text:
The winningest coach in Oklahoma history, Bob Stoops and the Sooners have become synonymous with success as he has firmly etched his indelible stamp upon college football.
Quantifying the lasting impact that Stoops has made on Oklahoma is the easy part. No head coach in the Sooners' illustrious history has produced more victories than Stoops (190), who surpassed Barry Switzer in 2013. That OU coaching lineage of 100-game winners also includes the iconic Bud Wilkinson and Bennie Owen.
Stoops, the longest-tenured FBS head coach (hired on Dec. 1, 1998, he has Iowa's Kirk Ferentz beat by one day), has led the Sooners to a school-record 18 consecutive bowl berths and 10 Big 12 titles. He has guided the program to eight or more victories each of the past 17 seasons, the longest active streak of any FBS head coach. Even though he didn't arrive in Norman until the Big 12 was three years old, the Youngstown, Ohio, native has already coached the program to more than three times as many championships (10) as the next closest school in the league.
Putting Stoops' accomplishments and remarkable consistency in the proper national perspective isn't difficult. No team from a Power Five conference owns more victories than Oklahoma (190) since Stoops took over the Sooners' fortunes, while only Ohio State can claim a better winning percentange since 1999. Under the direction of this 32-year coaching veteran, only three schools can boast longer active streaks of consecutive bowl berths. And no coach in the game's history has accumulated more victories over his first 18 seasons than Stoops.
During the BCS era, Stoops was the only coach to win a national championship and every BCS bowl game. He completed that winning cycle as Oklahoma registered a 45-31 victory over No. 3 Alabama in the 80th Allstate Sugar Bowl to cap the 2013 season. That victory vaulted the Sooners to the No. 6 spot in the final AP Poll to give them their ninth AP top-10 finish under Stoops (they added a 10th in 2015 and an 11th in 2016).
Among programs from Power Five conferences, Oklahoma is one of only nine that has averaged 10 or more victories over that past six seasons, a remarkable feat in today's college football landscape.
Conference supremacy has also been a trademark of Stoops' tenure in Norman. Over the past seven seasons the Sooners own a 73-19 (.793) overall mark, as well as a 49-13 (.790) regular season conference record, both of which are the best of any Big 12 team from 2010-16. Not only does Oklahoma own the most victories against AP Top 25 foes among Big 12 teams over the past seven years, the Sooners are the only Big 12 squad to post a winning record in such games, going 24-14.
Add it all up, and it's easy to see why ESPN the Magazine in 2012 named Oklahoma the top college football program of the BCS era.
During his remarkable run, Stoops has picked up 19 coach-of-the-year citations, including eight on the national level. Under his direction, the Sooners have posted 14 seasons with 10 or more wins over the past 17 seasons, a total that no FBS program can top dating back to 2000.
Prior to his arrival at Oklahoma, the proud Sooner program was five years removed from a winning record and hadn't produced double-digit victories since 1987. But since the start of the 2000 campaign, OU has registered 11 seasons with 11 or more wins, tying Ohio State for the top total by a Power Five school.
Stoops reached 100 victories faster than any coach in college football history. In fact, only five coaches needed fewer games to reach the 150-win plateau than Stoops (187 games). That list reads like a who's who of the game's coaching elite: Switzer (180 games), Fielding Yost (180), Gil Doobie (180), Joe Paterno (184) and Tom Osborne (186).
Stoops' OU squads have frequently risen to the occasion against the nation's toughest teams. The Sooners are 60-30 (.667) against AP Top 25 foes during his tenure with 21 wins against AP top-10 squads and 11 victories against top-five teams.
Since the start of the 21st century, Oklahoma has been the standard bearer of success among Power Five schools in a number of major categories. Over the past 17 seasons, OU leads all those schools in victories (183), home winning percentage (.914) and total touchdowns (1,016) . Over that same span, the Sooners rank second in the nation in overall winning percentage (.810), conference winning percentage (.817) and takeaways (473).
Among active FBS coaches who have coached at least 10 seasons, only Urban Meyer (.851) and Chris Peterson (.821) have better winning percentages.
While 18 seasons have passed, Stoops' no-nonsense approach to the game hasn't changed. He has long insisted that players win games, not coaches. However, it's hard to argue with the consistent level of top-flight talent Stoops and his staff have attracted to Oklahoma. Two Heisman Trophy winners and seven Heisman finalists have been characteristic of the offensive playmakers who have signed with the Sooners. If you want opulent offense, look no further than Owen Field. Stoops' 2008 team was the first nationally to score 60 or more points in five straight games en route to an NCAA single-season record 716 points. OU's 2015 squad averaged 43.5 points per game to rank fourth nationally, and the 2016 Sooners averaged 43.9 to rank third in the country.
There has been no lack of game-changing defensive performers on the roster, either. Oklahoma is the only program to produce two players who won the Thorpe and Nagurski Awards in the same season. Sizzling special teams performers have been part of the equation, as well. Over the past five seasons alone the Sooners have registered nine touchdowns in the kicking game.
Stoops is respected as a grounded family man, big-game coach, relentless recruiter, strong leader and a person with uncommon perspective. His success emanates from a disciplined style true to his roots in the Steel Valley of Ohio, but he is far from inflexible. The principles to which he holds are the tried and true axioms of the sport mixed with cutting-edge strategy and an appreciation for the calculated risk.
The son of a longtime high school coach, Stoops was a four-year starter at Iowa under Hayden Fry, who gave him his coaching start in 1983. He later played a key role in one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football history as a member of Bill Snyder's Kansas State staff from 1989-95. Eventually, he left for Florida and a three-year stint as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator. It was with the Gators, and a national championship team in 1996, that the spotlight found Stoops and made him one of the hottest names in the profession.
His hiring at Oklahoma was one for the ages.
• Bob Stoops is the winningest coach in Oklahoma history with a 190-48 overall record. He ranks third at OU with his .798 career winning percentage.
• Has won more games in his first 18 years than any college coach.
• Reached 150 wins in 187 games (sixth fastest all-time).
• Has led the Sooners to a school-record 18 consecutive bowl berths (the previous record was eight under Barry Switzer). Never had an OU coach taken even his first three teams to bowls.
• Is the only coach in the BCS era to win a national championship and every BCS bowl game (Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar).
• Since he took over at OU in 1999, has coached Sooners to more wins than any other Power Five program during that time span.
• Has directed the Sooners to the second highest winning percentage of any Power Five program since 1999, trailing only Ohio State.
• Under his direction, Oklahoma is one of only seven Power Five programs to average 10 wins per year over the last 10 seasons.
• Has 14 seasons of 10 or more wins, the most of any FBS coach since 2000.
• Oklahoma is 60-30 (.667) vs. AP Top 25 teams in the Stoops era. The win percentage is the best in the country during the span and the win total is tied for second with LSU behind Alabama (65).
• Owns a 101-9 home record, which included a school-record 39-game winning streak (ninth longest in college football history) and two 19-game strings. The .918 home winning percentage is the best among Power Five programs (Ohio State is second at .882).
• OU is a combined 25-11 under Stoops against its two biggest rivals (14-4 vs. Oklahoma State and 11-7 against Texas).
• Stoops has authored two of the seven longest winning streaks in Oklahoma history. His 2000 and 2001 teams combined to win 20 straight, while the 2002 and 2003 teams combined to reel off 14 in a row. Those victories all came against FBS opponents.
• The Sooners have not lost back-to-back regular season games under Stoops since October 1999, his inaugural OU year. Oklahoma is 37-0 in regular season games immediately following a loss since that time.
• Oklahoma won the 2000 national championship, played in three more BCS National Championship Games and made the four-team 2015 College Football Playoff. The Sooners have spent 30 weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll under Stoops and were atop the BCS standings for a nation-leading 20 weeks.
• In the 18-year Stoops era, only one team has more AP top-five appearances than OU's 123. Alabama (129) is first, while Ohio State (109), USC (87) and Florida State (83) trail OU in the top five.
• OU has appeared in the top 10 of the final AP Poll 11 times under Stoops and has finished in the top five on seven occasions.
• Stoops has coached OU to 10 Big 12 championships. No other program has more than two Big 12 titles during the Stoops era.
• Oklahoma owns a league-best 121-29 (.807) record in regular season Big 12 games during the Stoops era. Texas ranks second with a 104-46 (.693) record and is followed by Kansas State (84-66; .560), TCU (25-20; .556), Oklahoma State (83-67; .553), Texas Tech (74-76; .493), West Virginia (22-23; .489), Baylor (50-100; .333), Iowa State (43-107; .287) and Kansas (33-117; .220).
• OU owns a 73-19 overall mark the last six years and a 49-13 league record, both the best of any Big 12 team during that span.
• Stoops guided the Sooners to more wins against AP Top 25 teams than any Big 12 program since 2010. OU is the only program in the conference with a winning record in such games (24-14).
• Stoops has produced 37 first-team All-Americans, two AP Players of the Year and 79 NFL Draft picks as OU's head coach.
• Stoops has coached two Heisman Trophy winners (Jason White in 2003 and Sam Bradford in 2008) and seven Heisman finalists.
• An Oklahoma has player finished among the top seven in the Heisman voting nine times on Stoops' watch: Dede Westbrook (No. 4 in 2016), Baker Mayfield (No. 3 in 2016 and No. 4 in 2015), Sam Bradford (No. 1 in 2008), Adrian Peterson (No. 2 in 2004), Jason White (No. 3 in 2004 and No. 1 in 2003), Roy Williams (No. 7 in 2001) and Josh Heupel (No. 2 in 2000).
• Under his guidance, OU became the first program to produce two players who claimed the Thorpe and Nagurski Awards in the same season (Roy Williams in 2001 and Derrick Strait in 2003).
• Two different Sooners have claimed the following honors in the Stoops era: Nagurski Award (Roy Williams, Derrick Strait), Thorpe Award (Roy Williams, Derrick Strait), Butkus Award (Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman) and Wuerffel Trophy (Gabe Ikard, Ty Darlington).
• Stoops' OU players have also won each of the following accolades: the Bednarik Award, Biletnikoff Award, Lombardi Award, Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, Unitas Award, Outland Trophy, Burlsworth Trophy, Campbell Trophy and the Mosi Tatupu Award.
• Oklahoma set an NCAA Division I single-season record in 2008 by scoring 716 points. OU topped the 50-point mark nine times that season and surpassed the 60-point plateau in five straight games.
• OU has registered double-digit victories in 152 of Stoops' 238 games. The Sooners boast a 103-1 mark when scoring 40 points or more.
• All 110 home games of Stoops' tenure have been sold out and the stadium capacity has been increased by some 9,000 seats since his arrival. In a state of 3.5 million people and two other FBS programs, attendance in Norman routinely exceeds 85,000, including a school-record 87,979 vs. Ohio State (Sept. 17, 2016).
• Four-year starter at defensive back, Iowa (1979-82)
• Honorable mention All-American (1982)
• Two-time All-Big Ten selection (1979, 1982)
• Career totals included 205 tackles and 10 interceptions
• Iowa team most valuable player (1982)


text:
Stock Market Courses
Courses for the stock market Stock Market Course
Before you even think about taking stock market courses, it is imperative to understand that free market forces ceased to exist a long time ago. If you understand that simple principle, you will realise that most of the material in these stock market courses that are being marketed to naive investors is even worse than rubbish. At least rubbish can be recycled, the paper used to print this gibberish might be useful to start a big bonfire. In most cases, the experts behind these books do not know anything about investing but have a masters in fiction and should thus focus on dealing with fictional events. What we decided to today is post a long essay on the topic of market manipulation. If you understand what it is and how its utilised to separate the masses from their money, the information you glean from this will be ten times more useful than that you could ever hope to obtain for a series of stock market courses.
Market Manipulationu is real and exists. It's a neutral thing neither good nor bad and actually in a twisted way it is necessary. Stock Market courses; how to win the game
Let's start off by looking at a predator in the wild, a Jaguar. When there is plenty of food, all the Jaguars can feed well and relax as there is plenty to go around. If one looks at the situation from the prey's side, it seems unfair.
The deer are just trying to get a drink of water or eat some grass, but each time it has to play Russian roulette with its life. If the Jaguar were eliminated from the equation, then you would have too many deer, and this would result in overgrazing and a severe constriction of the existing food supplies.
So the Jaguar is needed to maintain the equilibrium. If suddenly the number of Jaguars goes up, then we have another imbalance and the existing food supply is now threatened (not enough deer to feed all the Jaguars). Once again nature intervenes, and the weakest Jaguars start to die off; only the strong ones remain.
Applying the above analogy to the markets, we get the following:
The masses are the Deer; they just want to find a way to grow fat without doing much. Even worse, they want to build lots of money for a time in their lives when they least need it. This period is called retirement. What is incredibly amusing is that everything is sacrificed, good health, youth, pleasures, etc. to put money aside for a time when practically nothing works as well as it once used to. If the masses are so happy to kill themselves slowly, why should it be terrible when the predators come in and do the same job but 100 times faster?
The Jaguars represent a few sophisticated investors, big brokerage firms etc.
Their function is to wait and watch the deer (masses) get nice and fat; then they strike their fatal blow. In this case, the markets crash when the masses are net long or suddenly take off when the masses are net short.
Then you get times when the food supply is thin, and so even the Jaguars are now threatened as they start to turn on each other to survive. (By the way, this is what has been going on in the markets for the last few months). This is when you see big companies go down (Long Term Investment Capital is an example.), and many big investors suddenly find themselves penniless. The Jaguars that survive this period of hardship emerge even stronger, leaner and will feed ten times as much as soon as the supply of food is replenished to equilibrium levels.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
hci g
hci g
Currently sorted By creation date ascending Sort chronologically: By last update | By creation date
Originating in the anthropology of Bronislaw Malinowski, this has come to mean the study of cultural and societal matters from inside their operations. It is associated with fieldwork, which emphasizes the importance of participatory methods for collecting data about social phenomena.
Founded by Harold Garfinkel, this is an alternate sociology that eschews the predominantly theoretical caste of sociology in favor of studies of the way in which social order is attested to, constituted, and used within the practical doings of societal members. Ethnomethodological studies of work have focused on the situated practices, methods, and interactions through which members order their work.
Fitts' Law
A predictive model of human movement developed by Paul Fitts in the 1950s. The model predicts the time for rapid aimed movements, that is, the time to acquire a target of a specified size at a specified distance.
A concept used in focus shift analysis. It deals with the objects of work as the anchoring point of identifying the level of human action. A focus shift draws attention to the shift between one level of action and another. It indicates the dynamics of the situation that is the main point of concern.
A philosophy or practice that focuses on the manipulation of surface representations or symbols with a disregard for the underlying semantics and meaning. This may be as a strong philosophical stance or it may be because it is believed that, in a certain situation and for a particular end, the symbols capture faithfully the underlying meaning.
formal methods
In computing, this refers to the use of specification and analysis methods based on algebraic or set theoretic mathematical methods. It does not encompass all uses of mathematical analysis in computing, but it is principally applied to those concerned with the formal specification of discrete systems.
formal specification
See formal methods.
formative model
A model that identifies requirements that must be satisfied so that a system can behave in a new, desired way if needed.
functional system
The functional system is the unit of intelligent activity that is analyzed in DCog; it may be composed of a collection of any number of individuals and artifacts. It is bounded by the problem, and it includes all of the entities that compose the problem space and which are involved in problem solving.
The "G" in GOMS, goals are what the user is trying to achieve through interaction with the computer system


text:
Do you remember the day you were born, Cakespy? After all, it was one year ago--on August 1----that we made our inaugural post. How the time has gone! In some ways we can't believe it's been a year, and yet at the same time, it seems inconceivable that it's only been a year. One sugar-filled, dentist's nightmare of a year.
While we could regale you with the story of Cakespy's birth, we thought it would be much funner to have a poll and give away some sweet stuff! In keeping with the birthday theme, our subject is birthday cake. And since it's a special day, there will be not one but four winners!
- Winner 1 will get the original painting shown at the top;
- Winner 2 will get a Cakespy T-Shirt (Unisex sizes XS-L, winner will be notified and asked for a size; no need to put it in your response);
- Winners 3 and 4 will receive a box of 10 assorted Cakespy Notecards!
The fine print: The poll will be closed at 12 noon PST on Wednesday, August 6th; responses may be posted in the comments section or emailed to email@example.com. As usual, winners will be chosen at random, and will be assigned prizes in the order mentioned above (sorry, no swapping). Entries from the US and beyond are welcome. Your info will never be shared and these questions are solely motivated by our nosy spy tendencies.
Cake Poll: Birthday Cake!
- What kind of cake did you have for your birthday when you were little?
- What kind of cake do you want for your next birthday?
- Whipped cream frosting: yes or no? (Feel free to explain)
- Licking the frosting from the bottom of the candles: do you do it?
- Fruit filling: a sweet surprise, or disappointment in the middle?
- Ice cream cakes: awesome or awful?
- Is it wrong to have a birthday pie instead of a cake?
- What's the best thing about birthday cake?
Please note--the poll is CLOSED!


text:
Every relationship must have experienced a complicated problem. Disconnect is not the only way to resolve the issue. In these critical times 'break' is the right decision to be taken.
In the 'break' you and your partner do not need to contact each other in order to focus introspection themselves and dampen emotions. As reported by All Woman's Talk, here's five benefits of 'break' in the relationship.
1. Provide SpaceSometimes a very intense relationship and your partner makes you almost do not have time for yourself. During the break, there is a distance between you and your partner so that each individual has a little space that frees you both for taking a break from the boredom and fatigue that had been established relationship.
2. Know YourselfThe reason to make yourself a break sometimes be even better. Yes, of course in a while ma sa solitude, you have plenty of time to correct yourself as a free individual, not the individual is bound. You can correct your flaws and fix yourself so that you will learn more about how your character really is.
3. Becoming More CalmBig fight with your spouse makes you depressed and emotional. During the break, you can stop for a moment of commotion that takes a lot of energy. You can think again about the problem you are facing and become more calm. Break also can avoid the fights are more intense.
4. Time To Measure CompatibilityMaybe all this time you are in doubt about your love relationship, whether to continue or terminate the relationship. When you and your partner split up for quite a long time, it's time to make the decision. If you feel more comfortable and happy with your solitude, perhaps you do need to end your relationship. But if you feel you need him more than when you are with him, may improve the relationship between you and your partner is the best decision.
5. Finding What You WantBreak you can use to find exactly what you want from your partner. Do you want a more serious relationship, or are you more interested in meeting new people or just you have a goal each conflicting. Find exactly what you want so that when the break is over you can make decisions in accordance with your conscience.
6. Creating a PriorityMaybe the reason you and your partner break is to both understand what the priorities both of you. Maybe you want to continue school, while your partner wants to get married. If indeed you and partner could still compromise the priority of each, then this relationship can be transmitted. If indeed you both do not find a middle ground, trying to think back to what the priorities of your life today and in the future.
7. Ensuring FeelingsIt could be your break with a partner because of boredom or just no longer feel the love in the relationship. Separation of you and your partner will give pause to the feelings you both. If absence makes you miss with what you have passed with a partner, maybe you're just bored with the routine that's it. If it turns out for not meeting him makes you feel better and you feel increasingly bland, could have indeed been no love between you.
Remember, break not mean to break up. It is time to correct the error and wishes of each individual. In general, the break occurred because of boredom, doubt, and lack of love between you and your partner. And at this time, you can discover what things are missing from the relationship. Although not rare break into the beginning of the end of a relationship, but the break may have a positive impact to your relationship because everyone needs time alone.


text:
COSMOS Amarr Revenant
This is a fighter for the Blood Raiders. It is protecting the assets of Blood Raiders and may attack anyone it perceives as a threat or easy pickings. Threat level: Deadly
Structure and speed:
- Mass: 11800000 kg
- Volume: 118000 m3
- Cargo capacity: 235 m3


text:
Only hotels in 60075 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Russell, IL for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 60075 hotels and motels so you can review the Russell hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Lake county and area code 847 are also listed.
How should we direct your call?


text:
About Us
About Madison Magazine
Reaching over 216,000 readers online and in print, Madison Magazine is the only local magazine with a large, audited paid subscriber following.
Madison Magazine has positioned itself as the market leader in editorially driven content for the reader who cares about the greater Madison area. With a long history of providing interesting coverage of local people, area events and home related edit, Madison Magazine builds on existing strengths of arts, dining, habitat, travel, business and health.
The magazine prides itself on providing award winning, service journalism that informs its readers with what to do, where to go and the how to in managing their daily lives.
Winners of numerous Milwaukee Press Club awards for photography, journalism and graphic design, the magazine received special recognition in 2014 for Best Long Feature, Best Business Story, Best Column, Best Overall Design, Best Photo Essay and Best Single Story or Feature Design.
In addition, the magazine has won several national City Regional Magazine Association awards for its multimedia collaborations with WISC TV-3 and Channel3000.com, Civic Journalism and several awards for General Excellence in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Madison Magazine also produces dozens of community events annually, including The Madison Magazine BBQ Festival, Madison Restaurant Week, Best of Madison Awards, and Best of Madison Business.
Madison Magazine is published monthly by Madison Magazine, Inc. and is affiliated with Television Wisconsin, Inc. (WISC-TV 3, Madison).
Family owned since 1956.
7025 Raymond Road
Madison, Wisconsin 53719
Phone: 608.270.3600
Fax: 608.270.3636
Elizabeth Murphy Burns, President
Mike Kornemann, Publisher
Rachel Tatge, Director of Marketing & Events Producer, 608.270.3632, email@example.com
For more information, please contact: ?Michael Kornemann, Publisher of Madison Magazine
Staff Directory
Meet Madison Magazine contributors
Internship Opportunities at Madison Magazine
Where can I buy Madison Magazine?
Madison Magazine is available by subscription, and is on sale at hundreds of locations throughout the Madison area.
Find a location.
Previous Story
Paulpalooza celebrates life and pays it forward
Next Story
Police: Campers assault park ranger, strike officer in the head
Local And Regional News
- 1 dead in Highway 51 car, motorcycle crash in McFarland
- Authorities: Trucker blamed in crash lacked proper license
- Lanes reopen on Highway 51 following crash between car, motorcycle in McFarland
- Suspect wounded in shooting with Lincoln County deputies
- Jack Coan listed as starting quarterback for Badgers football team
- Madison police searching for man who robbed Speedway gas station


text:
Harvesting KimbyLord DragonsWing©
Damn! Who would of thought that could happen in the garden? Definitely not me! But every time I think about it, I get those little bumps all over. You know the ones. Not the ones that make your skin crawl, the ones that give you a shiver of excitement. Just thinking about what happened that day long ago and I still get those damn bumps.
You ever gardened? I don't mean the small flower beds or a couple plants in a pot. I'm talking about a decent size plot that you have to fence in to keep the deer and other animals out. Well, some animals anyway. This particular wild one I'll always let into the plot; especially when it's harvest time. Of course, I'm sure you would also. Damn, there go those bumps again.
On this particular day the Alabama sun was really beating down. It had to be 100 degrees if it was anything, a real scorcher. That's why I was just wearing shorts and an old T-shirt. By the time I left I was sure to be reddened on top of the dark tan I already had. Even working quickly wasn't going to help; the sun was going to burn. Thank the garden gods for automatic sprinklers. At least I didn't have to stay out there and water, just set the timer and wham! The sprinklers would soak everything.
Besides, I really wanted to get back to the house. Kim was visiting this weekend and I promised her we'd spend time together. Who's Kim? Oh, she's a friend from work. Every so often she likes to get away from the rat race we call a city and come out to the country and relax. I mean just relax. Kick back on the deck, watch the sun set over the pond, sip a glass of cool wine. You know what that's like. No pressure, no traffic, just kicking back laughing and letting the stress slip away.
Well, this morning Kim was sleeping late in the guestroom. She always sleeps there. Like I said, we're just friends. She had gotten here late last night, Friday, and had kicked back on the deck drinking wine and chatting away. It's always fun to have Kim over. When you live so far from civilization and the nearest neighbor is over a mile away, some company during the weekend helps break the monotony of living alone.
That's why I was rushing to get the weeds pulled and do a quick spraying on the garden before she woke up. We didn't really have anything planned; just a few hours riding the horses and then an afternoon of swimming in the pond. I just thought I'd rush through then fix a bite to eat so we both could start the day full of energy.
I was nearly done when Kim surprised me. Sneaking up behind me as I was bent down pulling some weeds out of the tomatoes, she just had to make the comment, "Nice Ass."
Caught by surprise, and of course my mind roaming, I jumped up immediately. Turning to face that girlish giggle, I looked straight into those big brown eyes. Damn, it was easy to get lost looking into those eyes. Even with the flash of mischief she had, as I turned red as the beets, I could easily lose myself to this friend.
Watching those eyes roam around the garden I just stuttered when she asked "So, is the sun that hot already, or did I just make you blush?"
There's that giggle again. Damn, she got me a good one. Flashing Kim a big smile I glanced back at the tomatoes. "No way, I was bent over and the blood rushed to my head."
The mischief in Kim's eyes flash again as she giggles and strolls over to the tomato plants. Watching her bend over to help pull the weeds I can't help but notice the short white pants and cotton T-shirt she's wearing.
Bending over beside her I stare down at the weeds and grin . "You're ass looks nice also in case no one's every told you."
Kim giggles as she looks over at me smearing some dirt onto her long tanned legs. "Oh I hear that a lot, but never from anyone I've cared about before."
I can feel the blood rushing to my head as I begin to blush. Coughing, well choking actually, I turn and look into her tanned face as her blonde hair hangs loosely in front of her. Grabbing a freshly pulled weed I toss it at her slender thighs playfully.
As the small mound of dirt splashes against her she laughs and stands up straight. Wiping her thighs slowly she flashes her smile at me. "Oh, Now you're in trouble boyo. That ass is mine!"
Suddenly I jump as Kim's small hand grabs a part of my ass. Not a large part mind you, her hands are small and delicate, but enough to make me fall over in surprise. Falling into the bed of tomatoes I look up at Kim. Damn, where did that come from? Noticing some nice ripe fruit hanging on the vines I reach up and grab a plump tomato as I slowly stand and smile at Kim mischievously.
Watching Kim's eye's widening in surprise, I grin as I slowly approach her with the ripe tomato in my hand.
"Oh, no you don't! You know I don't like those things."
Grinning wickedly, I take a large bite from the fruit as I let the juice run down my chin into my goatee.
"I know, but who says you can't wear one?"
I watch Kim grin as she straightens her back and returns my grin. Damn, I've never noticed how her breasts stand out so straight or how those short pants form to every curve of her thighs. God, I need to get out more. Or do I? Maybe staying here in the country with a friend such as Kim would be perfect. No, she's just a friend. That's it! Right?
Walking up next to Kim I can feel the heat from the sun scorching down more than I did earlier. But is it really the sun, or is it me? Can this 35 year old woman, dressed in white short shorts and a cotton T-shirt have this effect on me?
Slowly I hold the dripping tomato over her breast as she looks at me smiling. Leaning forward, Kim takes a bite out of the juicy fruit, letting the warm liquid run down her chin as her tongue moves around her lips.
"I never said I didn't eat anything warm."
Dropping the tomato to the ground, I reach up and take her by the chin. Leaning over as I lick the juice running from her mouth, feeling her hand run through my curly brown hair. I listen as she whispers:
"I was wondering how long it would take you."
Wrapping my arms around her I pull Kim closer to my sweating body. Feeling her relax as our lips open to each other, our tongues dancing inside our open mouths, I get lost in the feel of her hands moving over my body.
Moving my hand around Kim's neck, I pull her passion closer. We become lost, running our hands over each other's sweat drenched body. Touching and exploring, feeling each other's bodies as we never have before.
Suddenly, the timers on the sprinklers begin to go off. Standing there, tangled in each other's grasp, our bodies are covered in cool water. Moving my hand down Kim's back I feel the wet T-shirt pressing against her bare skin.
Running my tongue over her soft lips I can taste the salt from her face running into our mouths. As I move my hand lower to her firm ass I press her taut body against me. I can feel Kim moving her right leg around mine as she presses her body closer against mine.
Grabbing Kim's taut little ass, I press myself closer against her wet shorts as she grabs my ass with her delicate hands.
"God, you have no idea how long I've wanted to hold your ass in my hands."
Looking into those dark brown eyes I smile. Reaching to the front of Kim's low cut shorts I move the zipper down, parting the folds to reveal her bare pussy.
"And you have no idea how long I've wanted to feel myself throbbing inside you."
Leaning her head back, I watch Kim expose her neck to the explorations of my lips. Tasting the water dripping down her neck I move her exposed folds between my fingers. Wrapping her leg tightly around mine, my finger plunges inside her wet pussy. As Kim arches her back, my finger curls inside her.
"Oh yes!"
Watching the cool water run down her neck to her breast, I lean down and suck the water out of her cotton T where her hardened nipples are protruding. Moaning, Kim grabs my head and pushes my mouth harder against her firm breast.
"Fuck me Mike, God, please fuck me now!"
Lost in the passion, I plunge my finger deeper inside Kim. Curling my finger against the upper wall of her pussy I slowly pull it out, before ramming in back inside her. Feeling just how wet and sticky she feels, as I suck her nipple harder into my mouth.
Reaching around with her hands, I feel Kim rip open the drenched shorts I am wearing. Reaching inside, she grabs my hard shaft and holds it firmly in her hand. My finger continues to move in and out of her tight little pussy as her hips move against my thrusting hand.
As I feel Kim stroking my cock, I grab her shorts and begin to pull them down her slender tanned legs.
Kim reaches down and steps out of her white shorts. Reaching down I let my short pants drop to the ground exposing the hard shaft Kim was stroking.
Kim turns, leaning over and grabs the fence, arching her back, jutting her tight ass towards me.
"Fuck me baby. Fuck me hard!"
Watching the hot sun glisten off Kim's wet ass, I grab her by the hips and move the tip of my cock up and down the lips of her pussy. Arching her back, she thrust her pussy back towards me.
"Give it to me baby! I want all of it now!"
Slowly, I move the tip of my cock around Kim's swollen clit, teasing. Then in one quick motion I grab Kim by the hips and thrust my thick shaft deep inside her. Arching her back, Kim throws her blonde hair over her shoulders as I drive deep inside her tightness. With each stroke I can feel the muscles of her pussy tighten around my cock. Watching her as I grab her hips forcefully, her knuckles turning white on the fence; I drive my cock deeper inside her.
Feeling the hot sun searing our bodies, the cool water dripping down our muscles as I drive my hard shaft deep inside Kim. Moaning and moving with the rhythm I watch Kim's taut body begin to spasm under my relentless driving.
I can feel the muscles of Kim's pussy tighten around my cock as she grips the fence and thrusts her hips in rhythm with mine.
"Yes baby, Oh God, Yes!"
Holding her hips tight with my hands, I feel my nails digging into her bronzed skin. Feeling the water from the sprinkler running down her ass, I wet my finger and move it over her puckered ass as my cock drives deeper inside her pussy.
Thrusting my hard shaft in and out of Kim's pussy, I plunge my finger deep inside her tight little ass.
Feeling the rhythm of Kim's body against mine, the water drips down our bodies. With my shaft throbbing inside her pussy, I get lost to the pleasure of pleasing her.
As the sun rises higher in the sky with each second, so does our passion. Driving faster and deeper I feel myself fighting the inevitable explosion inside Kim's pussy.
Feeling Kim's body quiver as I drive deeper and harder. Her muscles gripping my cock with each stroke. Going faster and deeper I feel my cock about to explode inside her.
"Oh God, Cum with me Mike!"
Releasing myself I drive my finger deeper into her ass as my swollen balls slam against her shaved pussy.
Feeling Kim's body vibrating from her orgasm, my warm seed shoots deep inside her. Gripping my cock with her muscles, she milks my hard shaft.
Catching my breath in the humid air, I watch as Kim drops her head; moving her hips against mine, her hands still gripping the fence. The sprinklers continue to cover our bodies in cool water as Kim's muscles squeeze my cock for every drop of warmth.
Standing, slowly Kim turns to face me. Embracing each other, the sprinklers stop their shower of cool rain.
Running my hand through Kim's soaked hair and gripping her around the waist I look deep into her murky brown eyes.
"You have such a beautiful smile."
Smiling, Kim cocks her head and grins.
"From now on, I plan to have this smile every weekend. It's taken you awhile to catch on boyo."
As I begin to roll with mischief I'm already thinking of next weekend. What shall we do? Swimming, riding, hiking or perhaps gardening...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Recent
There are no recent comments (2 older comments) - Click here to add a comment to this story or Show more comments or Read All User Comments (2)
- Add a
- Send
Send private anonymous feedback to the author (click here to post a public comment instead).


text:
The Norwegian media group Schibsted now aggressively invests in startups. The goal: digital dominance, one market at a time. France is next in line. Here is a look at the company's strategy.
This thought haunts most media executives' sleepless nights: "My legacy business is taking a hit from the internet; my digital conversion is basically on track, but it goes with a massive value destruction. We need both a growth engine and consolidation. How do we achieve this? What are our core assets to build upon? Should we undertake a major diversification that could benefit from our brand and know-how?" (At that moment, the buzzer goes off, it's time to go to work.) Actually, such nighttime cogitations are a good sign, they are the privilege of people gifted with a long-term view.
The Scandinavian media powerhouse Schibsted ASA falls into that long-termist category. Key FY 2012 data follows. Revenue: 15bn Norwegian krone (€2bn or $2.6bn.); EBIT: 13.5%. The group currently employs 7,800 people spread over 29 countries. 40% of the revenue and 69% of the EBITDA comes from online activities. Online classifieds account for 25% of revenue and 52% of the EBITDA; the rest in publishing. (The usual disclosure: I worked for Schibsted between 2007 and 2009, in the international division).
The company went through the delicate transition to digital about five years ahead of other media conglomerates in the Western world. To be fair, Schibsted enjoyed unique conditions: profitable print assets, huge penetration in small Nordic markets immune to foreign players, a solid grasp of all components of the business, from copy sales to subscribers for newspapers and magazines, to advertising and distribution channels. In addition, the group enjoys a stable ownership structure (controlled by a trust), and its board always encourages the management to aim high and take risks. The company is led by a lean team: only 60 people at the Oslo headquarters to oversee the entire operation, largely staffed by McKinsey alumni.
The transition began in 1995 when Schibsted came to realise the media sector's centre of gravity would inevitably shift to digital. The move could be progressive for reading habits but it would definitely be swift and hard for critical revenue streams such as classifieds and consumer services. Hence the unofficial motto that still remains at the core of Schibsted's strategy: accelerate the inevitable (before the inevitable falls on us). Such views led to the speeding up of the demise of print classifieds, for instance, in order to free oxygen for emerging digital products. Not exactly popular at the time but, thanks to methodical pedagogy, the transition went well.
One after the other, business units moved to digital. Then, the dot-com crash hit. In Norway and Sweden, Schibsted media properties were largely deployed online with large dedicated newsrooms, emerging consumer services built from scratch or from acquisitions. Management wondered what to do: should we opt for a quick and massive downsizing to offset a brutal 50% drop in advertising revenue? Schibsted took the opposite tack: yes, business is terrible, but this is mostly the result of the financial crisis; the audience is still here, and not only will it not go away but eventually it will experience huge growth. This was the basis for two key decisions: to pursue investments in digital journalism while finding ways to monetise it; and to do whatever it took in order to dominate the classifieds business.
In Sweden, a bright spot kept blinking on Schibsted's radar. Blocket was growing like crazy. It was a bare-bone classifieds website, offering a mixture of free and premium ads in the simplest and most efficient way. At first, Schibsted Sweden tried to replicate Blocket's model with the goal of killing it. After all, the group thought, it had all the media firepower needed to lift any brand... Wrong. After a while, it turned out Schibsted's copycat still lagged behind the original. In the kind of pragmatism allowed by deep pockets, Schibsted decided to acquire Blocket (for a hefty price). The clever classifieds website will become the matrix for the group's foray in global classifieds.
In 2006, Schibsted had acquired and developed a cluster of consumer-oriented websites, from Yellow-Pages-like directories, to price-comparison sites, or consumer-data services. Until then, the whole assemblage had been built on pure opportunism. It was time to put things in order. Hence, in 2007, the creation of Tillväxtmedier, the first iteration of Schibsted Development. (The Norwegian version was launched in 2010 and the French one starts this year).
Last week in Paris, I met Richard Sandenskog who runs Tillväxtmedier in Sweden and Marc Brandsma, the newly appointed CEO of Schibsted Development France. Sandenskog is a former journalist who also spent eight years in London as a product manager for Yahoo!, while Brandsma is a seasoned French entrepreneur and former venture capitalist. Despite local particularisms precluding a dumb replication of Nordic successes, two basic principles remain:
1. Invest in the number one business in a niche market, or a potential number one in a larger one. "In the online business, there is no room for number two," said Sandenskog. "We want to leverage our dominance on a given market to build brands and drive traffic. The goal is to find the best way to expose the new brand in different channels and integrate it in various properties. The keyword is relevant traffic. We don't care for page views for their sake, but for the value they bring. We see clicks as a currency."
2. Picking the right product in the right sector. In Sweden, the Schibsted Developement portfolio evolves around the idea of empowering the consumer. To sum up: people are increasingly lost in a jungle of pricing, plans, offers, deals, for the services they need. It could be cell phones, energy bills, consumer loans… Hence a pattern for acquisitions: a bulk purchase web site for electricity (the Swedish market is largely deregulated with about 100 utilities companies); a helper to find the best cellular carrier plan based on individual usage; a personal finance site that lets consumers shop around for the best loan without degrading their credit rating; a personal factoring service where anyone can auction off invoices, etc.
Most are now number one one in their segment. "We give the power back to the consumer, sums up Sandenskog. "We are like Mother Teresa but we make money doing it...." Altogether, Tillväxtmedier's portfolio encompasses about 20 companies that made 1bn Swedish krona (€120m, $155m) in 2012 with a 12% EBITDA (several companies are in the growth phase.) All in five years...
France will be a different story. It's five times bigger than Sweden, a market in which startups can be expensive. But what triggered Schibsted ASA's decision to create a growth vehicle here is the spectacular performance of the classifieds site LeBoncoin.fr (see a previous Monday Note Schibsted's extraordinary click machines): €98m in revenue and a cool 68% EBITDA last year. LeBoncoin draws 17 million unique viewers (according to Nielsen). Based on this valuable asset, explains Brandsma, the goal is to create the number one online group in France (besides Facebook and Google). "The typical players we are looking for are B2C companies that already have a proven product – we won't invest in PowerPoint presentations – driven by a management team aiming to be the leader in their market. Then we acquire it; we buy out all minority shareholders if necessary.". No kolkhoz here; decisions must be made quickly, without interference. "At that point," adds Brandsma, "we tell managers we'll take care of growth by providing traffic, brand notoriety, marketing, all based on best practices and proven Schibsted expertise". Two sectors Brandsma says he won't touch, though: business-to-business services and news media (ouch...)


text:
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Sgt. 1st Class Greg Robinson has become the first amputee to complete Army air assault school, a course so grueling his prosthetic leg broke twice over the 10 days spent rappelling down ropes, navigating obstacle courses and completing long road marches.
Each year thousands of soldiers are physically and mentally tested to their limits at the Fort Campbell school. Instructors said Robinson accomplished everything other participants did and trainers cut him no slack even though he lost part of his right leg in a 2006 deployment to Afghanistan.
When he joined his teammates at a brief graduation ceremony Monday at the Sabalauski Air Assault School, it was a testament to what can be achieved by amputees. War wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan and the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon have highlighted the challenges that amputee patients face to recover.
An inspiration to the bombing victims? Robinson, a 34-year-old noncommissioned officer from Elizabethtown, Ill., said his attitude was one of just wanting to complete the same program he sends soldiers to who are under his command.
"Right now, I am a platoon sergeant," Robinson told reporters after graduating. "I have roughly 30 men in my platoon. As a leader, I didn't want to tell my soldiers that they needed to go to air assault school, if I am not air assault qualified."
The 34-year-old noncommissioned officer from Elizabethown, Ill., even toughed out Monday's 12-mile road march even after he had to repair his leg during the march. Earlier, he learned to rappel from a 34-foot tower and pushed through the strenuous obstacle course.
Robinson was wounded during an attack during a major military operation in 2006. Robinson said his traumatic injury wasn't going to prevent him from meeting some of the Army's toughest standards.
The 101st Airborne Division, unlike other airborne units that use planes, uses helicopters to quickly drop troops into combat and move equipment around the battlefield.
Each day of the course begins with running a couple of miles and troops are expected to carry a 35-pound ruck sack as they complete their tasks.
His instructor, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Connolly, said at first there was concern whether he was going to make it through when a piston in his leg stopped working during the obstacle course.
"He got down and fixed it, reattempted the obstacle and went back on," said Connolly.
Capt. Greg Gibson, an Army nurse with Robinson's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said in his experience treating amputees, attitude and will are critical to recovery. He said Robinson's attitude was what pushed him to finish the course.
"Some of these guys never even learn to walk on a prosthesis, let along go through the air assault course," Gibson said.


text:
News All the latest from Hosting 49
Sep 5th Server Monitoring
Sometimes things happen and for various reasons a website can go down. At Hosting 49 we monitor all of our server 24/7 and we instantly know if there is a server issue. Sometimes thought the servers are fine and clients can experience issues with their account and/or website software. If you need to find out if the server is down or if your ... Read More »
Jun 14th Master Reseller Hosting Now Available!
We are pleased to announce that we are now offering Master Reseller Accounts. Have you ever fancied running your own web hosting business? Sourcing and maintaining your own servers can get very expensive and take up a lot of time. Luckily there is an easier way to get started and that's setting up a reseller account. Hosting 49 takes care of ... Read More »
Mar 2nd SpamExperts Filtering
We're pleased to announce the addition of SpamExperts Filtering on all shared and reseller hosting servers! SpamExperts helps to remove large amounts of spam and viruses from your mailboxes at absolutely no additional charge. Outgoing spam and blacklisted IPs have long been an issue for shared hosting providers. We tested several filtering ... Read More »
Mar 2nd Pingdom Server Monitoring
We are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Pingdom to provide real time server monitoring. Pingdom is a global performance monitoring solution for websites and web applications. They help give customers the best possible web experience by offering a Powerful Web Performance Monitoring Solution – Pingdom isn't just up time ... Read More »


text:
Chatting Crochet with Rachael Oglesby, author of Crochet Boutique, PLUS a Free Project Giveaway!October 05, 2012, 13:15 pm Posted by needlearts
With Shannon Quinn-Tucker, guest Needlearts blogger
Recently released, Crochet Boutique is filled with fun, trendy wearables and accessories that will take you through this fall and beyond! Here, author Rachael Oglesby shares her thoughts on modern crochet. Don't forget to download a FREE PDF of Rachael's Granny Square Cushion at the end of the interview.
Who would you say has been most influential in your life when it comes to crafting, and why? That would certainly be my mom. She's the one who taught me to crochet to begin with! And it was my grandmother who taught her. I appreciate that I have this link to the women in my family that has made its way down to me.
How would you describe your aesthetic? What inspires you in creating your designs? I would describe my aesthetic as classic with a twist. I love simple, basic items you can wear repeatedly yet are updated in a way that gives them just a little something extra to make them special. It can be something as simple as a color that pops or a beautiful unique yarn.
What was your favorite part of authoring Crochet Boutique? My favorite part was selecting the projects for the book and also working with my photographer and friend, Emily Ogden, to bring it all to life. I knew when I was first approached for the book that I wanted Emily on board, and I was ecstatic when she agreed. I also enjoyed fleshing out the initial direction for the book—thinking of my audience and deciding what it was exactly I wanted to accomplish and present.
Crochet Boutique contains a variety of items, some of which people might find more typical of crochet projects (scarves and hats) and some they might find unusual (laptop sleeve). What was your favorite project in this book? The rainbow throw holds a special place in my heart since it's inspired by a clouds and rainbow motif afghan my mother made in the early 80s. Her blanket is one of my earliest memories of crochet and I remember really loving that piece when she finished it. It's one of the first pieces that left me wishing I could crochet my own, so my rainbow throw pattern is an homage to hers.
Who are some crochet artists whom you admire, and what is it about each that you find inspirational/exceptional? I am more inspired by the everyday at home crafter than I am by any of the big name artists I can think of. The DIY movement that has rapidly gained strength over the past few years has been empowering and therapeutic for many, myself included, and I believe the online community and the sharing of ideas has fostered that. It's amazing to be able to share and talk about your craft with so many other crafters at any given moment, and I've made some wonderful friends over the past few years through such interactions.
Get inspired to create by downloading a free PDF of Rachael's Granny Square Cushion! And don't forget to check out Rachael's Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/softspoken or her blog, http://softspoken.blogspot.com/, for even more of her fabulous style!


text:
Here is a short video on safety when handling methanol. it also shows a safe method of transferring methanol from drum to carboy.
That video might ignite (no pun intended) the whole discussion on the safe pressure limit for a 50gal barrel. Those little tire pumps are capable of 150psi, at least the ones I have seen. A steel drum is only safe to 3-8psi, if I remember right. A plastic drum can hold a bit more pressure...maybe 10psi.
When I have pressurized a drum I have used a rubber stopper to hold the air line in: built in safety valve. The stopper will pop out of the 3/4" bung well before the pressure where the drum will explode.
Good point about the possible pressure produced by the tyre inflator. It only takes about 1-2 psi to pump the methanol out the pipe. The pressure will not increase as long as the lever valve is open. I suppose that if someone turned on the pump with the valve closed and left it to pressurize for long enough it could burst the drum although its more likely to burn out the inflator first.
I hope its obvious from the video that its only for attended use while filling containers.
To anybody with some experience. But I think a lot of brand new guys look over this forum (THE biodiesel forum, in my opinion). Best to at least mention some safety limitations, even if (and hopefully) they don't lead to pages of arguing about them!
Good video, but like the previous one the sound level is too low. It's barely audible even with all playback sound control at 100%. The description of the air pressure fitting was inaudible and the camera not close enough to see what it was.
Another correction.
In your video you say that methanol is more inflammable (flammable) than gasoline.
The definition of a flammable liquid in the USA is one that has a flash point less than 100 F.
The Flash point of methanol is 52 F, has an auto ignition temp of 867 F and is a class 1B flammable liquid.
The flash point of gasoline is -40 F, has an auto ignition temp of 475 F and is a class 1B flammable liquid.
Edit: Gasoline is a class 1B flammable liquid not 1AThis message has been edited. Last edited by: jacobh,
Its certainly more DANGEROUSLY flammable (inflammable), in my opinion, since it burns nearly invisibly.
Methanol is just as dangerously flammable as gasoline. The relative flammability is immaterial from a safe handling standpoint. The important point is that it's as hazardous to handle as gasoline
On the other hand, after the 1964 tragedy at the Indy car races they changed fuel from gasoline to methanol because it is a safer fuel having a higher flash point and a methanol fire is easily extinguished with water.
"A seven-car crash on the second lap of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 resulted in USAC's decision to encourage, and later mandate, the use of methanol. Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald died in the crash when their gasoline-fueled cars exploded. The gasoline-triggered fire created a dangerous cloud of thick black smoke, which completely blocked the view of the track for oncoming cars.
Johnny Rutherford, one of the other drivers involved, drove a methanol-fueled car which also leaked following the crash. While this car burned from the impact of the first fireball, it formed a much lesser inferno than the gasoline cars, and one that burned invisibly. That testimony, and pressure from Indianapolis Star writer George Moore, led to the switch to alcohol fuel in 1965."
...and that has what to do with biodiesel safety? Gasoline isn't an option for making biodiesel is it? This is a biodiesel forum, not a car racing forum.
I don't know. You were the one who said "Methanol is just as dangerously flammable as gasoline" not me. I was just trying to help you understand what you were talking about.
I am sure we have all siphoned a gas tank and got some fuel in our mouth. It would be fatal if it was it were methanol. If it was ethanol you may feel the effects of moonshine.. e85 smells really potent and i know this for a fact!.
Jacobh, you are right Methanol is not quite as flammable as gasoline, in the video I was trying to give biodiesel brewers, especially beginners, some sense of how dangerous methanol is and how important it is to handle it carefully. Gasoline is a reference that most people will understand and while I may have overstated the case, I would rather users were too careful than not careful enough.
RyanP your point about the potential over pressurizing of the drum is a valid one. Would you do me a favour? Would you post a comment about it on the utube channel and then I will post a reply agreeing and reinforcing the point.
Yeah, no problem!
40ml of straight methanol will kill a 200Lb man; lesser volumes will still potentially cause any number of serious health problems; including but not limited to liver damage and blindness.
Methanol's effects are cumulative, but are super ceded by the ingestion of ethanol as the body processes ethanol more readily than it does methanol and it, for all practical purposes, acts as an antidote.
Personally, I keep a bottle of Absolut Vodka handy for when I will be working where potential methanol fumes may be present.
** Biodiesel Glycerine Soap - The Guide
- on 5 continents helping people make & sell soap from the Biodiesel Glycerine.
imakebiodiesel, please do not take the following as a personal attack on you in any way. You are an asset to the biodiesel making community. It is not my intent to disparage you personally in any way.
I just watched the video and IT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!!!
Steel drums are designed with enough strength to contain the contents during transport, handling, and storage. The drums ARE NOT DESIGNED to withstand internal pressures created by piping compressed air into the closed drum.
Human nature being what it is here are some things that can go wrong:
1) The air compressor is turned on and due to a distraction, neglect, or ignorance the valve on the methanol lance is never opened. The pressure will build inside the drum and the drum WILL explode!;
2) The air compressor is turned on, the methanol is successfully removed, but due to a distraction, neglect, or ignorance the valve on the methanol lance is closed but a delay occurs before the air compressor is turned off. The pressure will build inside the drum and the drum WILL explode!;
3) The air compressor is over-sized and the methanol lance valve is too small. The compressor supplies much more air volume than can be safely relieved by a wide open valve on the lance. The pressure will build inside the drum and the drum MAY explode!;
4) In an attempt to speed up the transfer process, the operator purposely increases the air pressure to make the methanol pump faster. This can lead to a growing pressure differential inside the drum. The pressure will build inside the drum and the drum MAY explode!;
5) The system works correctly, ie the compressor is switched on, pressure builds, methanol is pumped, the methanol valve is closed, and the compressor is switched off. Everything looks OK, but the drum is left in a pressurized condition! Any small leaks in the drum, fittings, or equipment will result in a slow leak of methanol vapors or liquid into the storage area. This condition is obviously unsafe as has been discussed on this forum on numerous occasion.
If a person was to ignore these warnings and go ahead and use this method, then a couple of operating recommendations and slight design changes would be prudent.
A) Instruct the operator to start by opening the valve on the methanol lance first, then switch on the air compressor.
B) When the transfer is complete, switch the air compressor off first, then close the methanol valve.
C) Add a manual pressure relief valve in to the air line and open it completely to relieve any residual air pressure as the last step in the process.
A few years ago a friend of mine installed a steel tank in his shop to hold used motor oil for transfer to his used oil shop heater. The tank was a common 270 gallon, oval shaped steel tank designed and built to ASTM standards for holding home heating oil inside a residence. The mechanics hooked up an air line to the tank and equipped the draw off pipe with a valve. Functionally this was an identical design to what is shown in the video. During one particularly cold morning the mechanic was pumping the cold oil to the shop heater by opening the air pressurization valve. Even though the draw off valve was open the extra air pressure, caused by the increased viscosity of the cold oil, over pressurized the tank. The tank exploded, killing the mechanic. The set up as shown in the video can lead to the exact same result, and since methanol is being pumped a fire could also ensue.
Told ya!
I'll add something, too. Once you're done pumping, what would be the safest method to then vent the pressure back out? That air is methanol-laden. I just point it away from my face and make sure the doors are open, vents are running, fans are running, etc. Then go have a beer, just to be safe.
2013 Sponsor
I agree with producer that pressurizing a drum is dangerous business. However, no matter how many times it is discouraged, the idea seems to come back like a bad dream. I'm ready to look at how to make it safe rather than discouraging it's use. This will not be the first time we've pitched in to overcome the safety faults of specific equipment.
Ryan's idea of using a rubber stopper on the input is good. There may be other approaches that will also work to prevent overpressuring and limit exposure to methanol vapors. I like the idea of using a portable tire inflater rather than using shop air because it takes a really long time to build up pressure to dangerous levels.
We do have an example to look at. Pressure operated centrifuges need a relief valve installed in them to prevent over pressurizing the centrifuge. If the relief valve were able to be manually operated to bleed the pressure and dumped in a bucket of water, vapors would not be an issue.
Producer, I never take offense at criticism, especially well thought out and reasoned criticism. I take your point, accidents can and will happen.
The amount of pressure needed to empty an drum is very small, 1.7psi in fact, but there is a danger that the drum be subjected to a lot more pressure than that by leaving a tyre inflator on too long or using a large compressor set too high. What is needed is a fail safe, some form of pressure relief valve. The lowest type of prv available commomly here is 3bar,which is 40psi, so thats no good.
Ryans idea of the bung would work. I have replaced the fitting with the tyre valve with a tee fitting. One outlet of the tee has the tyre valve and the other outlet has a plastic wine cork pressed into it. It is a good fit and with a little ptfe tape it will hold until I exert just over 2psi. I intend to test it a dozen or so more times but it seems to be very consistent.
I do my methanol transfer in a covered but outdoor space so the escape of the methanol laden air from the drum is not a problem, if this system was to be used in a confined space the improvised pressure release valve could be extended to the outside of the building with a length of pvc hose.
I will take some pictures and post them soon. I would welcome your comments.This message has been edited. Last edited by: imakebiodiesel,
|Powered by Social Strata
|Page 1 2


text:
January 30, 2013
The latest Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey projecting a three-year outlook for the state's overall commercial real estate industry remains predominately upbeat, with developer sentiment remaining optimistic towards multifamily and industrial asset types and cautiously optimistic toward commercial office markets. The survey was conducted in November 2012 to examine office, industrial and multifamily markets. Video highlights of the report are available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avi7aSwzqXE.
Multifamily Sector Continues to Grow
Following last July's survey projections, multifamily development continues to boom with increased housing demand and decreasing vacancy rates of 4.5 percent in multifamily markets. This turnaround in multifamily residential construction is being driven by high occupancy rates and rising rents, particularly in the Bay Area, as household formation begins to rebound inCalifornia. While new generations entering the workforce are seeking housing closer to work, the survey also shows families leaving single-family homes for multifamily homes.
"Our survey shows that, despite the new projects underway - and there are many of them throughout the state - our panels are very optimistic about what those markets are going to look like three years hence," said Nickelsburg.
Industrial Sector Continues to Grow
Industrial markets had positive forecasts in all regions, due in part to anticipated increases in California exports driving demand for distribution and manufacturing space, particularly from China and other Asian markets. Since 2011, private investment in industrial facilities remains up by about $15 billion. The survey indicates that opportunities for new developments have emerged in the industrial space market - particularly in Inland Empire markets.
Office Development Shows Tension Between Developers and Economic Activity
Industry sentiment for the office sector three years out, while still optimistic, shifted downward from six months ago. This, however, may reflect developers' concerns over the looming fiscal cliff, as the survey was taken in November 2012. Projects coming out of the ground, as well as those in the pipeline, could prove forecasters wrong in 2013 and beyond.
"We are still seeing strength in the market today. More developers have been taking notice that market conditions now justify demolishing older structures, and taking steps to build new ones," said John Tipton, Real Estate Department Partner at Allen Matkins. "This is a very significant indication of commitment, not only of capital, but to the strength of the development cycle."
Many developers remain optimistic that a number of new large office developments remain ready to enter the market, and that demand is still very much alive in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and particularly in San Diego's North County.
"The sheer scale of some existing portfolios that will likely come to market in 2013, like that of Blackstone's EOP Trust, could be influential in keeping the commercial real estate investment market forward-moving," said Tony Natsis, Real Estate Department Chairman at Allen Matkins. Based on the survey's aggregate results, California's real estate market will remain bullish through 2015.
About the Survey
For a copy of the latest Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey and Index Research Project, please visit www.allenmatkins.com or www.uclaforecast.com.
The Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey and Index Research Project polled a panel of California real estate professionals in the development and investment markets, on various aspects of the commercial real estate market. The survey is designed to capture incipient activity by commercial real estate developers. To achieve this goal, the panel looks at the markets three years in the future, and building conditions over the three-year period. The survey was initiated by Allen Matkins and the UCLA Anderson Forecast in 2006, furtherance of their interest in improving the quality of current information and forecasts of commercial real estate.
About Allen Matkins
Allen Matkins, founded in 1977, is a California-based law firm with approximately 220 attorneys in four major metropolitan areas of California: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County and San Diego. The firm's core specialties include real estate, real estate and commercial finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, construction, land use, natural resources, environmental, corporate and securities, intellectual property, joint ventures, taxation, employment and labor law, and dispute resolution and litigation in all these matters. For more than 35 years, Allen Matkins has helped clients turn opportunity and challenge into success by providing practical advice, innovative solutions and valuable business opportunities. When clients' challenges require experienced trial counsel, Allen Matkins has a proven track record of successful litigation before juries, judges and arbitrators. Allen Matkins is located on the Web at www.allenmatkins.com.
About UCLA Anderson Forecast
UCLA Anderson Forecast is one of the most widely watched and often-cited economic outlooks for California and the nation and was unique in predicting both the seriousness of the early-1990s downturn in California and the strength of the state's rebound since 1993. More recently, the Forecast was credited as the first major U.S. economic forecasting group to declare the recession of 2001. Visit UCLA Anderson Forecast on the Web at http://www.uclaforecast.com.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is among the leading business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty members are globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides a distinctive approach to management education to more than 1,800 students enrolled in its MBA, Fully-Employed MBA, Executive MBA, Global Executive MBA for Asia Pacific, Global Executive MBA for the Americas, Master of Financial Engineering, doctoral and executive education programs. Combining selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a worldwide network of 35,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.
Follow UCLA Anderson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/UCLAAnderson, or on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/uclaanderson


text:
Designed for adults with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, participants discuss artists, exhibitions, and themes and use artworks to connect to past experiences.
This program is offered on the second Thursday of every month.
There is a designated barrier-free entrance near accessible parking for vehicles displaying the appropriate disability permits on Lancaster Avenue (the museum's south side).
Call 817.989.5013 or email email@example.com to receive helpful instructions and parking information.
Meet at the Information Desk for a tour of the highlights of the permanent collection of paintings and sculpture led by one of our friendly, knowledgeable docents. No reservations are required.
Meet at the special exhibition entrance for a guided tour of The Polaroid Project. This exhibition surveys the history of the innovative photographic company Polaroid and its intersection with art, science, and technology during the second-half of the twentieth century. Featuring a wide-ranging group of artists, the exhibition showcases the diversity of works produced over several decades.


text:
About the Community & Neighborhood Development Program ||| Currently Funded Activities ||| Results ||| Proposal Qualifications and Process ||| Materials Available from Us ||| How To Contact Us
Ongoing / Currently Funded
Activities By
Primary Objective ||| Agency ||| Neighborhood ||| Grant Source
By Neighborhood
This section describes our currently-funded activities based upon the boundaries of the Citywide Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRTs). These Neighborhood Resource Team boundaries are mapped and described in terms of their streets on the City's NRT website.
The CDBG Program approach is to assist core/basic activities available to residents in all areas of the City, with an added layer of other special activities targeted to particular NRT areas or sub-areas within those.
The core or basic activities available to each area, which essentially address goals of community-wide concern, include:
Activities intended to
improve the existing housing stock of lower income owner households, such as the
City's rehab loan program and the Project Home repair
Activities designed to
improve the physical accessibility and adaptability of individual homes, apartments, and civic spaces, such as the
Independent Living Home Modification program and the
CDBG Office Acquisition/Rehab fund;
Programs organized to
expand homeownership opportunities, such as the range of homebuyer programs including the
CED HOME- BUY program, the ADDI
program, Operation Fresh
Start, Madison Area CLT, Urban League of Greater Madison Single Family
Rent-to-Own, and Movin' Out;
Programs that promote the growth of businesses that create jobs for lower income people, such as the
Madison Development Corporation business loan
program and the Wisconsin
Women's Business Initiative program; and
Programs designed to help people, including homeless persons, retain their housing or find appropriate housing or expand their housing opportunities, such as the Community Action Coalition's Eviction Prevention and Housing Counseling programs, the Porchlight, Inc. Hospitality House services, or the Tenant Resource Center's mediation services.
The basic activities above are either present in each Neighborhood Resource Team area, or available to residents in all parts of Madison. The following is a list of links to customized activities focusing on particular Neighborhood Resource Team areas, or sub-areas within those:
Activities By
Primary Objective ||| Agency ||| Neighborhood ||| Grant Source


text:
Sort by
Father's Day Gifts Delivery in Udupi
Sending a perfect and amazing gift to your father this father`s day is actually a wonderful idea that would definitely cheer up the mood of your lovely father. You father must be the one who is closest to you and you definitely would want to do something on the occasion of father`s day to make him happy and to show your love towards him. Send father`s day gifts to Udupi and get the amazing services of online father`s day gifts delivery in Udupi. One of the brilliant ideas is to give him a surprise gift, if you have been wondering where to get ideas from then just visit Indiagift.in where you would find amazing and unique ideas for gifts for dad and online father`s day gifts to send to your lovely father. All of the gifts are so unique and quality tested by us that you can totally rely upon them. Send father`s day gifts to Udupi and get the amazing services of online father`s day gifts delivery in Udupi. Delivery services are so adequate that all you have to do is to just select an amazing gift for him and you are done. The rest would be taken care of by us.
We have a collection of 191 Products for sale, range starts from INR 291 to INR 5799


text:
|Prev Close
|Day Low/High
|0.00 / 0.00
|52 Wk Low/High
|33.55 / 119.00
Sign up to get started or log in to see your watchlist.
Enter a symbol above to add it to your watchlist.
A confirmation email has been sent to the address provided during registration. Please click on the appropriate link to confirm your email address.


text:
COMPUTEX, TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 5, 2012 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that Lenovo has selected SanDisk to provide the solid state drive (SSD) caching technology for the new Lenovo® ThinkPad Edge E430™ and E530™ laptop computers.
The SanDisk® U100 mSATA SSD is used in Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 along with Condusiv™ Technologies ExpressCache® software. The hardware and software combination from SanDisk delivers up to four times the performance of a standalone hard disk drive (HDD).* This means that consumers and business users will experience significantly faster start up and application loading times without frustrating delays.
"ThinkPad users expect a laptop that delivers everything they need to enjoy a versatile computing experience-innovative solutions, time-tested, intelligent design and, of course, high performance," said Luis Hernandez, vice president, ThinkPad Edge Business Unit, Lenovo. "The ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 laptops with SanDisk's SSD technology exceed those expectations, particularly for small-to-medium businesses looking for an advantage with a productivity-enhancing PC that's equally suited for use at home, in the office or on the road."
A 16GB** SanDisk U100 SSD and the Condusiv caching software work alongside the HDD in the ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 to store data that is most frequently accessed. This allows a significant boost to performance because information is processed more quickly.
"Lenovo has been great for us to work with in developing a combined hardware and software solution that takes advantage of SanDisk's SSD expertise," said Kevin Conley, SanDisk senior vice president and general manager, Client Storage Solutions. "With the ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 Lenovo has struck a smart balance for delivering great performance at an affordable price."
SanDisk Solid State Drives
SanDisk offers a full portfolio of products for the retail, OEM and enterprise channels. In the retail channel, SanDisk offers the SanDisk Extreme® SSD, which features industry-leading performance for gamers and other heavy computer users.
OEM products include the SanDisk U100 SSD for cost-effective performance and customizable form factors, the SanDisk X100 SSD featuring the utmost in performance and storage capacity for desktop and notebook PC manufacturers, and the SanDisk iSSD™ integrated storage device for an embedded micro SSD SATA form factor. All models are available as standalone SSDs or dual drive caching solutions.
For the enterprise channel, Lightning® SSDs provide the industry's widest array of flexible cloud and data center system design solutions. The drives deliver dramatic I/O performance, predictable performance and superior reliability over competing SSD technology.
About SanDisk
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) is a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, from research and development, product design and manufacturing to branding and distribution for OEM and retail channels. Since 1988, SanDisk's innovations in flash memory and storage system technologies have provided customers with new and transformational digital experiences. SanDisk's diverse product portfolio includes flash memory cards and embedded solutions used in smart phones, tablets, digital cameras, camcorders, digital media players and other consumer electronic devices, as well as USB flash drives and solid-state drives (SSD) for the computing market. SanDisk's products are used by consumers and enterprise customers around the world.
SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 and Fortune 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com.
* Based on internal testing; performance may vary based on host device.
** 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage.
© 2012 SanDisk Corporation. All rights reserved. SanDisk and SanDisk Extreme are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Lightning is a U.S. registered trademark of SanDisk Corporation. ExpressCache and Condusiv are trademarks of Condusiv Technologies Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for applications, features, product categories, licensing agreements and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: the market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or our products may not be available in the capacities, technologies or form factors that we anticipate, or our products may not perform as expected, and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and our annual report on Form 10-K. We do not intend to update the information contained in this news release.
|Media Contact:
|Tom Beermann
|SanDisk Corporation


text:
|checkout | customer service
Home » Brands » New Arrivals Bedding and Decor » New Arrivals Baby Bedding
New Arrivals Baby Bedding, Decor and Gifts - create your perfect nursery now. One of our favorite lines of baby bedding and children's bedding, these classic sets are not themed and can last for years to come. The sets can be customized with different fabric choices. Contact our store for details.


text:
Isabella LaTourette will turn 100 years old on Memorial Day, reaching one more milestone in a long and happy life of helping people with her husband, Kenneth, Henderson County's first pathologist.
FLAT ROCK — Isabella LaTourette will turn 100 on Memorial Day, reaching one more milestone in a long and happy life of helping people with her husband, Kenneth, Henderson County's first pathologist.
Her husband died last October, but the two have had a tremendous influence in the county. Dr. Kenneth LaTourette opened a private practice at Pardee Hospital six decades ago after being encouraged to do so by Ivor Pardee and Dr. Nicholas Fortescue.
The couple spent their lives in medicine and helping others even before a friend invited them to Henderson County, which became their home in 1953.
Isabella's journey to Henderson County began more than 70 years ago. She met her husband in 1940 while they were examining a patient at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. He was an intern and she was a nurse. After her future husband walked away, the sick patient — who made a full recovery — told her, "I think that doctor likes you."
The patient wasn't wrong.
Dr. LaTourette began walking Isabella home from the hospital so she didn't have to walk alone in Brooklyn. The two married nearly four months after that first meeting, and remained married for 72 years.
The couple made stops in Farmington, Maine, and Hanover, N.H., before finding their way to Hendersonville. In New Hampshire, Dr. LaTourette did a four-year residency in pathology and Isabella worked as a nurse while he was a student again.
"I was so enamored anyway with my husband," she said. "I wanted to do all I could to help him."
At the insistence of a friend, the duo visited Hendersonville and attended a Henderson County Medical Society meeting.
Not long after that, Dr. LaTourette began building a practice in the county. Initially, Isabella wasn't working with him, but began began working as the practice's laboratory manager for the last 15 years of its existence. She watched the practice grow from her husband, an office assistant and three lab workers to more than 30 employees when the two retired.
Her husband also worked as the pathologist for St. Luke's and Mountain Sanitarium, which is now Park Ridge Health, she said.
Isabella retired in 1978 and her husband retired in 1979.
"I loved it," she said. "I loved my work."
The couple have one daughter, Marianne Potter, who can only sit back and wonder at her parents and their dedication. The couple would go to the hospital most mornings at 4 a.m. and eat breakfast. Most nights, they wouldn't return home until 7 p.m. or later, she said.
She can remember a five-year stretch where her parents didn't take a day off. They worked six full days a week and half a day on Sundays.
"I really admire my parents," Potter said.
Pardee has grown by leaps and bounds since Isabella ran her husband's lab in the '70s.
"It certainly is a tremendous change for the better," she said of Pardee.
Her hospital days long behind her, Isabella's days now are spent loving on family and two black Labradors dropped off on her doorstep in Flat Rock.
The family recently celebrated her 100th birthday with a party at Hendersonville Country Club.
"I don't feel 100," Isabella joked. "I don't know what 100 is supposed to feel like."
Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.