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Interested in a Servo Transfer?
Servo transfers can be blank- or coil-fed. They often can be retrofit to an existing press while keeping within the existing press footprint, and progressive dies can still be run if required. Changeover simplicity enables smaller-lot production, and product design changes are handled via fully programmable operating parameters.
What Type is Best?
Okay, servo transfer is the answer you're looking for. So what type is best?
The decision typically boils down to two types of servo transfer systems: through-the-window and front-and-back-mounted.
With through-the-window servo transfer systems, the transfer assemblies mount on both ends of the press and the transfer-finger bars run through the press upright openings or window. This is a more traditional type of transfer-mounting scheme. Front-and-back-mounted transfer systems, on the other hand, mount on the front and back of the press, without bars running through the press window. What difference does that make? A lot, in terms of bar and tooling support needed for longer press beds and room required within the press window.
May Need Beefed-Up Transfer-Bar Support
First the transfer-bar-support issue. On through-the-window transfers, support is located only on the ends of the removable center bar. When spanning long distances, say 180, 240, 288 or even 300 in. with the transfer-finger bar, the bar profile must be increased to provide the required support and rigidity. Often times, instead of a typical extruded-aluminum finger bar, on longer spans steel may be used to beef up the bar to prevent sag, bar deflection and vibration. Increasing the bar profile means significantly increasing weight, so transfer-system drivetrain components must be upsized—larger motors and drives. This can be done, but cost becomes an issue—larger motors and drives as well as larger drivetrain components obviously are more expensive.
Account for Room in the Press Bed
Attention also must be paid to the amount of room needed within the press window to produce parts. Again, as through-the-window transfers require finger bars to run through the upright openings of the press, users are limited regarding the maximum width of coil or blanks running through the press since the transfer bars will take up some of the available room. The length of the press bed determines the size or girth of the finger bars used in through-the-window transfers. Suppose a press has a 50-in.-wide window opening with a bed length of 120 in. A common finger-bar size for this bed length would be 4 by 4 in., of extruded aluminum. So with the front and rear finger bars both measuring 4 by 4 in., you now have only 42 in. of available space in your 50-in. window. Bar clearance between the press columns, say 0.5 in. per side, takes a another inch from the window opening.
And we're just getting started. Specifiers of transfer systems also must account for the amount of travel required in the y, or clamp, axis. For example, say the bars are required to move 5 in. per side in that axis. That takes a another 10 in. of window opening. Now consider the length of the finger tooling. Let's assume for this example that the fingers would measure 5 in. With finger tools on both bars, another 10 in. of window opening disappears. The total? With a 50-in.-wide window opening, a through-the-window transfer could limit you to a maximum 21-in.-wide coil or blank in that press.
On a front-and-back transfer system, the bars do not travel within the upright openings of the press. With these transfer styles, the only limiting factor is the front-to-back press-upright opening itself. That is one of the big benefits of this style of transfer over a through-the-window unit.
Where's the Feed?
If the system is coil-fed, feed positioning also should be considered when deciding between a through-the-window transfer and its front-and-back-mounted counterpart. A through-the-window transfer has a permanent finger bar attached to each of the transfer assemblies mounted on each end of the press. Those bars travel outside of the press area, requiring the user to position feed equipment a from the press to provide bar clearance. Front-and-back-mounted transfers don't have this arrangement, enabling feed equipment to be positioned right at the press.
Independent Bar Control a Plus
Front-and-back-mounted transfers have an additional advantage. These arrangements are comprised of essentially two transfer assemblies, operating independently of each other and not mechanically tied together, as is the case with through-the-window models. So they can be programmed for different move parameters in the x, y and z axes, making front-and-back-mounted transfers conducive to outside-the-box thinking in terms of die arrangements. This setup eases two-lane production, where two lanes of dies run within the press to simultaneously produce left- and right-hand parts, or double the production of the same part. Two-lane production is possible with a through-the-window transfer, but independent programming of each bar's movement makes it easier on front-and-back-mounted units.
Another of increasing press capacity is by configuring the die in a U-turn arrangement. In this scenario, the part is transferred through a series of dies in one direction, then shifted 90 deg. to a series of dies in which the part transfers in the opposite direction. The benefits of this arrangement are many. The press-bed-length capacity is doubled, the need for a secondary press operation can be eliminated and the possibility of utilizing an existing smaller bed press now is attainable. This type of die arrangement is typically better suited for a front-and-back transfer versus a through-the-window transfer because the part must be pitched in opposite directions simultaneously, requiring independent movement of each pitch-axis transfer assembly.
On larger presses, front-and-back-mounted transfers allow for multiple transfer assemblies, enabling different pitch, or x-axis, distances between die sections. That allows for closer die spacing, thus shortening the left-to-right bed-size requirement for a particular die. For example, in press beds more than 180 in. long where multiple transfer assemblies can be applied—say two on the front of the press and two on the rear—the modules can be programmed for different move parameters in their x axis between die sections. Given a 10-station die, the first five die stations can have a centerline pitch requirement of 30 in., but the pitch distances centerline to centerline of the last five stations can be shortened to, say, 25 in. This can allow for a shorter die design, thus requiring a shorter left-to-right press-bed dimension—or on an existing press, sufficient room to place one more die in the process if needed. This ability for closer die spacing enables a die previously considered too long for a press to fit into that bed.
Consider Press-Bed Access for Die Work
For all the benefits of front-and-back-mounted transfers, stampers should be aware of potential drawbacks. Presses with doors that enclose the press window during production require modification to accept these transfers; not the case with through-the-window units.
Die change also becomes more challenging with front-and-back-mounted transfers. The transfer assemblies occupy the areas most frequently accessed by towmotors to place or remove dies. Options are available to metalformers to raise the assemblies toward the crown or off to the side to open up press access. Through-the-window transfers provide clear and unobstructed access at the press front and rear openings. MF
See also: Lincoln Electric Automation – Wayne Trail
Related Enterprise Zones: Automation, Presses
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Marc Burckhardt
No longer on the site it appears.....Marc Burckhardt seems to have let their subscription at Drawger pass into the sun set.
That's okay...people come and go over time.
The fact that Marc Burckhardt is no longer here, does not in any reflact badly in them.
Perhaps it reflects badly on the site itself, but never them.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kyle Lafferty returned to horsing around at training on Friday before declaring himself fit for Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 opener with Poland in Nice tomorrow.
The 28-year-old striker brushed off any concerns over the groin problem which forced him to the sidelines on Tuesday by rejoining Michael O'Neill's group three days later and was in high spirits.
During a resistance-band training exercise, he mimicked a horse at the Saint-Georges-de-Reneins training base, much to the amusement of his colleagues, and then insisted that, despite scaring himself earlier in the week, he would be fine for the Polish test lying in wait on the French Riviera.
In an interview with the Irish Football Association, he said: "It's feeling good, I trained by myself yesterday, did a few runs, a few twists and turns and it feels good.
"Seeing the way I fell, the way I landed, I thought the worst, but I came through it and got the scan results which were all clear and I've never felt better.
"When I had the sharpest pain in my groin, I thought the worst, as you do, but the longer the day went on, I started feeling better as I was getting more stiff and that was probably a good sign.
"I went for a scan and the results came back clear and it gave me the go-ahead to start training intense again. I have and I feel great."
While he has been unwanted by Norwich, his evolution into his country's leading forward was a huge factor behind Northern Ireland's successful qualifying campaign, in which Lafferty scored on seven occasions.
O'Neill's role in transforming him from class clown to lethal marksman has been praised by Lafferty himself, although the striker showed on Friday that the joker is a guise he can still adopt in the right situation.
"That's Kyle, he keeps us all entertained," said defender Gareth McAuley.
"He's not far off making himself the clown, but once we get there and at the stadium he will be fully focused and he knows how important he is to us. He's a big player in what we're trying to do.
"He's all right, I think he was like Bambi on ice the other day. He's gone through it all right - at some stage he slept in the chapel at the hotel the other night!
"But he's in good spirits. It gave us all a bit of a scare but he's fine."


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Deenik, M. Lzn., Albertus Agathus (1835-1903)
Albertus Agathus Deenik M. Lzn., a Dutch Mennonite pastor, was born in 1835 at Haarlem and died in 1903 at Veenwouden, Friesland. After finishing his studies at the Mennonite Seminary at Amsterdam, he served for nearly 40 years in the congregations of Ternaard (1860-1881) and Stavoren-Molkwerum (1881-1899). He had a weak constitution, which made it impossible for him to serve larger congregations; but though a minister of two small churches, he had some influence through his publications, which appeared in a number of Dutch periodicals. He was editor of a popular religious periodical, 1868-1872, De Nieuwe Richting in het Leven, bladen ter godsdienstige Volksontwikkeling. From the beginning he was an ardent champion of Liberalism, with a tendency to radicalism. He translated publications of radical French and German theologians into the Dutch language: including E. Renan's Life of Jesus and D. F. Strauss's The Old and the New Faith. In addition to several theological books, he also translated numerous German and English novels.
De Zondagsbode XVI, No. 50 (1903).
Visscher, H. and L. A. van Langeraad. Biographisch Woordenboek von Protestantsche Godgeleerden in Nederland, The Hague: P. de Bie and J. Loosjes, 1903- : II, 404 f.
|Nanne van der Zijpp
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Deenik, M. Lzn., Albertus Agathus (1835-1903)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 26 Jan 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Deenik,_M._Lzn.,_Albertus_Agathus_(1835-1903)&oldid=120556.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Deenik, M. Lzn., Albertus Agathus (1835-1903). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 26 January 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Deenik,_M._Lzn.,_Albertus_Agathus_(1835-1903)&oldid=120556.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 25. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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We don't skip steps and you shouldn't either! We help you identify your brand message while bringing it to life. We design and optimize your social media channels. We get you prepared to drive in the best targeted audience for your music. We were voted #1 Music Marketing Agency in 2015-2019
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From The Willa Cather Archive, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The great American novelist Willa Cather, whose life and work have been the subject of numerous NEH-supported projects, paid her way through college by writing theater reviews. These might be furnished as proof, if it were ever needed, that the author of the seemingly quaint novels My Ántonia and O Pioneers! possessed an edge sharpened by the habits of judgment and candor.
The dramatization of a novel is not so easy as it looks. "She" was a very successful book, but it does not even make a fairly successful play. Of course the fact that the dramatization was made by an illiterate man must be considered, but even more offensive than the style of writing is the strained and undramatic tone of the piece. A play that is spread out over several thousand years and several continents is apt to lack unity. A heroine who is several thousand years old and who was the wife of Pericles of Athens is apt to lack human interest. One can read such things in a novel and, if the style is good and the tale well told, not mind them or notice the inconsistencies to any painful degree, but when people see absurdities represented in flesh and blood before their eyes it is another thing. The chief trouble with "She" as a play is that it lacks human feeling. The heroine is not a woman, her passions are not those of a woman. There is no one character to whom one's heart can go out in either love or pity. The only dramatized novel which has been played successfully is Dumas' "Dame aux Camelias", and that the author himself dramatized. . . .
. . . . An actor once said: "The very poor professional performance is better than the very best amateur performance." While this is not exactly true it must be confessed that to one who has neither friends nor acquaintances among the actors an amateur performance is usually a very tame affair. It is rude to make any very harsh criticism upon an amateur, and generally it is bad taste to lavish excessive praise. If an amateur were criticised by the same standards as a professional there would indeed be wailing and gnashing of teeth in town the next morning. An amateur performance should always be handled gently and kindly, like a church concert or sociable, but it cannot expect to be treated very seriously. As a rule the actors in such an entertainment are either very conservative people of the intellectual cult, or very select society blossoms. They step daintily about the dressing room as though they feared they might in some way become contaminated by touching things that had been handled by professional hands, and saunter on the stage as though they were doing the theatre a great honor and it was a very great condescension for them to be there at all. The fact is it is a very great presumption. The gilded youths of society have banished actors and actresses from their sacred circle. They regard them as different and inferior beings; they stare at them on the streets and refuse to dine at the same table with them at hotels. Then when this same gilded youth attempts to step in and do off hand what has cost great men and women years of labor and pain and the renunciation of social recognition, it can scarcely expect to be taken seriously.


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Chiropractic and Panic Attacks
In addition to other methods, chiropractic care can provide some relief to symptoms related to anxiety and depressive disorders.View Article
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|Chiropractic Care and Family Health
Parents take care of their children in many ways, providing food and shelter in addition to love and caring. An additional important component of successful child-rearing is is providing good health care.
Regular medical check-ups are needed, as are regular chiropractic check-ups. Healthy kids are active kids. Running, jumping, and falling down are all part of a child's normal day. Regular chiropractic check-ups help make sure that a kid's daily dose of physical fun doesn't cause any problems for her bones, muscles, joints, and nerve system.
Such subtle problems are often undetected and may lead to pain later on. Chiropractic check-ups are specifically designed to look for these mechanical problems. Detecting and correcting any spinal misalignments or other musculoskeletal issues will go a long way toward helping ensure your child's health and well-being.


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WHITINGHAM, Vt. — A single-vehicle accident seriously injured a passenger early Thursday morning on Tunnel Street, a mile north of Bosley Hill Road.
It took more than an hour for the Readsboro Fire Department to extricate the passenger of a 2007 Dodge Durango that crashed into a tree at about 2 a.m. The passenger's identity was being withheld pending notification of family.
North Adams (Mass.) Ambulance Service also responded to the scene.
The driver was identified as Patrick Belliveau, 24, of Gardner, Mass. Belliveau had fled the scene, according to Vermont State Police, and was located a short time later about 4 miles away from the accident. Upon taken
WATERBURY, Vt. — On the eve of the 12th anniversary of 17-year-old Brianna Maitland's disappearance from Montgomery on March 19, 2004, the Vermont State Police is launching a new tool to provide an increased focus and public awareness of unsolved cases such as Maitland's.
Interactive Vermont Missing Persons and Unsolved Homicides pages have been created in an effort to make case specific information more readily available to the public, and create awareness that might generate new information for investigators.
"The launch of these pages will hopefully generate conversation, awareness and potentially new information to assist investigators. These cases have a
Police Logs
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Posted below is part one of my interview with Kathi. Part two will be up March 20th on our International Christian Fiction Writers Blog. You can learn more about Kathi, her books, and how to help put an end to human trafficking on her website.
Kathi is generously offering a giveaway of Special Delivery on both blogs. So for this first interview, please leave a comment along with any questions you might have for Kathi. And don't forget to include your email address! I will draw a winner next Monday night a midnight PST.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.


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As much as we love virtual globetrotting, we live for real world travel adventures. If you're like us and spend weeks obsessively planning every last detail of your trip to ensure that your not-often-enough vacation is maximized to the hilt, consider this our gift to you. We've scoured every inch of the great world wide web to create a guide to designed sleeping experiences that are anything but ordinary.
The English writer G.K. Chesterton, notably George Bernard Shaw's frenemy, said "there are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds." From the surrealist creation of our favourite discreet Belgian fashion designer to pillows made of chocolate and ice to a toon shaded room by a German comic book artist that will make you feel like you stepped into the world of Jessica Rabbit, click through to see what strange and wonderful places await the next time you're trying to maximize your unconscious dream state. We want to try them all, but let us know in the comments which one you're dying to stay in!
Full post: 20 MOST EXTRAORDINARY HOTEL ROOMS IN THE WORLD


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Suzlon has been chasing the $228 million loan it made to now-bankrupt Edison Mission Energy for the purchase of turbines for the Big Sky project in Illinois since 2012.
With the developer looking unable to pay back the loan, Suzlon may take on the project in return for writing off the debt.
Energy firm NRG is negotiating with Edison Mission to buy some of its assets and Big Sky may be among those, but the buying price will not cover the whole of the loan.
The Indian firm has said is has now accepted that it must write the asset down to $90 million.
This would be a blow to Suzlon, which needs cash to pay off its own unwieldy debts.
The wind farm does not even have a long-term power purchase agreement with a utility, instead having to sell its power at spot prices on the regional market.
Suzlon defaulted on the buyback of $221 million in bonds in October 2012, making it the biggest default of its kind ever by an Indian company.
The turbine manufacturer issued $200 million zero-coupon convertible bonds and $20.8 million 7.5% convertible bonds, but was forced to ask for a four-month extension from bondholders. The request was refused, forcing the default.
Suzlon is also attempting to refinance a EUR 750 million loan from Deutsche Bank that is due for renewal in August.
It has been forced to shed assets and employees, including at German subsidiary Senvion (formerly Repower), as it looks to deal with its debt crisis.


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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Never Woke Up
Posted by Rot at 7:55 PM
Labels: animation, art, artist, katy towell, never woke up, youtube.com
3 comments:
- Jay's Shadow said...
I really like the voice, very childlike and creepy.
Did you see the one titled The Black Halloween? That one was pretty cool too....
- February 17, 2010 at 11:46 PM
- Jay's Shadow said...
The one titled Candy was cool too...
- February 17, 2010 at 11:59 PM
- Rot said...
Yep. Really cool.
- February 18, 2010 at 6:22 AM
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Outdoor Entertaining in Hawaii, with Recipes
Style takes a cue from nature at a dinner party for friends
Recipes in this Story
Sandy Beach Sunrise Smoothie
Lobster-Truffle Salad with Big Island Corn Pudding
Pan-seared Mahi Mahi with Eggplant Misoyaki
Haupia (Coconut Milk Pudding) with Fresh Fruit
When most of us think of Hawaii, we envision sun and sand. But the fabric of the beautiful islands is complex and varied, embracing mountains, rain forests, beaches, and looming volcanoes, all woven together with a multicultural population and a mélange of customs and traditions.
So when Honolulu designer Michelle Uchiyama gathered friends for a dinner party at a home she designed for a client, she wanted her tablescape to reflect the diversity of her state. "Hawaii is about layers and textures in nature and culture," says Michelle. "The table needed to have that vibe of bounty."
Set outdoors, the rectangular wood table was surrounded by intense natural color--a vibrant green lawn and the sea's aqua-colored water undulating into deep blue. To complement the surroundings, Michelle chose a striking yet soothing palette of whites, blues, and greens. A profusion of natural decorations on the table--coral and orchids, sand and shells--augmented the breathtakingly spectacular views.
The ensemble of dinnerware masterfully mixes materials and forms. On top of woven placemats, textured clear-glass chargers anchor wooden salad plates. Finishing the setting with a dramatic lift, oversized square bowls--with bases that nest perfectly into small salad plates--contribute style with their height and flared edges. Silver rings embellished with lustrous Tahitian pearls from the Pacific's South Seas secure green linen napkins.
Flanking a white rattan hurricane lantern with an open weave, two floral arrangements marry beach and garden motifs. For each arrangement, an inner vase supplying water to orchids and greenery is positioned inside a larger clear vessel. In the larger vase, black sand from the region's volcanoes is layered with beach sand to create a graphic ground for the flowers. To add to the feeling of lushness found in the islands' rain forests, additional adornments enhance the tablescape. Large pieces of white coral rest at the top of each place setting, with silver votive candles sparkling like the sun's glancing reflections off ocean waves. With enough heft to balance the sizable white soup bowls, wooden pineapples--symbols of island hospitality--are painted silver to serve as placecard holders.
"In Hawaii, the ocean always extends an invitation to dine outdoors," says Michelle. "Here, as guests of nature, we only have to travel as far as our own backyard."
Photography: Joe Schmelzer
Produced by Kyle Schuneman
Honolulu designer and hostess Michelle Uchiyama.
Recipes begin here.
Guests, clockwise from bottom left, Lynette Sanvold, Josh Cardwell, Jason Brand, Florence Chong, and Mark Sandvold toast a friendly gathering and the bounty of artfully prepared seafood.
Wares of various materials work aesthetic marvels when thoughtfully styled. Wicker and slipcovered chairs around a wood table, all from Pacific Home (pacific-home.com), anchor the nature-inspired tablescape. A white hurricane lantern, wooden plates and placecard holders, glass vases, green urchin shells, and silver votives, all from SoHa Living (sohaliving.com), enrich the settings. Napkins, placemats, flatware, glassware, square white bowls, and glass chargers are from Fishcake (808/593-1231). Flowers are by Even Morita of Florist Grand (808/589-1382).
Recipes begin here.
Here are tips from Michelle for achieving a casual but polished look.
Clearly Colorful
Strong opaque color might be too much for a densely decorated table. Instead, use colored, textured glassware to add interest without overwhelming the setting.
Recipes begin here.
Shell Shocked
Gather pieces from nature, and display them in clear vessels. The presentation of specimens in bulk transforms the ordinary into the spectacular.
Recipes begin here.
Fantastically Fruitful
Provide a fruit drink as well as wine, then hand out the recipe--printed on pretty cards--as favors.
Recipes begin here.
Menu & Shopping List
Gems are table treasures as charms for glasses or napkin rings (below). Hand-forged by Chenoa Salmon through Eclectix Designs (808/349-8180).
Designer Michelle Uchiyama's setting for a beachfront party showcases a table setting evocative of its naturalist location. The menu is a perfect match for showing off Hawaii's bounty of seafood and fruit. Award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's Honolulu restaurant provided the food and recipes for Michelle's dinner.
Sandy Beach Sunrise Smoothie
Lobster-Truffle Salad with Big Island Corn Pudding
Pan-seared Mahi Mahi with Eggplant Misoyaki
Haupia (Coconut Milk Pudding) with Fresh Fruit
Shopping List
Check your pantry for these necessary items before shopping:
- Butter (need 3/4 cup or 1-1/2 sticks)
- Olive oil (1-1/8 cups)
- Garlic (need 1 large clove)
- Eggs (4 large)
- Sugar (1-1/4 cup)
- Honey (need 2 tablespoons per drink)
- Cornstarch (need 1/2 cup)
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Specialty grocery store
- Micro greens or other delicate, fresh lettuces
- Kaiware sprouts (tiny daikon radish sprouts; may
- substitute alfalfa sprouts)
- Shoyu (dark soy sauce) or soy sauce
- Mirin (sweet rice wine)
- Red miso, or miso
- 12 cannoli shells
- Truffle oil
- Sake
- Papaya (need 1 per drink)
- 1 to 2 leeks (1/3 cup)
- 2 to 3 fresh ears of corn on the cob (need 2 cups kernels)
- Fresh basil (enough for 1/3 cup)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- Grape tomatoes
- 8 Japanese eggplants or 2 large eggplants
- Assorted fresh fruit such as mango, kiwi, and strawberries
- Cornmeal (need 3 tablespoons)
- 1 (14-ounce) can chicken stock or broth
- 3 (14-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
- Strawberry sauce
Fish counter
- 1/4-pound lobster meat
- 8 (7-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
- Vanilla yogurt (need 4 ounces per drink)
- 2 (1/2-pint) cartons whipping cream
Frozen foods
- 3 (10-ounce) packages frozen diced mango (need 3 ounces per drink plus additional for dessert)
Sandy Beach Sunrise Smoothie
- 8 ounces fresh papaya
- 4 ounces vanilla yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 ounces frozen mango
Combine all ingredients in bowl of blender. Blend at medium speed. Makes 1 drink.
Recipe from chef Roy Yamaguchi
Lobster-Truffle Salad with Big Island Corn Pudding
Big Island Corn Pudding
- 1/3 cup butter
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels
- 1/3 cup chopped leeks
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-1/3 cups whipping cream
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons shoyu (dark soy sauce)*
- 1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons cornmeal
- 4 large eggs (beaten)
- Lobster-Truffle Salad (recipe follows)
- Grape tomatoes, quartered
Preheat oven to 400°F. In large skillet over medium heat melt butter and olive oil. Add corn and leeks; sauté 5 minutes. Remove half the corn-leek mixture; reserve.
Add garlic to pan, cook one minute. Add cream, chicken stock, shoyu, and basil. Bring to simmer; cook 10 minutes. Using whisk, slowly add cornmeal to simmering liquid. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 to 8 minutes stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Transfer hot pudding mixture to blender. Cover and carefully blend on low speed. Add beaten eggs very slowly. Continue to blend 3 minutes on low speed. Stir in reserved corn-leek mixture.
Lightly coat eight 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins or custard dishes with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully add pudding mixture to ramekins, filling almost to top. Transfer dishes to baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to oven rack.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes. (Puddings will start to puff.) Check doneness by inserting wooden pick in center of several puddings; pick should come out almost clean. Carefully remove baking sheet from oven; cool slightly. To serve, run thin, sharp knife around edges of puddings; upend each ramekin over individual serving dish. (Puddings will deflate.) Top each pudding with Lobster-Truffle Salad. Garnish with grape tomatoes. Makes 8 servings.
*Shoyu is a premium, unfiltered dark soy sauce. It has a sharp, clear, meaty-mushroom flavor.
Lobster-Truffle Salad
In medium skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add 1/4 pound cooked lobster meat; toss with butter. Heat lobster through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Toss lobster with fresh micro greens, fresh parsley leaves, and kaiware sprouts.* Toss with truffle oil just to coat; season with salt and pepper.
*Kaiware sprouts are tiny daikon radish sprouts. Their delicate heart-shape leaves carry a spicy punch. Look for them in Asian markets. Alfafa sprouts can be substituted, but they will not be as flavorful.
Recipe from chef Roy Yamaguchi
Pan-seared Mahi Mahi with Eggplant Misoyaki
Chef Roy Yamaguchi features this recipe in his book, Roy's Fish & Seafood: Recipes from the Pacific Rim. Misoyaki is a miso-based glaze for meat and fish similar to teriyaki. Here, Chef Roy adapts a favorite childhood recipe for Eggplant Misoyaki and pairs it with pan-seared mahi mahi. Serve this dish with steamed saffron rice and edamame. The recipe calls for sake; serve glasses of the remaining sake, slightly warm, alongside the mahi mahi.
- 1/2 cup red miso
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 8 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise, or 2 large eggplants, sliced into sixteen 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 cup olive oil, divided
- 8 (7-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat broiler on high. In medium bowl combine miso, sugar, mirin, and sake. Stir until sugar dissolves. Score eggplant halves in crisscross pattern. Brush with 1/2 cup olive oil. In grill pan over medium-high heat or over medium-hot coals of charcoal grill, grill eggplant, flesh side down, 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked halfway through. Transfer to roasting pan, flesh side down. Brush eggplant with miso mixture; turn eggplant flesh side up. Place under broiler 4 to 5 inches from heat; cook 3 to 4 minutes until eggplant skin is caramelized. Remove from oven; keep warm.
Season mahi mahi with salt and pepper. In large skillet heat remaining 1/2 cup olive oil until oil is hot and shimmering. Sear mahi mahi 2 to 3 minutes per side until opaque throughout. To serve, place 2 eggplant halves or slices on each plate; top with fish. Makes 8 main-dish servings. (Recipe may be halved.)
Recipe adapted from Roy's Fish & Seafood: Recipes from the Pacific Rim, by Roy Yamaguchi with John Harrisson, © 2005 by Ten Speed Press. Used by permission.
Haupia (Coconut Milk Pudding) with Fresh Fruit
Haupia is a traditional Hawaiian pudding-like dessert. Chef Roy dresses it up by piping it into cannoli shells and serving it alongside fresh fruit and puréed mango dotted with strawberry sauce. This recipe needs to chill overnight.
- 4 cups unsweetened coconut milk, chilled
- 2 cups water, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 12 cannoli shells
- Cubed fresh fruit, such as mango, kiwi, or strawberries
- Pureed mango sauce dotted with strawberry sauce (optional)*
In saucepan bring coconut milk, 1 cup water, and sugar to boil. Meanwhile in bowl combine remaining 1 cup water with cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture to coconut milk mixture; stirring until mixture returns to boil and thickens. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into 8-inch-square pan. Cover with plastic wrap so wrap touches top of haupia. Cool to room temperature. Chill overnight.
To serve, spoon haupia into pastry bag fitted with medium point. Fill cannoli shells; chill 1 hour. Using serrated knife, cut shells in half vertically. Stand 3 half-shells on end on each dessert plate. Serve with cubed fruit and mango/strawberry sauce.* Makes 8 servings.
*To make sauce, puree mango in blender until smooth. Press through fine-mesh sieve; discard solids. Dot serving plate with sauce; place drop of strawberry sauce in center of mango sauce.
Recipe from chef Roy Yamaguchi
Award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's Honolulu restaurant provided the food and recipes for Michelle's dinner.
Find Roy's Honolulu (Hawaii Kai) restaurant at 6600 Kalanianaole Highway, Honolulu, HI 96825; 808/396-7697; or go online to Roy's Restaurant.


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Lindsey Lohan arrives in Washington for the White House Correspondents' Dinner and sums up the attitude toward Americans with this one gesture.
"Everything that is wrong with America is here in this room."
– Jimmy Kimmel
Well not everything. The room wasn't big enough.
Helen Thomas didn't get an invite. The 'lobby' made sure of that. 50 years ago Thomas convinced President John F. Kennedy to boycott the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner if women weren't invited to attend. Now we have Kim Kardashian and even dogs as special guests. Yep, women and free speech and pooches have come a long way.
May Day is coming up and last year's 'big lie,' the fake killing of bin laden, is a talking point for Obama's re-election. Will there be an 'event' this year? Maybe something that attempts to portray Americans as the new enemy of the state? We'll see.
It's 'blow up a school with drones' day in Pakistan. The 'terrorists' never seem to learn, do they? Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner are going to China this week and it's hard to tell who will get the schooling there.
Surely if someone can win a Pulitzer Prize for a collection of poems that often reference David Bowie, then Timster's newly published book should also have a shot. Not really but maybe we should have an alternative world Pulitzer where we all get a vote?
This is going to be an interesting spring and summer. But aren't they all?


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ASP.NET 4.5 remains Microsofts preferred technology for creating dynamic websites, providing developers with unrivaled power and flexibility.
Pro ASP.NET 4.5 in VB is the most complete reference to ASP.NET that you will find. This comprehensively revised fifth edition will teach you everything you need to know in order to create well-designed ASP.NET websites. Beginning with core concepts the book progresses steadily through key professional skills. Youll be shown how to query databases in detail, consider the myriad applications of XML, and step through all the considerations you need to be aware of when securing your site from intruders.
Finally, youll consider advanced topics such as using client-side validation, jQuery and Ajax.By the time you have read this book you will have learned all the skills you need to use ASP.NET 4.5 with confidence.
What youll learn
Understand why ASP.NET 4.5 is so special, what its fundamental principles are, the basics of Visual Studio, how ASP.NET controls are created and how they fit into ASP.NET pages, ultimately creating full applications.
Become familiar with ASP.NET MVC 4, one of the biggest additions to ASP.NET 4, and understand how to use it and integrate it within your existing ASP.NET applications.
Discover the intricacies of ADO.NET and the Entity Framework and how to perform data binding to many sources, from databases to file streams and XML.
Learn the various forms of security available and how to best apply them. Once considered the Achilles heel of all Windows web applications, security has vastly improved and is now a cornerstone of ASP.NET.
Examine in detail advanced user interface techniques, including user controls, customer server controls, client-side JavaScript, GDI+, and Silverlight.
Understand how to work with web services, an important skill in an increasingly connected world.
Use ASP.NET AJAX, HTML and JavaScript, with an emphasis on contemporary web development techniques.
Who this book is for
This book is aimed at developers with a basic understanding on the .NET Framework who want to learn how to use it in a professional environment. Migrating readers without this foundation would be well served by reading Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 in VB, also by Apress, before tackling this book.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Your First ASP.NET Application
Part 1: Putting ASP.NET in Context
Part 1: Essential Language Features
Part 1: Using jQuery
Part 1: Essential Development Tools
Part 1: SportsStore: A Real Application
Part 1: SportsStore: Navigation & Cart
Part 1: SportsStore: Completing the Cart
Part 1: SportsStore: Administration
Part 1: SportsStore: Deployment
Part 1: Testable Web Apps
Part 2: Working with Web Forms
Part 2: Lifecycle Events & Context
Part 2: Modules
Part 2: Handlers
Part 2: Page & Control Lifecycle Events
Part 2: Managing Request Execution
Part 2: Managing State Data
Part 2: Caching Data
Part 2: Caching Output
Part 2: Handling Errors
Part 2: Managing Paths
Part 2: URL Routing
Part 2: Advanced URL Routing
Part 2: Authentication
Part 2: Membership
Part 2: ASP.NET Configuration
Part 2: Asynchronous Request Handling
Part 3: Working with Controls
Part 3: Forms and Request Validation
Part 3: Creating Custom Controls
Part 3: Stateful Controls
Part 3: Server-Side HTML Elements
Part 3: Model Binding
Part 3: Data Binding
Part 3: Basic Data Controls
Part 3: Complex Data Controls
Part 3: Other Controls
Part 4: Managing Scripts & Styles
Part 4: Ajax & Web Services
Part 4: Client-Side Validation


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Our organisation
The National Archives of Australia was established under the Archives Act 1983 as an executive agency of the Australian Government.
The organisation reports to the Attorney-General, Hon Christian Porter MP.
Like all government agencies, the National Archives is accountable to the Australian people.
Advisory Council
The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council has the role of advising our Minister and Director-General on matters of relevance to the Archives.
Leadership team
The Director-General and executive provide leadership to the organisation. Each member of the leadership team has responsibility for one of the Archives branches which work together to meet the organisation's goals.
An Australia-wide presence
You can visit the Archives in all state and territory capital cities. Our head office and exhibition spaces are in Canberra, and all centres offer public reading rooms where visitors are able to examine original records. Some offices are co-located with the state or territory archives, providing one-stop public access. The Archives collection is housed in several repositories located around Australia. We offer a high standard of service as outlined in our Service charter.
The Archives' offices in Melbourne, Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart are co-located with state archival institutions, providing researchers with access to both state and Commonwealth records from shared reading rooms.
Guides to Commonwealth records in co-located offices, or relating to the relevant state or territory, assist researchers in accessing collection material. Collections in Melbourne. A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records (2003) is a guide to records held in Melbourne. Commonwealth Government Records about the Northern Territory was launched on 1 July 2011, Government Records about the Australian Capital Territory was launched in 2013, and a research guide on Tasmanian archival records will be launched in 2014.


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>>>full results
>>>full results team
SAN ANTIONIO - The Georgia College & State University women's cross country squad took runner-up honors to host University of Texas-San Antonio at the Ricardo Romo UTSA Six Flags Fiesta Texas Classic. Senior Heather Raines (Lawrenceville, Ga.) led the Bobcat quintet with a top-10 finish as all five runners finished in the top-20.
Raines buzzed through the 5k course in 20:13 to take ninth overall. Joining her in the top-10 just one slot later was classmate Virginia Balkcom (Fayetteville, Ga.) at 20:39.
Junior Dani Destiche (Snellville, Ga.) was 12th overall in 20:47, with sophomore Sarah Balkcom (Fayetteville, Ga.) crossing the line 13th in 20:51, just one second more than her career-best. Classmate Karissa Ekstrom (Alpharetta, Ga.) was 15th in 21:17.
The squad was just 39 points behind the Division I Roadrunners, who took the team title at their home race. UTSA's Dana Mecke earned the individual championship, breaking the tape at 18:23.
The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, Sept. 26 at Mercer RunFit Sports Invitational in Macon, Ga.
Visit www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU Athletics Hall of Fame. The GCSU Department of Athletics sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, GCSU prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement.


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Mocavo.com Launches as World's Largest Free Genealogy Search Engine
Industry breakthrough provides instant search results for billions of names, dates and places worldwide
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mocavo.com™ (http://www.mocavo.com), a free search engine geared toward genealogists and people interested in learning more about their family history, launches today. Mocavo.com enables the search of more than 50 billion words - including billions of names, dates and places, all within fractions of a second. Mocavo.com fills an important industry need by providing the first large-scale, free search engine for family history research. Coupled with the speed and accuracy by which search results are produced, Mocavo.com represents a major technological breakthrough within the genealogy world.
Mocavo.com has already been met with critical acclaim by several industry experts. Dick Eastman, writer of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and a top blogger in the field, wrote, "All my future genealogy searches will start on Mocavo.com. I've been using the site for a while during its testing and have been very impressed. I suspect you will always have better luck searching for your own surnames of interest on Mocavo.com than on any other search engine."
Randy Seaver, writer of the popular Genea-Musings blog, said, "Mocavo.com promises to be a genealogist's dream - a search engine focused on free online genealogy resources." Mr. Eastman's and Mr. Seaver's full reviews can be found at http://www.eogn.com and http://www.geneamusings.com, respectively.
Starting today, the general public can use Mocavo.com for free. Visitors to www.mocavo.com are simply required to type in the names of interest and click on Search. All related results from industry sources such as genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals will be displayed. Similar to other search engines, Mocavo.com honors site owners by linking directly to their content.
Cliff Shaw, founder and CEO of Mocavo Inc., identifies the current trouble for genealogists and the solution that Mocavo.com provides, "Genealogy has always had the problem of information and potential clues being spread across thousands of disparate web sites and sources. Imagine a world where you have all of the Web's free genealogy content at your fingertips within seconds. That is Mocavo.com."
"Mocavo.com has the capacity to index every single piece of free genealogy content found anywhere on the web, and will be growing by leaps and bounds in the coming months," said Mr. Shaw. "We expect Mocavo.com to shortly offer all of the web's free genealogy information, searchable and accessible to all – something that has never been done before. It's set to become the go-to search engine for every family history enthusiast."
Mocavo Inc. is the brainchild of Cliff Shaw. Mr. Shaw is well known in the industry, having created four successful companies and many innovative technologies, including Smart Matching™, the most successful ancestor-matching algorithm. He created GenForum 14 years ago and it quickly grew to become the number one community for genealogists (now owned by Ancestry.com® (NASDAQ:ACOM)). In the early 2000's, Mr. Shaw launched GenCircles and Family Tree Legends, becoming the number two family tree publishing site and number two family tree software package respectively (both are now owned by MyHeritage.com). More recently, Mr. Shaw launched the well-received BackupMyTree.com, the industry's only automatic tree backup solution.
About Mocavo Inc.
Mocavo Inc. operates the world's largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, giving genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web including billions of names, dates and places. Founded by industry veteran Cliff Shaw, and backed by prominent angel investor, David Cohen, (founder and CEO of TechStars), Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world's free genealogy information. While Mocavo.com discovers new sites every day, some of the existing sites searchable on Mocavo.com include genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals. For further information, visit http://www.mocavo.com.


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The World's multinational corporations face an unrelenting problem. Resource extraction has met Earth's limits. The great fortunes of history were made by plundering resources, but we have taken the best of everything. With few virgin resources left, modern profit-making schemes turn to stock manipulations, debt swaps, and bets on derivative markets. Such manipulations, however, with no real wealth behind them, lead to inflation, collapse, and bailouts.
In the search for the remnants of nature's real wealth, the captains of industry scramble for Earth's remaining stores of minerals, forests, and biomass. This takes us to the ends of the Earth, to the poles, where receding ice opens land and seas for the final act of industrial pillage.
According to the World Resource Institute, some 6.2 billion hectares of forest once covered Earth's landmass. Human expansion has reduced this by about half, to 3.2 billion hectares. Since we high-grade every resource, taking the biggest and best trees first, only about a quarter of the world's frontier forests – measured in quality and quantity of standing timber – remains.
Meanwhile, we have dammed some 30,000 rivers, drained aquifers, dried lakes, polluted our water tables, and heated our atmosphere. As a result, each year, deserts grow by 6-million hectares, as forests shrink by 16-million hectares. In agricultural regions, we've mined over half the carbon from our soils, and we wash 26-billion tons of top soil into the sea each year along with our toxins, creating ocean dead zones. We have reduced most large commercial fish species by 60-90% and we've reduced the marine mammals by 80-90%, and some to extinction.
To fuel this devastation, we've drained some 60 trillion gallons of oil from the Earth, the best half of the world's hydrocarbon store, representing 500-million-years of captured solar energy. We dumped the carbon waste into our atmosphere, heating the planet and turning the oceans acidic. According to Dr. William Rees' global footprint analysis, human enterprise annually overshoots Earth's renewable productive capacity by half.
Nevertheless, a billion people remain undernourished, and 10 million starve each year. By depleting Earth's natural wealth, we foreclose genuinely sustainable options for the world's poorest people, forcing them into sweatshops and slums.
Any sane person would step back, take stock, and consider how to reduce wasteful consumption, share among the human family, and restore Nature's bounty. Not the world's corporate empires. Resource corporations view the receding ice caps as an opportunity for one last orgy of plunder.
Swarming the Arctic
The fundamental resource of industrialism is energy, and the fundamental industrial energy is oil. According to Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Investment Strategist at Casey Research, "a century of oil production has depleted most of the world's easy oil deposits," which has pushed those companies to seek ultradeep ocean wells, bitumen from Canadian tar sands, and the remnant oil reserves in the Arctic.
This summer, Shell Oil intends to drill five exploratory wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas on Alaska's continental shelf. Although the sea bottom in this region is relatively shallow – 50-meters, compared to a thousand meters or more for deepwater wells – drilling rigs in the Arctic must negotiate moving ice floes, Arctic storms, freezing weather, and 10 weeks of darkness.
Shell admits that they would likely abandon a well capping or spill cleanup during poor Arctic weather. Oil moving under ice floes is out of reach, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) warns that "there is no comprehensive method for cleanup of spilled oil in sea ice." Furthermore, US Coast Guard Admiral Robert Papp admits that Alaska infrastructure to respond to an oil well blowout, does not exist. Canadian regulators conclude that to drill a blowout relief well in the arctic would take three years.
According to the USGS, the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas contains 14-19 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The energy-intensive drilling would require an equivalent energy of 1-2 billion barrels of oil, so the net return might be about 15 billion barrels. At current consumption rates, that equals a 6-month world oil supply. The entire Arctic seabed, at best, may contain 3 years of world oil consumption.
For this, the oil giants appear willing to risk the world's last pristine marine ecosystems. Arctic waters provide vital habitat for krill, unique fish, commercial cod and pollock, the rare bowhead whale, dolphins, walruses, seals, penguins and other birds. An oil spill would ravage Arctic marine wildlife and devastate local fishing.
War profiteers jump in
Once the oil companies locate, drill, and start producing oil, the next phase requires an extensive network of pipelines. Spills have become routine in oil pipelines from Nigeria to Canada. Furthermore, like Iraq or Afghanistan, any region with oil and pipelines becomes a battleground for political control.
Russian oil company Gazprom has signed a deal with Exxon Mobil Corp to prospect for oil in Russia's Arctic Kara Sea. The US, China, Russia, Canada, and other nations have already begun military posturing in the Arctic to protect their resource interests.
US cables released by Wikileaks promote a "military presence" in Greenland to protect "American commercial investments" and justify a US military presence due to "the potential of increased military threats in the Arctic." The alleged threats include Russian submarines planting flags under the North Pole, Russia's foreign minister proposing a "redistribution of power" and "armed intervention" in the Arctic, and Norway justifying Fighter aircraft purchases to offset Russia's Arctic intentions. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomat Cui Hongjian insists that the Arctic is a "public area," and Canada has announced intentions to patrol the Arctic with drones.
Another US cable cited oil and ice-free shipping as "benefits accruing from global warming." Since 1980, we've witnessed a 75% reduction in Arctic sea ice. The polar ice helps balance atmospheric temperature by reflecting solar energy. The dark water left by receding ice absorbs energy, causing Earth to heat faster. Meanwhile, ancient methane – 20-times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas – escapes from melting permafrost, a feedback that increases global warming.
Furthermore, the oil that doesn't spill into the sea or land spills into the atmosphere. It makes no sense to risk Earth's last pristine marine ecosystem, and runaway heating, to extend a decaying and destructive industry for a few years. But Shell Oil does not appear interested in preserving ecosystems or future generations. The oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi fields is worth $1-2 trillion dollars of revenue to the oil company. Their motivation is money, not a vision for sustainable human habitation on Earth.
Knowing that their actions will degrade Earth's ecological stability, Shell has filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against environmental groups in an attempt to prejudice courts to favor Shell's plans before anyone can challenge them.
Resistance and vision
Indigenous nations, scientists, celebrities, Greenpeace, and other environmental groups have proposed a global sanctuary in the Arctic to protect species habitat and local, indigenous fishing, while banning unsustainable industrial fishing and oil drilling.
A similar sanctuary was established in Antarctica 20 years ago, protecting the southern continent from mining and drilling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) now oversees scientists from 27 countries, performing valuable inter-disciplinary research in the Antarctic. The treaty prohibits military activity, and holds all Antarctic territorial claims in abeyance.
As giant corporations travel to the ends of the Earth for the final plunder of resources, the time has come for humanity to accept Earth's biological and physical limits, preserve the vestiges of wild nature, arrest global warming, and prepare for a genuinely sustainable and equitable human society. That requires saving the Arctic from plunder.
Links in this essay:
World Resource Institute: http://www.wri.org/
Dr. William Rees, 50% Overshoot: http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1113
Casey Research: Icy Saga, Oil's Inevitable Climb: http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/icy-saga-emblematic-oil-prices-inevitable-climb
Shell's Arctic oil exploration, exploratory wells, Greenpeace briefing: http://greenpeace.org.nz/briefing/Shell_and_oil_exploration_off_Alaska.pdf
Canadian regulators, 3 years to drill Arctic relief well: http://www.nathancullen.com/news/article_RE/3_years_to_cap_an_arctic_oil_spill_officials_say/
Wikileaks reaveals Arctic war plans: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/wikileaks-reveals-arctic-could-be-new-cold-war-20110512
Rex Weyler was a director of the original Greenpeace Foundation, the editor of the organisation's first newsletter, and a co-founder of Greenpeace International in 1979.
Deep Green is Rex's column, reflecting on the roots of activism, environmentalism, and Greenpeace's past, present, and future. The opinions here are his own.
(Unregistered) Philip Hurd-Wood
Rex has written a level-headed essay here. This should be sent to every government across the world and the heads of every corporation. With the forlo...
Rex has written a level-headed essay here. This should be sent to every government across the world and the heads of every corporation. With the forlorn hope they may just take heed
5 July, 2012 at 20:34
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(Unregistered) Gábor
I agree with every word to Rex Weyler's well documented article. It's very true the time has come for humanity to accept Earth's biologica...
I agree with every word to Rex Weyler's well documented article. It's very true the time has come for humanity to accept Earth's biological and physical limits, preserve the vestiges of wild nature and save the Arctic from multinational corporations. We are not enough nature thinkers. I look at the barometer of SAVE THE ARCTIC and since two days it didn't arrive to half a million. If we are 7 billion people on Earth how many of us signed SAVETHEARCTIC in percentage ???
Greenpeace and other environmental groups should take more clever actions to stop the Earth's slaughter against all of whom destroy Earth's BEAUTY.
6 July, 2012 at 3:39
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(Unregistered) paradox101
Isn't that the paradox... While the Arctic is slowly melting,
the global economy is beginning to freeze.
7 July, 2012 at 1:30
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From 9:30AM July 6th 2012 to 9:30 AM July 2012 the barometer rose from 500 000 signatures to 530 000 signatures (SAVE THE ARCTIC). It means that in o...
From 9:30AM July 6th 2012 to 9:30 AM July 2012 the barometer rose from 500 000 signatures to 530 000 signatures (SAVE THE ARCTIC). It means that in one day 30 000 people signed the petition. We are 7 billion people on EARTH, if my calculations are correct, then it will take us to sign the petition SAVE THE ARCTIC 233 334 days or 640 years to make it sign by everyone of us. We need fast and persuasive actions from all GREEN MOVEMENTS and especially all GOVERNMENTS. We should declare a day EARTH DAY without cars, taxis, planes, buses, boats, trains and so forth just bicycles and our two legs then we could see a huge change.
7 July, 2012 at 20:54
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Correction: From 9:30AM July 6th 2012 to 9:30AM July 7th 2012 and as follows with my precedent observations...Gábor
7 July, 2012 at 21:04
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(Unregistered) showmethemoney
"With few virgin resources left, modern profit-making schemes turn to stock manipulations, debt swaps, and bets on derivative markets. Such manip...
"With few virgin resources left, modern profit-making schemes turn to stock manipulations, debt swaps, and bets on derivative markets. Such manipulations, however, with no real wealth behind them, lead to inflation, collapse, and bailouts." - this is the point. 500 million year old captured solar energy migrated to the banks and the stock, but these assets are not backed anymore with the...500 million year old captured solar energy.
8 July, 2012 at 14:16
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(Unregistered) Steven Earl Salmony
Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness C...
Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population, established 2001
Chapel Hill, NC
10 July, 2012 at 16:58
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(Unregistered) GREEN Savior
Please get ready to vote for your Arctic Ambassador.
Please get ready to vote for your Arctic Ambassador.
Sun Wu and the art of war
11 July, 2012 at 20:45
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WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department's decision to allow two Texas companies to export a minimally distilled variety of ultralight oil is a win for Eagle Ford Shale crude producers, at the expense of refiners and companies planning to build processing plants along the Gulf Coast.
The agency effectively declared those types of ultralight oil — called condensates — are a petroleum product free for export as long as they have been run through a distillation tower. The ruling is likely to change the economics of some of the Gulf Coast's more expensive processing plants.
Magellan Midstream Partners, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Total and Targa Resources Partners all have built or announced plans to build such splitters in Texas in a bid to capitalize on the flood of ultralight condensates coming out of the Eagle Ford Shale and the 39-year-old ban on most crude exports.
Because unprocessed condensates are barred from export under that ban, the splitters have been viewed as one option for taking that condensate and producing naphtha, gasoil and other products that can, in turn, be transformed with additional materials into gasoline and diesel.
Building boom: Gulf Coast's industrial boom strains labor pool
But the potential value of those splitters is undermined by any broad changes in the crude export ban — or even modest rulings that allow Eagle Ford oil producers to sell lightly processed condensate after running it from the wellhead to their own nearby, much cheaper, distillation towers.
"This will put the announced condensate splitters at risk," Wood Mackenzie analysts wrote in an email Wednesday, adding that the move jeopardizes 450,000 barrels per day in announced condensate splitting capacity.
Analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. told clients the Commerce Department rulings likely will put a chill on the announced splitter projects.
Although Total's Port Arthur splitter is already up and running, several others were expected to go online in the next few years.
Kinder Morgan said the Commerce Department rulings would have "no impact" on its planned facility near the Houston Ship Channel that is slated to go online in November and is supported by long-term, fee-based contracts.
Splitters are less expensive, easier to permit and can be built much more quickly than large refineries, which may cost $10 billion and up. By contrast, Magellan said it expected to have a planned Corpus Christi splitter online and running by late 2016 at a price of about $250 million.
Small-scale distillation towers that can be located near active wells are much cheaper than both options, costing just tens of millions of dollars, said John Auers, executive vice president of Dallas-based consultancy Turner, Mason & Co.
"While splitting is less capital-intensive than refining, new light distillation units are closer to stabilization units," Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. analysts said in a note to clients. This "decision likely puts further splitter projects on ice."
Moving crude: US oil exports soar to new milestone
Refiners, too, were feeling some pain in trading early Wednesday, on expectations that any move to ease the export of condensate — whether straight from the field or lightly distilled — could lift the price for domestic crude they now buy at a steep discount.
Stock prices for San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. and a host of other refiners fell in trading Wednesday. Valero shares were down 9.6 percent to $50.62 midday and Tesoro had fallen 5.5 percent to $57.52. Phillips 66 was trading down 4.6 percent at $81.03, Marathon Petroleum Corp. was down 7.4 percent to $80.05 and HollyFrontier Corp. was down 8.3 percent to $44.90.
Even limited condensate exports are a win for U.S. exploration and production companies and a loss for downstream refiners, said Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. analysts.
But Andy Lipow, president of the Houston consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said refiner stocks had sunk so low because the market is misinterpreting the government's action as a first step toward broad crude exports.
"They're getting hammered because the market is interpreting this as a break in the dam," Lipow said, adding swiftly: "I'm not saying I agree with it."
Even so, gasoline and distillate futures prices are down in trading — suggesting that industry-funded reports are right in predicting additional U.S. oil exports could lower gasoline prices over time.
West Texas Intermediate oil, the U.S. benchmark, was trading at $106.12 midday, still almost $7 less than its international counterpart, Brent crude.
Analysts suggested that significant changes in crude prices aren't expected over the short term and said the longer-term impacts will depend on how many companies take advantage of the government's ruling effectively blessing export of barely processed condensate.
Also on FuelFix:
40 years later: Foreign oil dependence has soared since the embargo


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Gregg's tangy lemon tart
Gregg Wallace fell in love with Michel Roux Snr's lemon tart at first bite. This is his version of the classic recipe
Nutrition and extra info
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal770
- fat44g
- saturates24g
- carbs86g
- sugars38g
- fibre2g
- protein13g
- salt0.18g
For the pastry (makes double)
- 500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 140g icing sugar
- 250g unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 egg yolks
For the filling
- 5 eggs
The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…
- 140g caster sugar
- 150ml double cream
- juice 2-3 lemon (about 100ml/3½ fl oz) and 2 tbsp lemon zest
Oval in shape, with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile fruits…
To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly. Mix in the egg yolks. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together. Roll into a ball and divide in half (freeze one half for another recipe). Flatten out the pastry with your hands, wrap the dough in cling film, then chill for at least 30 mins. While the pastry is chilling, make the filling. Beat all the ingredients, except for the zest, together. Sieve the mixture, then stir in the zest.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess pastry. Stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the tart with foil and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil, and bake for another 20 mins until biscuity. When the pastry is ready, remove it from the oven, pour in the lemon mixture and bake again for 30-35 mins until just set. Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Recipe Tip
PastryThe quantity of pastry given is about double the amount that you'll need because if I'm going to the effort of making my own pastry, I always make double and freeze half for next time. If you don't want to freeze some, simply halve the pastry quantities.


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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms with left-hander Brian Duensing and backup catcher Drew Butera to one-year contracts, ensuring that all of their arbitration-eligible players are signed for 2013.
The Twins agreed with Duensing, who has been both a starter and reliever in his four seasons in Minnesota, on a $1.3 million deal. Duensing went 4-12 with a 5.12 ERA last season. He started eight games, but spent most of his time as a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.
Butera and the Twins agreed on a $700,000 deal. Butera earned a spot on his team strictly for his defense and his work with the pitching staff. He hit .198 with one home run in 42 games last season.


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Oil tycoon vanishes during Florida boat trip
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- When an oil tycoon's fishing boat washed ashore near Fort Lauderdale this week, the lights were on and the engines were running, but the owner was nowhere to be found.
After a two-day search, authorities suspended the hunt for Guma Aguiar, a millionaire known for his philanthropy and sometimes erratic behavior. He struggled with mental illness exacerbated by court battles with family members over his vast fortune.
His disappearance has puzzled both his family and authorities.
Surveillance video showed him talking on the phone Tuesday night outside his $5 million waterfront home, grabbing what appears to be a pair of shorts and getting into the boat alone. Seas were rough, though, and police questioned why an experienced boater such as Aguiar would venture out in undesirable conditions.
His wallet and cell phone were still on the 31-foot boat when it was discovered beached Wednesday morning about three miles from the home he shares with his wife and four children. There was no blood or signs of a struggle on the vessel, police said.
Authorities were working with the Coast Guard to analyze the boat's GPS and sifting through Aguiar's cell phone records to see if any calls were made before the boat ran aground. The search over land and water covered a combined area roughly the size of Rhode Island.
"Anything is possible. At this point it's still way too early in the investigation to jump to any conclusions," Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Travis Mandell said.
His wife told police she was worried for his safety after she came home Tuesday night and learned from the nanny that he had gone boating, but police wouldn't elaborate on why she was concerned.
Meanwhile, his mother, Ellen Aguiar, on Thursday filed to become guardian of his more than $75 million fortune, which includes $35 million in Israeli real estate, $15 million in cash, a $2 million yacht and seven cars worth more than $1 million.
Aguiar suffers from severe bipolar disorder and "may be in a delusion state or be suffering from psychosis or otherwise may have disappeared at sea," according to court documents.
On Friday, the shades were drawn at Aguiar's property and no one answered the door. His wife declined comment through a family spokesman and his mother's phone had been temporarily disconnected. Friends declined to talk on the record to The Associated Press.
Aguiar made a fortune in 2006 when the Texas-based energy company he ran with his uncle was sold for a reported $2.5 billion. But he has been locked in a contentious legal battle with his uncle over money.
His wife's attorneys said they were horrified by Ellen Aguiar's attempts to gain control of the estate, saying it has only added to the family's stress.
"She files motions in courts trying to take over everything while the divers are still out looking for Guma's body," said attorney Bill Scherer. "It's bizarre."
He planned to respond her motion, but said everything is premature right now.
Scherer said the past year was especially difficult for Jamie Aguiar, who was pregnant while her husband was hospitalized for mental illness. He moved back into the house after he was released several months ago and has been more emotionally stable since then, Scherer said.
"She's hoping that he's had another mental breakdown and that he's out there somewhere and will come walking back when he gets himself stabilized," he said.
Family members said the legal battles had taken an emotional toll on Aguiar in recent years. His family checked him into a psychiatric hospital in Tel Aviv in 2010 after claiming he entered the Gaza Strip and met with an Israeli soldier held there by Hamas militants. Aguiar's family said at the time he'd been under "intensive emotional pressures" and "psychological terrorism," because of the lawsuit.
There were other signs of trouble at home.
His wife filed a domestic violence order against him last summer. A short time later, he filed for dissolution of marriage, but both were voluntarily dismissed, according to court documents. Around that same time, his wife and mother successfully petitioned a Miami-Dade County judge to appoint an emergency guardian for him for 90 days.
In 2009, he pleaded no contest to drug charges after deputies said they found marijuana in his Bentley during a traffic stop.
Aguiar has given millions to Israeli and Jewish causes. While he was raised Christian, his mother is Jewish, and he converted to Judaism about a decade ago.
He has said he plans to rebuild the biblical Jewish temple in Jerusalem and has donated millions to a foundation that helps Jews move to Israel. In Fort Lauderdale, Chabad Lubavitch, a traditional Hasidic group, named their family campus after him.
Aguiar has been a well-known fixture in Israel since his $4 million investment saved the Israeli Premier League soccer team Beitar Jerusalem a few years ago.


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By Proof
At the risk of alienating long time Ron Paul fans, here's a view from the other side...
It seems that the evidence is mounting that Ron Paul, admired for his forthrightness and unwavering message may have been less than honest with followers specifically and the public in general...
First, a note for those of you not familiar with the term "stalking horse". In frontier times, a stalking horse was a kind of camouflage. A herd of deer or bison might be spooked by a two legged figure coming towards it, but a hunter walking alongside a horse was perceived as just another herd beast, until the hunter was close enough to shoot his prey. The stalking horse gave the hunter cover by disguising his motives.
It seems that Ron Paul may have been Romney's stalking horse among conservatives in the debates...
An analysis of 20 debates by ThinkProgress* shows that Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul did not attack rival Mitt Romney once during those televised face-offs.
That's in comparison to Paul attacking Romney's rivals — like former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — a total of 39 times during those debates, the report said.
ThinkProgress reported that Paul attacked Santorum 22 times and Gingrich 8 times in the debates. He attacked Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain four times each and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann one time while they were in the race.
Romney is the most liberal Republican running this year. He's one of the guys that Ron Paul's supporters like to call "McSame", after the failed bid of John McCain. Funny how Dr. Paul attacked all the other candidates as "not being conservative enough" while taking a "kid glove" approach to the most moderate to liberal candidate in the race. And now the stories are out there about how Rand Paul might be in the running for Romney's Veep? What is it they say about once being an accident, twice being coincidence, but three times is enemy action?
If there was a back room deal, does Paul really believe that his followers would accept his endorsement of Romney after having been misled for the past year? Many I've spoken to plan on sitting out the election is Paul is not the candidate. Would they accept Rand as Veep as a sop to their consciences? Or just see it as a sell out?
Speaking as a father, I know that there are lots of things I would give up in order for my children to succeed. But, I don't think my integrity is one of them.
*Yes. ThinkProgress comes with their own ideological bias. But if you can demonstrate where they've gotten their facts wrong here, I'm more than willing to listen.
H/T Daily Caller
Cross posted at Proof Positive


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Groveland Dragonfly 3 Light Kitchen Island Pendant
by Dale Tiffany
Tiffany Jeweled Grape 2 Light Pool Table Light
by Meyda Tiffany
by Global Views
Authentic Wood Fired cooking for every backyard. Designed and Made In Italy, Alfa have been making wood burning ovens for over 35 years. Combing Old World pride and craftsmanship with the latest in manufacturing technology, Alfa produce some of the world's best wood burning ovens. The Alfa Wood Burning Ovens deliver the performance found in Fine Italian restaurants in a design you can take anywhere. Assembles in minutes and can be used with or without the cart. Perfect for your backyard and light enough to easily move around you patio. Featuring a fully insulated dome and hearth, Alfa Ovens provide superior cooking performance and heat retention as well as a "cool to the touch" outer surface. Anything you can cook in your indoor oven can be prepared to its succulent perfection in your wood fired oven. All year long. Bake, Roast, Grill ....or simply enjoy the fire! Once you've tasted your favorite meal prepared in an authentic Italian Wood Fired Oven, you'll notice the difference. That's why so many Italian restaurants use Alfa Ovens professionally.
$103 to $503


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Washable Markers -- Assorted Colors
by Crayola
These brilliantly colored markers are perfect for drawing and coloring. Plus, their ink is formulated to easily wash from skin and most children's clothing. They're great for arts and crafts projects, as well as homework and school projects, and can be used to create colorful journal entries, scrapbooks, party invitations, or drawings. The markers are available with either fine line tips (perfect for writing) or conical tips (for broad lines). Packs come with 12 markers. Colors are black, blue, blue lagoon, brown, dolphin gray, flamingo pink, green, orange, red, sandy tan, violet (purple), and yellow.
The markers are non-toxic. For ages 5+
?Ask a question about this product
Average User Rating: Based on (1 Review)
Patricia H. from Dallas, TX says:
I have ordered these for my grandchildren and for friends who are ill or in the hospital. Super product that delivers. I highly recommend.
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Give The Gift of Great Wolf Lodge
Give the ones you love lasting memories with a Great Wolf Lodge gift card. The card can be used to book the suite of their dreams or like cash anywhere in the lodge. From dining to shopping or a trip to Scooops Kids Spa, there's so many ways that they can pick their perfect gift!
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Running short on time to give the perfect gift? Our eGift Certificates are delivered instantly via email.
To book a room with your gift card or eGift certificate, please contact us at 866.646.9653.
Gift cards are only valid at Great Wolf Lodge, U.S. properties. To purchase gift cards for Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls, Ontario click here.
eGift certificates are not accepted at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California located in Anaheim / Garden Grove, CA or Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota located in Bloomington, MN.
This card may not be resold under penalty of law; unlawful resale or attempted resale is grounds for seizure and cancellation without compensation. Cards obtained through unauthorized channels (e.g., online auction) will be considered void.
Gift cards are not redeemable for cash, check, or credit and are non-refundable. (Gift cards will be processed within 48 – 72 hours.)
There is no fee for gift card replacement, however the original receipt must be provided in order for gift card reissuance.
U.S. Postal delivery is not tracked or guaranteed. In addition to 3 business days for processing, please allow 7 – 10 business days for delivery.
FedEx delivery not available outside of the U.S., FedEx cannot deliver to P.O. boxes, and a signature is required for all FedEx deliveries.
All delivery times are estimated and not guaranteed.


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City Council Adoption of Fossil Fuel Terminal Zoning Amendments
The ordinance was adopted and went into effect on December 18, 2019.Read More…
General Information: 503-823-4000
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 110, Portland, OR 97204
Developed as a way to share Portland's green development innovations and expertise and stimulate market transformation, the Green Design Atlas (GDA) is an interactive map featuring LEED and sustainable commercial building sites throughout the Portland Metro region. The new online resource provides a one-stop resource for developers and design professionals to market sustainable buildings and share data.
This initial phase includes the U.S Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings and Metro's Connect the Drops map, with more green building certifications and search filters to come in the future.
With the click of a button, project information can be accessed along with location, images and development teams. The number of LEED certified buildings in Portland and the region can be shown along with the number in each category (Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified).
The GDA Steering Committee is a collaboration of volunteer public, private and non-profit sustainability professionals from the Portland Metro Region. The GDA has been in development since 2008. The Partners: American Institute of Architects Portland Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE), American Society of Landscape Architects Oregon Chapter (ASLA), City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), Ecotrust, Metro and Portland Development Commission (PDC).
The majority of work on the GDA has been provided by volunteer GDA Steering Committee members. Seed funding has been graciously provided by AIA COTE, PDC, BPS and Metro. The website was built and is maintained by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and Ecotrust is the non-profit fiscal sponsor.
The map developers hope to inspire and spur climate-responsive design by showcasing examples from the Portland Region. Resources include:
Green Design Atlas on Facebook


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major macro economic indicators
|2018 (e)
|2019 (f)
|GDP growth (%)
|Inflation (yearly average, %)
|Budget balance (% GDP)
|Current account balance (% GDP)
|Public debt (% GDP)
(e): Estimate. (f): Forecast.
- Significant hydroelectric potential
- Wealth of raw materials (zinc, lead, aluminium, gold, cotton)
- Financial support from international donors and China (OBOR)
- Fragile banking system; credit is expensive, underdeveloped and directed
- Dependent on remittances from expatriate workers
- Proximity to Afghanistan
- Islamist terrorist risk against a backdrop of poverty and lack of employment
- Infrastructure (energy, transport, health, education, water)
- Foreign exchange market and trade closely controlled
- Large informal economy
Public investment provides a major source of growth
As in the previous year, growth is expected to moderate in 2019. It will remain dependent on public investment, which is mainly focused on the construction sector. Construction of the Rogun hydroelectric dam and high-voltage lines as part of the CASA-1000 project, which will allow Tajikistan's and Kyrgyzstan's hydroelectric surplus to be exported to Pakistan and Afghanistan, reflects this policy. Construction of the Rogun dam's first turbine is scheduled to be completed in late 2018. This will enable electricity production to start up, supporting growth in 2019. Even so, private investment is still expected to suffer because of the fragile banking system and credit restrictions, which are justified by the high ratio of non-performing loans (around 25% in July 2018). Consolidation of the banking system will be a key factor in restoring growth to its potential level. Through its exports, the economy will remain dependent on commodity prices, which could soften. The economy will also continue to benefit from remittances from expatriates (31% of GDP in 2017), mainly from Russia, which will stimulate Tajik household consumption. However, non-membership of the Eurasian Economic Union will continue to hamper the ability of workers to move to Russia.
Inflation, fuelled by the regular depreciation of the somoni against the US dollar, is expected to remain high in 2019. It may even rise again, driven by a recovery in private consumption and imported inflation, after edging down in 2018 because of the slower increase in basic food prices.
External fragility despite massive support from the diaspora
Fiscal consolidation, which began in 2017, ground to a halt in 2018 with the slowdown of growth. In 2019, the slight rebound in activity should enable the country to post a declining government deficit once again. However, the level of external public debt is growing rapidly, as the country relies increasingly on support from China and multilateral financial institutions to finance its public investments. With external public debt representing about 40% of GDP, Tajikistan is exposed to currency risk.
Despite remittances from expatriates and the remuneration of Tajik workers abroad, the current account will be in deficit in 2019. The trade balance will remain negative (25% of GDP in 2017). Low diversification requires imports of capital goods and intermediate products for public investment and the extractive industry, as well as imports of consumer products. However, in April 2018, Uzbekistan began consuming Tajik electricity again after a nine-year hiatus. The rapprochement of the two countries since the 2016 Uzbek presidential election represents a great opportunity for Tajikistan. If the process continues, the Tajik trade balance will benefit from this important new source of exports. The deficit in the balance of services, linked to the construction of infrastructure, particularly in the hydroelectricity sector, will, to a lesser extent, weigh on the current account. Loans from multilateral agencies and China, capital contributions and FDI finance the current account deficit and maintain foreign exchange reserves at a level equivalent to more than five months of imports. Total external debt represents 77% of GDP, a quarter of which is related to FDI.
Political scene dominated by the Rahmon family
President Imomali Rahmon has been at the head of the country since 1992 and is reportedly laying the groundwork for his succession. At the age of 66, he appointed several members of his family to senior positions in his government. In addition, in 2018, a law lowering the age of eligibility for the presidency from 35 to 30 years was passed by parliament. This would allow his son to run in the next elections, scheduled for 2020. However, social frustrations are tangible, fuelled by corruption and poverty, with about 30% of the population living below the poverty line. In addition, the country has to cope with the radicalisation of part of its Muslim population. Faced with this situation, the President has been taking authoritarian action, which has included closing down mosques and issuing a dress code. In external relations, dependence on China is increasing. In addition to being the country's main creditor and the second-largest market for its exports, China accounts for 70% of inward FDI. Meanwhile, the presence of the Taliban in northern Afghanistan is affecting security in border areas, although the Russian military presence should prevent any spillover of the conflict into the Tajik area.
The business environment is poor, with government control over the economy through state-owned companies curbing foreign private investment. The country ranks 180th out of 205 countries in the World Bank's ranking for regulatory quality.
Last update: February 2019


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Exercise helps to decrease risk of heart disease and obesity as well as a host of other health issues. However, you may have also experienced the downside of exercise, sore stiff muscles. Sometimes, particularly with new or specific types of exercises you will feel a delayed soreness, stiffness, and swelling in your muscles about 24-48 hours after exercise. This soreness often leads to a temporary lack of strength and power. It is believed to be due to small tears in the muscles that stimulate swelling. Since the soreness and stiffness is associated with swelling, many studies have focused on applying ice therapy to decrease swelling which may decrease future soreness.
The Cochrane Collaboration analyzed several studies that looked at approaches to relieving delayed muscle soreness. The study found that cold therapy was the most common approach and was associated with decreased delayed-onset muscle soreness.
About the Study
The systematic review assessed 17 previous randomized trials that examined cold-water immersion therapy immediately after exercise. 366 participants took part in a variety of exercises with different intensities and durations. The study participants were immersed in water at a temperature of < 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). They were compared to participants who received no treatment, rest, or warm water therapies.
Cold-water immersion was associated with reduced muscle soreness when compared to rest or no intervention at
- 24 hours after exercise in an analysis of 10 trial with 218 patients
- 48 hours after exercise in an analysis of 8 trials with 179 patients
- 72 hours after exercise in an analysis of 4 trials with 104 patients
- 96 hours after exercise in an analysis of 5 trials with 97 patients
Cold-water immersion therapy was not associated with decreased muscle soreness when compared to warm-water immersion therapy > 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) or therapy alternating hot and cold therapy. The majority of trials did not look at complications that may happen due to cold immersion.
How Does This Affect You?
Systematic reviews can provide reliable outcomes since they often result in a large pool of participants. However, the quality of the trials involved and their compatibility can affect how reliable or true the results are. In this review, the studies were of good quality but there were several differences in important trial factors such as type of exercises completed, endurance, frequency and how long participants were in the cold bath. These variations may decrease or increase the size of benefits.
The cold baths followed here are in fact ice baths. While athletes may have grown accustomed to a brief ice bath, it may not be ideal for the average exerciser because of its intensity. If you are training for an intensive physical event and are limited because of delayed muscles soreness, you may want to consider some cold baths. Keep in mind that long periods in an ice cold baths are not wise either (the average time of immersion in studies was 12.6 minutes). Extended immersion in cold baths could lead to potential problems such as hypothermia or frostbite. If you have any health issues, you should talk to your doctor before attempting this type of bath. If you have regular soreness after your workout routine, you may also want to reassess your exercise program for its benefits and harms.
- Reviewer: Brian P. Randall, MD
- Review Date: 05/2012 -


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A dry-lightning storm on June 13 sparked a series of fires in San Juan County, two of which continue to burn out of control several days later.
The Lackey Fan fire, at the southwest base of the La Sal mountains, had consumed nearly 1,000 acres by the press deadline on June 17.
High winds quickly fanned the flames and moved the fire up into Lackey Canyon. The fire is located within three miles of "new" La Sal. The fire and smoke are visible from town and throughout the area. The fire continues to move up the mountain.
Fire fighters began fighting the fire Saturday. Slurry planes dropped retardant on the fire Saturday afternoon.
By Sunday afternoon a Type II interagency fire team had arrived in La Sal to combat the fire on the land and in the air.
As of Monday, the fire was 30 percent contained. More than 300 personnel in various capacities were on the fire team.
A fire on the Dark Canyon plateau west of Monticello had consumed 215 acres and was just five percent contained on June 17.
An additional 40 firefighters were scheduled to join the 80 already on the site.
With dry conditions, strong winds and hot weather expected in coming days, a red flag warning is in effect for the area.