images: As credited above.


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More detailed information about stringed instruments and the history of violin making.
Noteworthy families of Markneukirchen violin makers
Stephan von Baehr and the architecture of the violin
Patrick Robin – a master of teaching and the craft
The violin: How to select a violin, provenance, value and appraisal
The end of the great instrument-making companies in Mirecourt
Roland Baumgartner, Basel: an expert dedicated to antique violins
Crossing borders: on the history of violin making in western Bohemia
Contemporary Italian violin, Virgilio Cremonini, 2012
One of the few contemporary pieces in the Corilon catalogue, this beautiful and elegantly crafted instrument was handcrafted by Italian master luthier Virgilio Cremonini. Virgilio Cremonini who won the third price at the Violin making contest in Pisogne in 2007 made this violin in Crevalcore in 2012. Featuring a bright, sweet and radiant sound rich in overtones with an unmistakably Italian character, this beautiful contemporary Italian violin will meet the highest musical standards. The selection of premium materials and the sophisticated workmanship reflect the high standards and the talents of Cremonini. The transparent, brilliant and intensely golden-colored orange oil varnish emphasizes the beauty of the medium-grown wood of the top and the most beautiful, deeply flamed maple back. The precisely cut soundholes and the Italian scroll show the master's attention to the details. The excellent appearance of this masterfully handcrafted modern Italian violin is surpassed by its superb acoustic qualities: This violin has a bright, sweet and luminous sound rich in overtones with assertiveness and a slightly mellow Italian touch. It was carefully worked over by our luthiers and is offered in perfect undamaged condition, well set up and tonally optimized.
Order a certificate of appraisal with this violin, the certificate option is available in the shopping cart.


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Scribble Stripe Silk Cotton Shirt Dress
All orders will be fulfilled by Burberry Limited and shipped from the UK. When you place your order, you accept Burberry's Terms and Conditions and confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Size Guide
Use the Size Guide to choose the best fit for your measurements.
In this window, you can find out the shipping and returns options for the selected item.
In this window, you can contact customer service for further assistance.
- A shirt dress in striped silk-cotton, defaced with a marker pen scribble print.
- Dress length: 110cm/43.3in. This is based on a size UK 8 as proportions change slightly according to size.
- Model's height: 173cm/5ft 8in
- 62% silk, 38% cotton
- Point collar
- Long sleeves
- Concealed button closure
- Self-tie belt
- Curved hem
- Specialist dry clean
- Imported
Item 80014291


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Many passengers boarding a Costa Cruises ship in Miami on Wednesday for a 10-night Mexican-Caribbean voyage didn't seem rattled by the misfortunes of another of the line's big vessels off the coast of Italy last weekend.
Some were celebrating wedding anniversaries and others setting off on vacations, not unlike passengers aboard the ill-fated Costa Concordia.
"Things happen. I think it's tragic," said J.D. Walker, of Oakland, Tenn., who has sailed before, but not on Costa.
Walker said he typically pays close attention to safety drills when he goes on a cruise ship.
More than 600 passengers on the Concordia did not have the benefit of a practice emergency drill before being ordered to evacuate after the ship hit submerged rocks and began sinking.
Larry and Marilyn Rudolph have cruised 11 times with Costa, and said that in their experience the safety procedures have always been very orderly and well organized, almost regimented. "They take it pretty seriously," Larry Rudolph said.
The Michigan couple was critical, however, of the Concordia's captain for changing course to show off the boat to residents on an island and for abandoning ship before some passengers.
"In a situation like that there's going to be chaos. Still, there's no excuse for what he did," Marilyn Rudolph said.
The Costa Atlantica, which carries 2,680 passengers at full capacity, has an itinerary that includes stops in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Honduras and Mexico.
"Accidents can happen in any type of situation," New Hampshire retiree and Atlantica passenger Tom Kuczkowski, 69, said Wednesday. In Concordia's case, "somebody made a misjudgment."
Still Kuczkowski's wife Patricia admitted to being "a little bit apprehensive," as she prepared to board Atlantica.
Nearly 2,200 passengers were expected to set sail late Wednesday from Port of Miami, a spokesman for Costa in Miami said.
He declined comment on whether there had been cancellations in the wake of the Concordia grounding that left 11 people dead and more than 20 missing as of late Wednesday.
A special letter from Costa management outlining the line's onboard safety procedures and crew emergency preparedness was given to Atlantica passengers at check-in.
Susan Craft, 58, of Long Island, N.Y., spoke glowingly of her previous 10 Costa cruises and said it never crossed her mind to cancel the Atlantica voyage, meant to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary. "We love Costa," she said. "They do a wonderful job. We always feel safe."
Atlantica's certificate of compliance, which is required of all foreign-flagged ships that embark passengers at U.S. ports, was reissued last December, according to theU.S. Coast Guard'sPort State Information Exchange. It also had a mandatory passenger ship safety certificate renewed in January 2011.
Still, the 12-year-old ship has had its share of incidents at sea, according to data compiled by Cruisejunkie.com.
In November 2010, the ship developed steering problems shortly after leaving Bermuda and had to be assisted by tugboats. Two years earlier, the ship had a near collision with a car carrier in the Dover Strait in England.
firstname.lastname@example.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter @TheSatchreport.


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Man crashes car into elementary school
Police in Port Arthur responded to a major accident Monday, July 1, after a driver failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into DeQueesn Elementary School.
According to a news release from the Port Arthur Police Department, a 39-year-old man who was traveling eastbound in a white Hinda Accord failed to stop at the stop sign located at the intersection of 8th Street and the elementary school at approximately 8:39 p.m. Police reported the vehicle collided with the front of the school and continued through the wall into the building. The man was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont in critical condition. No other injuries were reported. No details have yet been released to explain why the man failed to stop.


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"Life's an awfully lonesome affair.... You come into the world alone and you go out of the world alone yet it seems to me you are more alone while living than even going and coming." -- artist Emily Carr
You've lost your young child through a freak accident. Hurt and without bearing, you are adrift from your own life. Everyday living gives you little meaning or hope. There is no solace in the words of others and you are, figuratively, at the end of one's tether.
What are you choices? Give up, give in to grief, or to trust in yourself and move on. Stop letting the past and the way you have done things limit what you can do in your future.
Gravity is a metaphor. It turns that figurative isolation into literal isolation. This story of astronauts struggling in the hostile vastness of space is rife with symbolism. George Clooney's character, Matt Kowalski, represents the past that Sandra Bullock's character, Ryan Stone, must release in order to move forward. Entangled in cords, dodging the debris of a space station damaged by falling satellites, the both of them are doomed to die unless one or the other releases himself and allows the other to fight on and hopefully live. Clooney's choice allows Bullock's character to go on, to not be limited by his literal weight and the figurative weight of her past. When she finally gets out of her capsule back on Earth, she struggles to stand and finally gets back on her own two feet, reveling in the moment that is much more than a physical release. It is an emotional one.
I could be way off on my take of Gravity. Maybe I've listened to one too many reviews of artsy French new wave films or stayed up too late trying to find meaning and subtlety where it was never intended. But I don't think so. Alfonso Cuarón is one of my favorite directors and he is not a plodding Hollywood hack. With his fellow Mexican directors and friends, Guillermo Del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, they have carved out a niche as original, visual and artistic talents not constrained by conventional American/Anglo narratives. Their movies are full of symbolism and allegory (Babel and Pan's Labyrinth most notably). And it is my belief that Gravity continues that trend.
I have purposely not read, watched or listened to any reviews of Gravity (except my bud Wil) because I didn't want to be influenced by what someone else may think the movie means. I didn't even want to see a confirmation of what I saw.
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are stars and very good actors and do nothing in this film to change that opinion. Clooney is funny and charming, as always. Bullock is subdued, for her, but this serves the role for the most part.
I will not get into the technical aspects of Gravity. They have been extensively described elsewhere. Suffice to say, Cuarón has infused Gravity with a realism that gets about as close to what I imagine space would actually feel like. I saw it on a normal screen but will be revisiting it with IMAX 3D in the near future.
So, why didn't it completely work for me? Too much detachment. For all its visual beauty, I believe it lacks a heart. Something just kept me from altogether buying in. I can't even quite put my reservations into words. Secondly, with the movie being very short for an Oscar-worthy film (90 minutes), more time could have been spent explaining exactly why a doctor is installing something on Hubble. How did she even end up at NASA? I'm not expecting awkward exposition or anything, but it seems like a little more could have been revealed through her conversations with Clooney's character. Lastly, Bullock's role seems just a bit too much like a trick role, à la Tom Hanks in Cast Away ... a role set up to present well to Oscar voters. Maybe just a bit too much earnestness and not enough reality.
I'm definitely curious how a second watching may temper my opinion. Like similar space movies, Moon and 2001, Gravity has a way of making real the quiet, yet ominous isolation of space. And similarly, I didn't appreciate those movies fully the 1st few times. Grade: B
As usual, Mr Stachour at Journal Wunelle has done a bang-up job of a review of Gravity here. Much smarter than I, a superior writer and possessing much more knowledge of life in thin air, I think you'll like his take.


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Most visitors want to walk from the parking area to the Left Hand Canyon waterfall. When people can't find the way, they create multiple trails as they search. This is deadly to the canyon, causing compacted soil, habitat destruction, and ugly scarring. A healthy vibrant canyon is vital for the plants and animals that make this their home. That is one reason an easy-to-follow trail from the parking area to the waterfall is so important to protecting this special place.
We have been able to limit the parking lot to 28 vehicles and prohibit parking on the creek side of Powerhouse Lane. Plans are underway to make the other side of Powerhouse Lane no parking. Vehicles over 22 feet are prohibited, as well as busses and trailers. Limiting the numbers in the canyon keeps it healthier than before – when busloads of people were arriving in the canyon and cars and busses were parked all over the place.
We are working to remove non-native plants, so that the natives, waiting patiently for the room they need to grow, can flourish. We would love to have you help us with this work.
We remove trash and recycling from the Tea Cup and the rocky ledges above and along the creek in front of the power dam, and along the trail up to the waterfall in Left Hand. We have removed thousands of pounds of trash and recycling from the canyon over the years. We'd love to have you help with that too.
We invite you to visit www.millcreekpartnership.net to see what we've been up to. We would be thrilled if the people who love the canyon would join us as we show our love for the land by helping restore it. Come to one of our monthly work parties!
I understand your frustration with the numbers of people in the canyon and your dislike of signage in what should be an unmolested area, but reality dictates action, and an important way to help the canyon is to make it easy for people to get to the Left Hand waterfall from the parking area.
We hope we don't have to resort to placing cameras where vandalism is occurring. We'd much rather not, but the constant vandalism may leave us no choice.
—Sara Melnicoff
Moab Solutions/Mill Creek Partnership


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Press Releases
Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Bill
Legislation targets funding to nuclear national security efforts, energy security, and infrastructure projects to boost American competitiveness
Washington, June 9, 2014
Tags: National Defense and Military , Energy , Water
The House Appropriations Committee today released the fiscal year 2015 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation provides annual funding for national defense nuclear weapons activities, the Army Corps of Engineers, various programs under the Department of Energy, and other related agencies.
The bill totals $34 billion – a $50 million reduction from the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and an increase of $327 million above the President's request.
"The bill holds the line on spending, while prioritizing programs with the highest national need. This includes bolstering our national defense by ensuring the safety and readiness of our nuclear weapons, and increasing economic opportunity with critical infrastructure projects such as those through the Army Corps of Engineers," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said. "This is a well-balanced, responsible bill that reflects thoughtful budget decisions and makes the best use of taxpayer dollars."
Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson also commented on the importance of the bill:
"This bill reflects the tough decisions necessitated by our challenging fiscal environment, while placing emphasis where it is needed most: meeting critical national security needs and investing in our nation's infrastructure," Chairman Simpson said. "It prioritizes the maintenance and safety of our nuclear weapons stockpile, while also funding important infrastructure projects and research that will increase U.S. economic competitiveness and growth."
A summary of the subcommittee draft of the fiscal year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill follows:
The bill totals $34 billion –$50 million below the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and an increase of $327 million above the President's request.
The bill prioritizes funding for our national security, providing increases for nuclear weapons programs above fiscal year 2014. The bill also protects funding for critical national and regional waterways – which handle commerce valued at more than $1.7 trillion annually – through the Army Corps of Engineers, and programs that encourage energy independence and economic competitiveness. To meet these needs, the legislation contains targeted reductions to lower-priority or unnecessary programs.
Nuclear Security – The bill provides a total of $11.4 billion for DOE's nuclear weapons security programs, including Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors. This is a $154.6 million increase from the fiscal year 2014 level. This critical national defense funding will allow the U.S. to uphold its nuclear deterrence posture, and prepare for current and future nuclear threats by maintaining the safety and readiness of our nuclear stockpile. This includes:
Army Corps of Engineers – The Army Corps of Engineers is funded at $5.5 billion, an increase of $25 million above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and $959.5 million above the President's budget request. The bill focuses funding on activities that will have an immediate impact on public safety, job creation and the economy, including those that help ensure our waterways stay open for business. For example, the bill provides:
Environmental Cleanup – Included in the legislation is $5.6 billion for environmental management activities, $202.2 million below the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. This includes $4.8 billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup to safely clean sites contaminated by previous nuclear weapons production, as well as additional funding for various other non-defense related nuclear sites.
Energy Programs – Funding for energy programs within the Department of Energy (DOE) is $10.3 billion – an increase of $113 million above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. Within this total, the bill prioritizes and increases funding for energy programs that encourage U.S. economic competitiveness and that help advance the nation's goal of an "all of the above" solution to energy independence.
In order to balance investments in all energy sources, research and development to advanced coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil energy technologies, which will help the country make greater use of our rich natural energy resources and help keep down energy costs, are funded at $593 million – an increase of $30.9 million above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. In addition, funding for nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration activities is increased by $9.8 million for a total funding level of $899 million. Renewable energy programs, which are funded at $1.8 billion in the bill, are cut by $113 million from last year's enacted level.
Science Research – The bill includes $5.1 billion for science research – the same as the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. This funding will help strengthen the nation's science and technology innovation by supporting basic energy research, development of high-performance computing systems, and research into the next generation of clean energy sources. This basic research will lay the groundwork for more efficient and practical domestic energy solutions to help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, and help promote future growth in American businesses and industries.
Bureau of Reclamation - The legislation contains $1 billion – $100.7 million below the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and $29 million below the President's request – for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation to help manage, develop, and protect the water resources of western states.
Yucca Mountain – The bill continues Congressional efforts to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository, providing $150 million for the Nuclear Waste Disposal program and $55 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the adjudication of DOE's Yucca Mountain License application. The legislation also denies an Administration proposal for non-Yucca nuclear waste activities.
Other policy items:
For the complete text of the subcommittee draft of the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/BILLS-113HR-SC-AP-FY2015-EnergyWater-SubcommitteeDraft.pdf


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The Sloan Consortium Workshop Series
UAB is an institutional member of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C). Sloan-C supports the collaborative sharing of knowledge and effective practices to improve online education in learning effectiveness, access, affordability for learners and providers, and student and faculty satisfaction.
All faculty and staff can access resources provided by the consortium, the most valuable of which is free registration for (a limited number of) professional development workshops designed to hone your online and blended learning capability.
How to Access Sloan-C:
- Click here to create a free user account.
- Once you complete your registration, you will be forwarded to your profile page.
- Enter your name and University of Alabama at Birmingham as your organization in the space provided (Please ensure that your enter our institution name precisely as it appears in the membership list).
- Go to the member resources page for details on the resources available to you.
If you already have a user account, make sure that you have associated your user profile with UAB.
To register for a workshop:
- Complete your member registration on the Sloan-C site
- Fill out the workshop registration form
- We will register you for the workshop and Sloan-C will forward workshop details to you directly via email.
**Please Note:
- There are a limited number of free registrations for workshops available.
- Once exhausted, members can register for workshops at a discounted price.
- Sloan-C controls the registration procedure and sets its own enrollment caps, UAB ITIT cannot guarantee enrollment in any given workshop.
Additional resources available through UAB's Sloan-C membership include:
- Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN)
- Quality Scorecard for evaluating your online programs
- Effective Practices and practitioner documents.
- Webinars on online higher education topics
- JobLine
- Surveys
- Listserv
- Sloan-C network
Typical workshop structure:
- 2 – 4 weeks in length
- primarily asynchronous – you determine the time and place of your participation.*
- Workshops require an estimated 5 - 10 hour commitment each week
*Some workshops may have a minimal synchronous (real-time) component using elluminate, a web conferencing program that you access online – no special software will be needed, but you will need to ensure that you have an up-to-date version of Java installed to download and access elluminate components. For those unable to attend a synchronous meeting, the live sessions are recorded and can be accessed online.
{slide=Sloan-C Workshop Key Takeaway Project}
Common sense can't become commonplace until shared
The knowledge you acquire in completing a Sloan-C workshop could be valuable to your colleagues in a variety of ways: At a minimum, opinions on the value and validity of each workshop you attend provides a signal on the potential value of the workshop to others; your assessment of the key points drawn from the workshop could also spark an idea for lecture, content delivery, or assessment.
We would like to collect information on the key takeaways, merits, deficiencies, and any other pertinent information related to the Sloan-C workshops so that we can provide information on relevance to colleagues, potential avenues of research in the field of online and blended learning that could be relevant and valuable to UAB, and create a database of tips gleaned from completing these workshops.
If you elect to participate (by selecting "Yes" on the registration form), we will follow up with you after the end date of your workshop and ask you to fill out a brief questionnaire that covers the following questions:
- The most significant points you learned from the workshop
- The most pertinent questions for further study that arose from participation in the workshop
- The least clear point or learning objective of the workshop
- Any significant changes you would make ot the content of the workshop
- Your personal recommendation on the value of the workshop
Participation in this project is entirely voluntary and can be anonymous if you so choose. This project is internal, and entirely separate from any post-workshop assessment that Sloan-C may conduct. Our aim is to assess the value of the workshop series and establish a clear communication of that value to the UAB teaching community.


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Tag Archives: rainbowfish
Boesman's Rainbowfish
This is a Boesman's rainbowfish. It is also called a Boesmani rainbowfish, and the word Boesman is sometimes spelled Boseman or Boeseman. They live in Papua New Guinea in streams and lakes. They are a popular aquarium fish because of … Continue reading
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BOSTON, Mass. – Ten different runners earned all-conference honors, as the no. five ranked MIT women's cross country team captured its fifth-straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship on Monday afternoon. The Engineers finished with a team score of 22 points to pull away from second-place Wellesley College, which had a total of 50 points.
Brooke Johnson (Shoreham, N.Y.) was the first harrier through the chute for the Cardinal and Gray, taking second-place in 18:50. Elaine McVay (San Ramon, Calif.) was the next MIT finisher, capturing NEWMAC Rookie of the Year honors as the top freshman finisher, in third place (18:52). Claire O'Connell (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) completed the string of three-straight Tech finishers in fourth with a time of 19:01.
Martina de Gues (Los Altos, Calif.) was two spots and seven seconds behind O'Connell and Dacie Manion () rounded out the scoring for the Cardinal and Gray in seventh place, with a time of 19:09 on the five-kilometer course.
In addition to Tech's top five, scoring runners, Stephanie Marzen (McLean, Va.), Tania Morimoto (Mountain View, Calif.), Sarah Sprague (Marengo, Ill.), Shivani Kaushal (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and Margaret Lloyd (Sacramento, Calif.) earned NEWMAC all-conference accolades by finishing among the top 14.
The Engineers will continue with their championship season in two weeks, at the New England Division III championship, hosted by Bowdoin College on Saturday, November 12.


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There have been numerous segments and articles in the news lately about the bankruptcy of Hostess Foods.
There have been numerous segments and articles in the news lately about the bankruptcy of Hostess Foods.
While you may not recognize the name anymore, it made delightful snacks such as Twinkies, Ring Dings and Zingers. Next to almost any kind of chocolate, these treats were always my favorite growing up.
I heard on CNN that a large pack of Twinkies were being offered for $50 on eBay. This alone makes me believe that this may be a short death and may just be a hiatus.
While many people are talking about the union being stubborn and that 18,500 jobs have been lost, I have a bit of a different take on this situation.
When I was growing up, Hostess was king (or queen?) with Wonder bread, snacks, etc. This company has been around for 82 years and people love its products. So how does an iconic company like Hostess go bankrupt? Just like everyone else who goes bankrupt — they spend more than they take in.
Last year the company entered bankruptcy protection. It listed assets at $1 billion and liabilities of $750 million. Its first order of business was to raise the CEO's salary from $750,000 to $2.55 million. Does that sound like a company in dire financial straits making a prudent decision? According to Examiner.com, nine other executives got large pay increases also.
While I am aware that the job market is horrible and that we can ill afford to lose 18,500 jobs from this company alone, I can certainly see why the union workers were going to stand their ground. Imprudent decisions were a part of the story but let's look a little deeper.
Hostess is a national brand. In the days of cheap energy that was an advantage that has recently (the last 20 years in particular) become a liability. The cost to transport its products has increased dramatically as the price of oil has increased. The cost of its ingredients also has skyrocketed. It has passed along price increases over the years but the consumer would not allow them to charge the full cost of the increases they were bearing and profit margins shrank. Smaller brands were gradually eating into its market share.
In capitalism, this is how things work. Companies battle for the public's business. They battle with quality, perception and cost.
Because these brands are so popular, I believe that they will be sold off in bankruptcy and a company (or other entity) will buy the rights to these products and that they will reappear at a future date. Don't spend $50 on eBay for Twinkies. I don't believe this is the end, only a rebirth. The new company will probably be lean and mean and the brand may be stronger than ever.
In the bigger picture, one that affects all of us, look at our federal government. If we compare it to Hostess we can see some similarities.
We have a national debt that will be raised above the current $16.4 trillion shortly. We have entitlement spending and other obligations that are so high an accurate number is hard to come by and we have a country that is struggling to create meaningful jobs. Their answer — print more money to create an illusion of prosperity and not answer any questions about the future finances until we are forced to.
In the meantime we have a Congress that passes laws like "The Affordable Health Care Act" and exempts themselves from it. We have politicians who get paid for life, even after just one term, while they are planning how to reduce future benefits for future retirees by means-testing or by making us wait until we are much older to start collecting. At this time, there is language being inserted into the debate that makes Social Security sound like government benevolence when it should be a return of your hard-earned money that you contributed through your FICA taxes over the years.
While I recognize that we need entrepreneurs and wealthy people to create jobs, this insanity of having most of the financial benefits going to the people at the top of the food chain has to be stopped. We don't need to stop it through higher taxes on these people. They pay most of the taxes anyway. We need to start working together — those at the top and those at the bottom to bring this sleeping giant — America — back. We need to reduce greed and incompetence rather than raising taxes and we need to start making prudent financial decisions from the top to the bottom.
Mike Savage is financial adviser and president of Savage Financial Group in East Stroudsburg, which offers securities through Raymond James Financial Services.


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All markets are driven by long term investor psychology cycles. When the cycle is positive a bull market unfolds, when negative a bear market. The Objective Elliott Wave (OEW) technique not only determines if a market is bullish or bearish, it also determines how far a market has progressed in its current cycle.
OEW is not textbook Elliott Wave. It is a proprietary technique that defines every significant wave within bull and bear markets quantitatively. With this approach one could historically analyze any market to define its most probable wave structure, and determine what the past is projecting about the future. We first uncovered this technique in the early 1980's when doing an analysis of the entire history of the US stock market. When waves are determined quantitatively they never change, past or present.
At that time our analysis led us to believe that a stock market crash was likely in late-1987 to early-1988. Then another bull market would be underway. When the stock market did crash in October 1987, and a new bull market began in late-1987, we knew we had uncovered some of the missing tenets of the Elliott Wave Theory.
Over the decades OEW analysis has led to some important projections in a variety of markets. In the US stock market: the correction in 1990, the correction in 1998, the 2000-2002 bear market, the 2002-2007 bull market, the 2007-2009 bear market, then the 2009-2115 bull market as well. OEW pinpointed the bull market high in Crude at $148 in 2008. Identified a new bear market in Gold not too far from its 2011 $1900 high. In currencies: OEW tracked the bear market in the USD until 2011, then signaled a new bull market in the USD and bear markets in most other currencies. In real estate: OEW identified the bull market top in 2005, and then the bear market bottom in 2011. All of our projections since the year 2005 are detailed – unedited – day by day on this blog.
Bull and bear markets usually last for years. Uptrends and downtrends last for months, and are often mistaken for changes in long term trends. OEW analysis not only confirms when changes in long term trends are occurring, but often projects them ahead of time. Allowing one to follow the bull or bear market as its unfolds. OEW tutoring covers the various indices in the US stock market and foreign markets, along with various modified technical indicators. It also covers currencies, bonds, commodities, housing, long term asset cycles and the Saeculum. If you are interested in learning how to do this type of analysis yourself, and joining our private international OEW group, please contact us at email@example.com for details. Best to your trading/investing.


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So, pretty much the best thing to happen on The Real Housewives of Atlanta tonight was that it started an hour earlier -- at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Besides that, it was more of the same old Kenya Moore drama in which she tried to get her fake boyfriend Walter Jackson to marry her and acted like she cared if he didn't.
We did get to meet NeNe Leakes' adorable little glam-daughter, Bri'Asia Bryant. Of course, NeNe couldn't be a traditional grandmother, so glam-ma it is. She and Gregg were also headed out to California to start their new life there, though they're keeping their home in Atlanta. "I'm a Georgia peach forever, ba-BAY," she said.
Cynthia Bailey hosted a small going away party for them, which was surprisingly uneventful. Kenya made everyone roll their eyes when she went on and on about how much she looks like Beyonce. How every day someone tells her she looks like Beyonce. How at the Inauguration 100 people were taking her picture and asking for her autograph. Cynthia had the best line of the night when she said, "Kenya thinks she looks so much like Beyonce, so why can't she get her man to ... put a ring on it?"
Clearly that is never going to happen. If we didn't already know their whole relationship was a sham, Walter might be looking like a huge jerk right now. But all I could think of during the final confrontation scene was poor Walter.
You could tell he had no idea what to say as she went on about how she was hot, soapy, and naked in a shower, and something MUST be wrong because he didn't even kiss her. Even if their relationship was real, you'd think she'd have a little more pride than to go there on television, but fame seems to be more important to her than that.
She blasted him again for leading her on and begged and pleaded with him to tell her what was wrong. Walter just kept fishing and shrugging his shoulders, which made her even crazier. Poor guy seemingly had no clue what he was in for with Kenya, and now here she is making him look like a huge, insensitive ass on TV. And she seems to have no regrets, recently telling In Touch that she's the new star of RHOA. I suppose if by star she means delusional, narcissistic, crazy woman no one likes, that may be true.
The episode ended with Kenya storming off and leaving Walter in his Guccis by the lake. I hope that's the end of it, but somehow I unfortunately doubt it. Because really with Kim gone, and NeNe off to Hollywood, what else is there to watch the rest of this season? My fingers are crossed hard, however, that they bring Walter back for the reunion and he gets a chance to tell his side. Bravo owes us that, right?
Do you think this is the end of Kenya and Walter's (fake) romance?
Image via Bravo