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Warning: This document describes an old release. Check here for the current version.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Nimbus?
- What is the main way to deploy Nimbus?
- Is Nimbus hard to install?
- What are the main Nimbus components?
- What is the Workspace Service?
- What is the WSRF frontend?
- What is the EC2 frontend?
- What EC2 operations are supported?
- What is the metadata server?
- What metadata server operations are supported?
- What is the cloud client?
- What is the reference client?
- What is the Workspace Pilot?
- What is the RM API?
- What is workspace-control?
- What is the Context Broker?
- What is the Context Agent?
- What is Nimbus Web?
- What is Cumulus?
- What clients can I use with Cumulus?
- How are Nimbus and Cumulus related?
- Can Cumulus be installed without Nimbus?
- Can Nimbus be installed without Cumulus?
- Does the Nimbus IaaS system directly use Cumulus for image propagation?
- How reliable is Cumulus?
- What type of storage system backs the Cumulus repository?
- What is LANTorrent?
- How is the software licensed?
What is Nimbus? (#)
Nimbus is a set of open source tools that together provide an "Infrastructure-as-a-Service" (IaaS) cloud computing solution. Our mission is to evolve the infrastructure with emphasis on the needs of science, but many non-scientific use cases are supported as well.
Nimbus allows a client to lease remote resources by deploying virtual machines (VMs) on those resources and configuring them to represent an environment desired by the user.
It was formerly known as the "Virtual Workspace Service" (VWS) but the "workspace service" is technically just one the components in the software collection.
What is the main way to deploy Nimbus? (#)
Options aren't always a good thing, especially to start with. The main way to deploy Nimbus is the cloud configuration. This involves hosting a site manager service and creating an image repository (see the Zero To Cloud guide for details). You direct your new users to use the cloud client which gets them up and running in just a few minutes.
Overview of the cloud configuration:
Is Nimbus hard to install? (#)
Nimbus itself is not hard to install, it has a script driven install that asks you two questions.
Nimbus requires that some dependencies are installed first. On the service node: Java, Python, and bash. On the hypervisor nodes: Python, bash, ebtables, libvirt and KVM or Xen.
All of these things are installable via the package management system of all the popular Linux distributions.
See the Zero To Cloud guide for details including detailed prerequisite information.
What are the main Nimbus components? (#)
The Workspace Service site manager
A WSRF based remote protocol implementation
An EC2 based remote protocol implementation of their SOAP and Query APIs (partial)
Cumulus is an open source implementation of the Amazon S3 REST API. It is used as the Nimbus repository solution and can also be installed standalone.
The RM API bridge between remote protocols/security and specific site manager implementations.
The cloud client aims to get users up and running in minutes with instance launches and one-click clusters.
The reference client exposes the entire feature set in the WSRF protocol as a commandline client (with underlying Java client library). For advanced uses, scripting, portal integration, etc.
The Workspace Pilot allows you to integrate VMs with resources already configured to manage jobs (i.e., already using a batch scheduler like PBS).
The workspace-control agent implements VMM and network specific tasks on each hypervisor.
The Context Broker allows clients to coordinate large virtual cluster launches automatically and repeatably.
The Context Agent lives on VMs and interacts with the Context Broker at VM boot.
The components are lightweight and self-contained so that they can be selected and composed in a variety of ways. For example, using the workspace service with the pilot will enable a different cluster integration strategy. You can mix and match protocol implementations with the "pure Java" resource management module.
Writing new components should be a matter of "dropping" them in. As explained in "What is the RM API?", the Java side of things is particularly LEGO® like. As of Nimbus 2.3 workspace-control (the VMM component) is modularized with around 10 plugin points. And we are working towards modularizing even more and providing better implementations for various components.
Any questions, suggestions, and requirements in this area are appreciated.
What is the Workspace Service? (#)
The Workspace service is a standalone site VM manager that different remote protocol frontends can invoke.
The current supported protocols are Web Services based or HTTP based. They all run in either an Apache Axis based Java container or Apache CXF. But there is only a certain level of necessity:
There is nothing specific to web services based remote protocols in the workspace service implementation, the messaging system just needs to be able to speak to Java based libraries.
Workspace service dependencies have nothing to do with what container it is running in, they are normal Java application dependencies like Spring, ehcache, backport-util-concurrent, and JDBC (currently using the embedded Derby database).
What is the WSRF frontend? (#)
This is the protocol implementation in longstanding use by previous workspace services and clients including the popular cloud-client.
This is an implementation of two of the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) interfaces that allow you to use clients developed for the real EC2 system against Nimbus based clouds.
There is support for both EC2 interfaces: SOAP and Query.
What EC2 operations are supported? (#)
(See What is the EC2 frontend?)
Nimbus provides a partial protocol implementation of EC2's WSDL (namespace https://ec2.amazonaws.com/doc/2009-08-15/, a previous version supported 2008-05-05) and the Query API complement to that WSDL. The operations behind these EC2 commandline clients are currently provided:
ec2-describe-images - See what images in your personal cloud directory you can run.
ec2-run-instances - Run images that are in your personal cloud directory.
ec2-describe-instances - Report on currently running instances.
ec2-terminate-instances - Destroy currently running instances.
ec2-reboot-instances - Reboot currently running instances.
ec2-add-keypair [*] - Add personal SSH public key that can be installed for root SSH logins
ec2-delete-keypair - Delete keypair mapping.
[*] - There are two options for add-keypair implementations that can be chosen by the administrator in the conf file:
One is the normal implementation where the server-side generates a private and public key (using jsch) and delivers the private key to you.
The other (configured by default) is a break from the regular semantics. It allows the keypair "name" you send in the request to be the name AND the public key value. This means there is never a private key server-side and also that you can use keys you aready have created on your system. (In a sense, this is add-keypair as opposed to the normal behavior which should perhaps be named create-keypair).
What is the metadata server? (#)
The metadata server responds to HTTP queries from VMs, using the same path names as the EC2 metadata server
The URL for this is obtained by looking at '/var/nimbus-metadata-server-url' on the VM, which is an optional customization task injected by the Nimbus service on your behalf (we are considering trying to simulate Amazon's hardcoded IP address "169.254.169.254" on any subnet, feedback on this idea is appreciated).
Like on EC2, its responses are based on the source IP address from the TCP packet, giving the information specific to each VM instance. This also means there is an assumption that the immediately local network is non-spoofable. Administrators, you should also put in place a firewall rule that restricts this port to the VMs only, just in case.
The metadata server is disabled by default, consult your administrator (or try a query from inside your VM).
Administrators, see "services/etc/nimbus/workspace-service/metadata.conf" for the details.
What metadata server fields are supported? (#)
(See What is the metadata server?)
Nimbus provides a partial implementation of EC2's version of the metadata server (their full field listing). These fields are currently supported:
user-data - "opaque" information injected by the client at launch time
meta-data/ami-id - the ami-id assigned to this image. This is simulated by the EC2 protocols in Nimbus, the "definitive" piece of information for a launch is really the filename in the repository, there is not AMI registry like on EC2.
meta-data/ami-launch-index - if this VM instance was launched as part of a group (cluster), it might have a launch index other than zero. This differentiates it from other homogenous nodes in the launch.
meta-data/local-hostname - the 'private' hostname of this VM [1]
meta-data/local-ipv4 - the 'private' IP of this VM [1]
meta-data/public-ipv4 - the 'public' hostname of this VM [1]
meta-data/public-ipv4 - the 'public' IP of this VM [1]
[1] - What 'public' and 'private' mean in this context is up to an administrator configuration. The VM also may or may not have two NICs on it, the values of these fields might be equal or not.
What is the cloud client? (#)
The cloud client aims to get users up and running in minutes with instance launches and one-click clusters, even from laptops, NATs, etc. See the cloud client quickstart and cluster quickstart to see what it can do.
What is the reference client? (#)
The reference client exposes all features of the WSRF frontend as a commandline client. It is relatively complex to use and thus typically wrapped by task-specific scripts.
Internally, it's implemented around a base Java client API suitable for portal integration or any programmatic usage. Docs on this API are forthcoming but if you are interested check out org.globus.workspace.client_core in the client source tree (contains Javadoc comments and also consult example usages in the org.globus.workspace.client.modes package).
What is the Workspace Pilot? (#)
The pilot is a program the service will submit to a local site resource manager (LRM) in order to obtain time on the VMM nodes. When not allocated to the workspace service, these nodes will be used for jobs as normal (the jobs run in normal system accounts in Xen domain 0 with no guest VMs running).
Several extra safeguards have been added to make sure the node is returned from VM hosting mode at the proper time, including support for:
- the workspace service being down or malfunctioning
- LRM preemption (including deliberate LRM job cancellation)
- node reboot/shutdown
Also included is a one-command "kill 9" facility for administrators as a "worst case scenario" contingency.
Using the pilot is optional. By default the service does not operate with it, the service instead directly manages the nodes it is configured to manage.
What is the RM API? (#)
Most things having to do with the Java server side components are very flexible, featuring an extensibility system that allows for customization and replacement at runtime of various behaviors. By employing the Spring framework's "Dependency Injection" system, the Java components are virtually like LEGO® blocks.
One of the very strong internal interfaces here is the site resource management module which allows the remote security and protocol implementations and semantics to be separate from one consistent set of management operations. The implementing module governs how and when callers get VMs, it assigns resources to use, and takes them away at the appropriate times, etc.
What is workspace-control? (#)
Program installed on each VMM node used to (1) to start, stop and pause VMs, (2) implement VM image reconstruction and management, (3) securely connect the VMs to the network, and (4) to deliver contextualization information (see Context Broker).
Currently, the workspace control tools work with Xen and KVM.
Implemented in Python in order to be portable and easy to install. Requires libvirt, sudo, ebtables, and a DHCP server library.
What is the Context Broker? (#)
This is a service that allows clients to coordinate large virtual cluster launches automatically and repeatably.
Used to deploy "one-click" virtual clusters that function right after launch as opposed to launching a set of "unconnected" virtual machines like most VM-on-demand services give you. It also provides a facility to "personalize" VMs (seed them with secrets, access policies, and just-in-time configurations). This requires that the VMs run a lightweight script at boot time called the Context Agent.
This is a user-oriented system that runs as an "overlay" on top of the normal VM-on-demand mechanics. It's been used on top of Nimbus clouds as well as with EC2 resources.
See the one-click clusters guide for more detail and the one-click cluster example to show just one of the many things this can be used to accomplish.
What is the Context Agent? (#)
A lightweight agent on each VM -- its only dependencies are Python and the ubiquitous curl program -- securely contacts the context broker using a secret key. This key was created on the fly and seeded inside the instance. This agent gets information concerning the cluster from the context broker and then causes last minute changes inside the image to adapt to the environment.
See What is the Context Broker? Download it from this one-click clusters guide section.
What is Nimbus Web? (#)
Nimbus Web is the evolving web interface for Nimbus. Its aim is to provide administrative and user functions in a friendly interface.
Nimbus Web is centered around a Python Django web application that is intended to be deployable completely separate from the Nimbus service. Instructions for configuring and starting the application are in this section of the administrator guide.
Existing features:
- User X509 certificate management and distribution
- Query interface authentication token management
- Cloud configuration functionality
Forthcoming features:
- Visualization of cloud usage data
What is Cumulus? (#)
Cumulus is an open source implementation of the S3 REST API. Some features such as versioning and COPY are not yet implemented, but some additional features are added, such as file system usage quotas.
What clients can I use with Cumulus? (#)
Cumulus is compliant with the S3 REST network API, therefore clients that work against the S3 REST API should work with Cumulus. Some of the more popular ones are boto and s3cmd. The Nimbus cloud client uses the Jets3t library to interact with Cumulus.
How are Nimbus and Cumulus related? (#)
Cumulus is the front end to the Nimbus VM image repository. In order to boot an image on a given Nimbus cloud, that image must first be put into that same clouds Cumulus repository (advanced use cases can by pass this).
Can Cumulus be installed without Nimbus? (#)
Yes. Cumulus does not rely on any higher level Nimbus libraries and thus users who wish to install it as a stand alone front end to their storage system may do so.
Can Nimbus be installed without Cumulus? (#)
No. Nimbus version 2.5 and higher is packaged with Cumulus and so Nimbus is intimately aware of Cumulus. Nimbus must be installed with the version of Cumulus with which it is packages.
Does the Nimbus IaaS system directly use Cumulus for image propagation? (#)
No. While Cumulus is the primary interface for transfer images in and out of the cloud, it is not the mechanism by which images are propagated from the repository to the virtual machine monitors. Propagation is done in a variety of different ways, many of which we are still developing and researching in order to find the best solution for scientific users.
How reliable is Cumulus? (#)
The reliability of Cumulus depends entirely on the storage system that is backing it. In order to achieve S3 levels of reliability you need S3 levels of hardware investment but with our system even small providers can still be S3 protocol compliant while making an independent choice on cost/reliability.
What type of storage system backs the Cumulus repository? (#)
In the first release of Cumulus we are only providing a posix filesystem backend storage system. However this is a very powerful plugin. It can be used against a variety of storage systems including PVFS, GFS, and HDFS (under a FUSE module). We have prototyped HDFS and BlobSeer plugins and we will be releasing them soon.
What is LANTorrent? (#)
LANTorrent is a file distribution protocol integrated into the Nimbus IaaS toolkit. It works as a means to multi-cast virtual machine images to many backend nodes. The protocol is optimized for propagating virtual machine images (typically large files) from a central repository across a LAN to many virtual machine monitor nodes.
How do I enable LANTorrent? (#)
See the document: here.
How is the software licensed? (#)
Nimbus is licensed under the terms of the Apache License version 2.


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- This event has passed.
Playdate at the Library
May 3 @ 11:00 am - 11:30 am
Children learn and grow through play! Playdate at the Library is a special time for families with young children to visit the library, grow their community, enjoy the toys, games and supplies in the children's space and connect with our Children's Services staff. We can't wait to see you! For children birth – 5 years and their caregivers.

subset: commoncrawl


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Global restaurateur HMSHost celebrated the grand opening of the very first airport location for Starbucks' latest concept, Starbucks Evenings, at Washington Dulles International Airport.
HMSHost and Starbucks opened the first airport Starbucks more than 20 years ago and have worked closely together to introduce Starbucks Evenings. Travelers in Dulles' international terminal will now be able to unwind in a welcoming and inviting atmosphere while enjoying a glass of hand-selected wine, a bottle of beer, or a cup of premium coffee or tea. The concept features a sophisticated new menu with savory bites, shareable small plates, and irresistible desserts.
"With the help of Starbucks and HMSHost, we are delighted to offer travelers at Washington Dulles International Airport an appealing and unique food and beverage option," says Chris Browne, vice president and Dulles Airport manager. "The addition of Starbucks Evenings is particularly exciting and fitting for international travelers looking to relax before or after a lengthy flight."
Starbucks Evenings seeks to create a new occasion in which groups of varying size can relax and connect while engaging in intimate conversations. The experience created by this atmosphere is an ideal way for business travelers, vacationers, and individuals alike to spend time relaxing and dining in the terminal.
"Developing Starbucks Evenings has been a great way to extend the Starbucks Experience into the evening by offering a relaxing place to unwind over a hand-crafted cappuccino or a glass of wine," says Doug Satzman, vice president, Branded Solutions, Starbucks Coffee Company. "Working with longtime partner, HMSHost, to bring the Evenings concept to the Dulles Airport has been a natural progression of our relationship, and Starbucks is excited to see the Evenings concept in an airport for the first time."
"HMSHost is very enthused to introduce the Starbucks Evenings concept and unveil it at Washington Dulles International Airport," says Michael Jones, vice president business development for HMSHost. "The new menu will appeal directly to discerning airport customers and the atmosphere will be a pleasant reprieve from the demands of international travel."
Starbucks Evenings' menu highlights include Rosemary and Brown Sugar Cashews, Crudités and Smoky Chipotle Hummus Dip, Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Balsamic Glaze, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Artichoke and Goat Cheese Flatbread, and Chocolate Fondue. The Evenings menu is available daily beginning at noon.
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.


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Note: The United States has been seeking to replace the Iranian government since it took power after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It is hard to see this new campaign of speeches and tweets being very effective. The Iranian government expects US regime change efforts and is prepared for these attacks. We have covered US efforts in previous articles.
CIA's New 'Iran Mission Center' Created For Regime Change
U.S. Attempts Violent "Regime Change" In Iran
The Regime Change Toolbox Of The United States
In Face Of US Threats, Iranians Remain Calm And Confident In Their Strength
Iran & Sanctions: A Prelude To War?
State Department Spent Over $1m In Iran To Exploit Unrest
Iran: "Their efforts will fail again"
The Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups, U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.
More than half a dozen current and former officials said the campaign, supported by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, is meant to work in concert with U.S. President Donald Trump's push to economically throttle Iran by re-imposing tough sanctions. The drive has intensified since Trump withdrew on May 8 from a 2015 seven-nation deal to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The current and former officials said the campaign paints Iranian leaders in a harsh light, at times using information that is exaggerated or contradicts other official pronouncements, including comments by previous administrations.
The White House declined comment on the campaign. The State Department also declined to comment on the campaign specifically, including on Pompeo's role.
A senior Iranian official dismissed the campaign, saying the United States had sought in vain to undermine the government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Their efforts will fail again," the official said.
A review of the State Department's Farsi-language Twitter account and its ShareAmerica website – which describes itself as a platform to spark debate on democracy and other issues – shows a number of posts critical of Tehran over the last month.
Iran is the subject of four of the top five items on the website's "Countering Violent Extremism" section. They include headlines such as "This Iranian airline helps spread violence and terror."
In social media posts and speeches, Pompeo himself also appeals directly to Iranians, the Iranian diaspora and a global audience.
On June 21, Pompeo tweeted out graphics headlined: "Protests in Iran are growing," "Iranian people deserve respect for their human rights," and "Iran's revolutionary guard gets rich while Iranian families struggle." The tweets were translated into Farsi and posted on the ShareAmerica website.
On Sunday, Pompeo will give a speech titled "Supporting Iranian Voices" in California and meet Iranian Americans, many of whom fled the Islamic Revolution that toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
"Let me be clear, we are not seeking regime change. We are seeking changes in the Iranian government's behavior," a State Department official said in response to questions from Reuters.
"We know we are driving Iran to make some hard choices. Either they can change their ways or find it increasingly difficult to engage in their malign activities," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And we believe we are offering a very positive vision for what we could achieve and what the Iranian people could have."
Some of the information the administration has disseminated is incomplete or distorted, the current and former officials said.
In a May 21 speech in Washington, Pompeo said Iranian leaders refused to spend on their people funds freed by the nuclear weapons deal, using it instead for proxy wars and corruption.
By contrast, in March testimony before a U.S. Senate committee, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency director, Robert Ashley, said social and economic expenditures remained Tehran's near-term priority despite some spending on security forces.
Pompeo also accused "Iran-sponsored Shia militia groups and terrorists" of infiltrating Iraqi security forces and jeopardizing Iraq's sovereignty throughout the period of the nuclear agreement.
While opponents accuse the Iran-backed Iraqi militias of human rights abuses against civilians, which the groups deny, the militias fought Islamic State extremists and helped keep them from overrunning Iraq in 2014 after Iraq's army collapsed. They then aided the U.S.-backed offensives that liberated ISIS-held territory and some units are being incorporated into Iraqi security forces.
The State Department official acknowledged that the militias, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, are by law part of Iraq's security forces and played a role in countering Islamic State in 2014.
We understand, however, that some of the undisciplined PMF are especially close to Iran, responsive to Iran's directives, and have a history of criminal activity and terrorism," the official said. "Those groups are as problematic for the Iraqi state as they are for us."
Experts said the administration also is exaggerating the closeness of the relationship between Iran and Afghanistan's Taliban militants and al Qaeda by calling them co-conspirators.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment about the accuracy of the information it was disseminating.
It is too early to determine the impact of the administration's communications campaign, U.S. officials said.
Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, said the strategy to economically strangle Iran and stoke public discontent with the leadership aimed to produce one of two outcomes.
"Outcome one is capitulation, forcing Iran to further curtail not only its nuclear program but also its regional ambitions," Sadjadpour said. "Outcome two is the implosion of the Islamic Republic."
But some U.S. officials and other experts cautioned that by fueling turmoil in Iran, the U.S. administration could foster greater authoritarian rule and a more aggressive foreign policy, raising the threat of a U.S.-Iran confrontation.
Washington has long called Iran the world's leading "state sponsor of terrorism" because Tehran arms and funds proxy militant groups like Lebanese Hezbollah. Iranian leaders urge the destruction of the United States and Israel, and Iranian proxies have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers and diplomats since the Islamic Revolution.
That record provided previous administrations with ample material for waging their own public relations campaigns against Tehran, including trying to communicate directly with the Iranian people.
President George W. Bush's administration established Radio Farda, a U.S.-funded broadcaster that beams into Iran what it says is "objective and accurate news and information to counter state censorship and ideology-based media coverage." The Obama administration launched a Farsi Twitter account – @USAdarFarsi – in 2011.
Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Daniel Wallis and James Dalgleish


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AgriLife Research experts: Managing grazing lands with fire improves profitability
AgriLife Research experts: Managing grazing lands with fire improves profitability
28 March 2011
published by www.eurekalert.org
USA — Texas Agrilife Research fire and brush control studies in the Rolling Plains on a working ranch-scale showed the benefits and limitations of managed fires for reducing mesquite encroachment while sustaining livestock production.
The head fire is set in a paddock as a part of a managed fire during the Waggoner Ranch study. (Texas AgriLife Research photo by Dr. Richard Teague)
Dr. Richard Teague, AgriLife Research rangeland ecology and management scientist, along with colleagues Dr. Jim Ansley, brush ecologist, and Dr. Bill Pinchak, animal nutritionist, spent more than 10 years trying to determine how effective prescribed fire could be in reducing mesquite and cactus on the Waggoner Ranch south of Vernon.
Three major conclusions of the study were: fire is effective only at low levels of mesquite encroachment; 12 percent of the unit must be burned each year; and stocking rates should be light 12 percent lower than the "moderate" Natural Resources Conservation Service level for the range type and range condition, Teague said.
To determine the potential of fire to reduce brush and prickly pear and how to manage the fire for maximum effectiveness, they looked at: effect of brush abundance on forage production and composition; how quickly the brush and cactus increased; treatment longevity; effect of grazing management on grass production and animal performance; and economic returns.
A paddock the day after the burn on the Waggoner Ranch shows the impact on mesquite and prickly pear. (Texas AgriLife Research photo by Dr. Richard Teague)
To ensure effective burns, it is necessary to have approximately 2,000 pounds of fuel per acre for each burn, Teague said. In an area where plant growth and rainfall vary each year, it's most important to choose a stocking rate that allows for sufficient buildup of fuel.
Rotational grazing systems provide sufficient grass fuel and continuity of fuel for the fire to be effective and for adequate post-fire grass recovery, he said.
With three experimental treatments and two replications covering an area of about 34,000 acres, the study was started in 1995 with Hereford cow-calf herds of the same age composition at moderate stocking rates. Treatment areas ranged from 3,000-5,000 acres and three rotational grazing systems were compared under continuous grazing.
The paddock after spring green up shows how the grass recovered. (Texas AgriLife Research photo by Dr. Richard Teague)
"Fire is by far the least expensive means of reducing brush, and it should be used whenever possible to minimize the use of more expensive treatments," Teague said. "But our study suggests that fire can be used only for maintenance of low mesquite cover."
The mesquite cover studied doubled to 40 percent coverage in seven years more than expected and resulted in a significant decrease in forage production, Teague said.
"At that rate of increase of mesquite, if a manager starts using fire at greater than 15 percent brush cover in the first area to be treated, by the time four to five years have elapsed the brush cover would have increased to 30 to 40 percent in the areas still to be burned," he said. "This is far too high for fire to be effective."
Teague said for lowest-cost brush reduction, burning must be done regularly at six to seven year intervals.
"At levels of mesquite above 15 to 20 percent, something more expensive like root-killing herbicides is needed to restore the productivity of the rangeland," he said. "Where mesquite cover is low enough to use fire effectively, the use of fire as a follow-up to herbicide treatment would be economically superior to using herbicide with no follow-up burn."
If the mesquite cover is 30 percent or higher, forage and fuel levels are reduced so fire is less effective in reducing mesquite, Teague said. Also, with this amount of mesquite, winter grass becomes more abundant than summer grass. And because winter grasses are usually green at that time, the winter fire effectiveness is further reduced.
"This can be offset partially by burning in late summer, since summer fires are more effective in reducing both mesquite and prickly pear, and in summer, the winter grasses are dry and provide excellent fuels," Teague said.
Using a rotational grazing strategy to rest areas for an entire growing season allowed the best fuel load for the precipitation received and improved the litter and grass cover, he said. This reduced soil temperature, runoff and erosion, and increased soil carbon. Post-fire deferment also is needed to ensure adequate recovery of palatable grasses and litter cover.
Ranchers know that failure to maintain low levels of mesquite populations in pastures results in decreased livestock carrying capacity and increases the dependence on more expensive restoration practices, as well as increases the ecological impact, Teague said.
"With fire being so much less expensive than alternative treatments, our economic assessments indicate that stocking rates can be lowered by 25 percent and still be economically competitive with alternative brush treatments as long as fire is used regularly," he said.


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Rose Collection
Rose Bedspread
color:blush FINAL SALE
size:SIZE : Please select a size
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- King: 120" x 118"
- Vermicelli quilting
- Polyester
- Prewashed for softness
- Machine wash cold
- Imported
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shipping & returns
Free exchanges within 60 days of purchase, excluding final sale items.
Our goal is your complete satisfaction! If we have not delighted you, all unworn, unwashed or defective merchandise may be exchanged or returned within 60 days of ship date. We are happy to process an exchange at no additional shipping expense for a new size, color, or different item. If you prefer to return, you will receive a refund of the purchase price (less shipping and prepaid return label charges). A refund or exchange will not be processed for products that do not meet exchange or refund criteria or are received after 60 days from the original ship date. Exchanges exclude items shipped directly from 3rd party brands, items purchased through Amazon or using PayPal).
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text:
Designed with younger visitors in mind, this 8,000 square foot gallery is home to a state-of-the-art multimedia, interactive experience showcasing the Arabian breed from its desert beginnings through its emergence across Europe and the journey through America.
Distinguished by the Bedouin settings, the exhibit traces, through art, film, books and interactive exhibits, the importance of the Arabian and how it has changed the world. A popular exhibit, the Black Stallion Experience, features the Arabian horse in literature and film.
The Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries at Kentucky Horse Park by EarthaCharles


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Note to Editors: Brookhaven National Laboratory collaborates with CERN, a European physics research center, on the construction of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. The following CERN press release describes a recent milestone in scientific computing related to that facility. Two U.S. laboratories were involved, Brookhaven and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. For more information on Brookhaven's role, please contact Mona S. Rowe, 631 344-5056 or email@example.com. Details on Brookhaven's participation in the Large Hadron Collider project.
LHC Computing Centres Join Forces for Global Grid Challenge
April 25, 2005
Geneva, 25 April 2005 - Today, in a significant milestone for scientific grid computing, eight major computing centres successfully completed a challenge to sustain a continuous data flow of 600 megabytes per second (MB/s) on average for 10 days from CERN in Geneva, Switzerland to seven sites in Europe and the US. The total amount of data transmitted during this challenge-500 terabytes-would take about 250 years to download using a typical 512 kilobit per second household broadband connection.
This exercise was part of a series of service challenges designed to test the global computing infrastructure for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) currently being built at CERN to study the fundamental properties of subatomic particles and forces. The service challenge participants included Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab in the US, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in Germany, CCIN2P3 in France, INFN-CNAF in Italy, SARA/NIKHEF in the Netherlands and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK.
"This service challenge is a key step on the way to managing the torrents of data anticipated from the LHC," said Jamie Shiers, manager of the service challenges at CERN. "When the LHC starts operating in 2007, it will be the most data-intensive physics instrument on the planet, producing more than 1500 megabytes of data every second for over a decade."
The goal of LHC computing is to use a world-wide grid infrastructure of computing centres to provide sufficient computational, storage and network resources to fully exploit the scientific potential of the four major LHC experiments: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. The infrastructure relies on several national and regional science grids. The service challenge used resources from the LHC Computing Grid (LCG) project, the Enabling Grids for E-SciencE (EGEE) project, Grid3/Open Science Grid (OSG), INFNGrid and GridPP.
LHC scientists designed a series of service challenges to ramp up to the level of computing capacity, reliability and ease of use that will be required by the worldwide community of over 6000 scientists working on the LHC experiments. During LHC operation, the major computing centres involved in the Grid infrastructure will collectively store the data from all four LHC experiments. Scientists working at over two hundred other computing facilities in universities and research laboratories around the globe, where much of the data analysis will be carried out, will access the data via the Grid.
Fermilab Computing Division head Vicky White welcomed the results of the service challenge.
"High energy physicists have been transmitting large amounts of data around the world for years," White said. "But this has usually been in relatively brief bursts and between two sites. Sustaining such high rates of data for days on end to multiple sites is a breakthrough, and augurs well for achieving the ultimate goals of LHC computing."
NIKHEF physicist and Grid Deployment Board chairman Kors Bos concurred.
"The challenge here is not just the inherently distributed nature of the Grid infrastructure for the LHC," Bos said, "but also the need to get large numbers of institutes and individuals, all with existing commitments, to work together on an incredibly aggressive timescale."
The current service challenge is the second in a series of four leading up to LHC operations in 2007. It exceeded expectations by sustaining roughly one-third of the ultimate data rate from the LHC, and reaching peak rates of over 800 MB/s. This success was facilitated by the underlying high-speed networks, including DFN, GARR, GEANT, ESnet, LHCnet, NetherLight, Renater, and UKLight.
The next service challenge, due to start in the summer, will extend to many other computing centres and aim at a three-month period of stable operations. That challenge will allow many of the scientists involved to test their computing models for handling and analyzing the data from the LHC experiments.
Notes to Editors:
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status.
Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security, and builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. BNL is operated and managed for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.
CCIN2P3, the Computing Center of the National Institute of nuclear physics and particle physics is located in Lyon, France. Its main mission is to provide computing resources and storage of experimental data to the physicists of the Institute involved in the major experiments of the discipline and particularly in international collaborations. In the field of grid computing, CCIN2P3 is one of the leaders of the French grid effort and is deeply involved in the main European grid projects for science.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is located in Batavia, Illinois, USA. Fermilab is operated by Universities Research Association, Inc., a consortium of 90 research universities, for the United States Department of Energy's Office of Science.
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, a member of the Helmholtz Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF), constructs and operates the GridKa computing center for the German particle physics community and is the designated German Tier 1 for the LHC.
INFN-CNAF is the National Center for Research and Development in Technology, Computer Science and Data Transmission of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), and is the major computing facility of the INFN grid infrastructure. INFN, Italy's national nuclear physics institute, supports, coordinates and carries out scientific research in sub-nuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics and is involved in developing relevant technologies and a significant outreach program.
SARA is the National Center for Computing and Networking Services and NIKHEF is the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics in the Netherlands. The two institutes have joined forces to become an important LHC data storage and analysis center. The Advanced Internet Research Group of the University of Amsterdam has strongly contributed to this Service Challenge in manpower and equipment.
The UK Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC) works with the other UK research councils to set future priorities that meet UK science needs. It also operates three world class research centres: the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire and the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire. These world-class institutions support the research community by providing access to advanced facilities and an extensive scientific and technical expertise. RAL is one of the collaborating institutions in the GridPP project, the UK's contribution to the LHC Computing Grid project.
For more information contact:
Francois Grey
Phone: +41 22 767 1483
Email: email@example.com
2005-10312 | INT/EXT | Newsroom


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Chapter 17
The hotel of the provincial town where Nikolay Levin was lying ill was one of those provincial hotels which are constructed on the newest model of modern improvements, with the best intentions of cleanliness, comfort, and even elegance, but owing to the public that patronizes them, are with astounding rapidity transformed into filthy taverns with a pretension of modern improvement that only makes them worse than the old-fashioned, honestly filthy hotels. This hotel had already reached that stage, and the soldier in a filthy uniform smoking in the entry, supposed to stand for a hall-porter, and the cast-iron, slippery, dark, and disagreeable staircase, and the free and easy waiter in a filthy frock coat, and the common dining room with a dusty bouquet of wax flowers adorning the table, and filth, dust, and disorder everywhere, and at the same time the sort of modern up-to-date self-complacent railway uneasiness of this hotel, aroused a most painful feeling in Levin after their fresh young life, especially because the impression of falsity made by the hotel was so out of keeping with what awaited them.
As is invariably the case, after they had been asked at what price they wanted rooms, it appeared that there was not one decent room for them; one decent room had been taken by the inspector of railroads, another by a lawyer from Moscow, a third by Princess Astafieva from the country. There remained only one filthy room, next to which they promised that another should be empty by the evening. Feeling angry with his wife because what he had expected had come to pass, which was that at the moment of arrival, when his heart throbbed with emotion and anxiety to know how his brother was getting on, he should have to be seeing after her, instead of rushing straight to his brother, Levin conducted her to the room assigned them.
"Go, do go!" she said, looking at him with timid and guilty eyes.
He went out of the door without a word, and at once stumbled over Marya Nikolaevna, who had heard of his arrival and had not dared to go in to see him. She was just the same as when he saw her in Moscow; the same woolen gown, and bare arms and neck, and the same good-naturedly stupid, pockmarked face, only a little plumper.
"Well, how is he? how is he?"
"Very bad. He can't get up. He has kept expecting you. He.... Are you...with your wife?"
Levin did not for the first moment understand what it was confused her, but she immediately enlightened him.
"I'll go away. I'll go down to the kitchen," she brought out. "Nikolay Dmitrievitch will be delighted. He heard about it, and knows your lady, and remembers her abroad."
Levin realized that she meant his wife, and did not know what answer to make.
"Come along, come along to him!" he said.
But as soon as he moved, the door of his room opened and Kitty peeped out. Levin crimsoned both from shame and anger with his wife, who had put herself and him in such a difficult position; but Marya Nikolaevna crimsoned still more. She positively shrank together and flushed to the point of tears, and clutching the ends of her apron in both hands, twisted them in her red fingers without knowing what to say and what to do.
For the first instant Levin saw an expression of eager curiosity in the eyes with which Kitty looked at this awful woman, so incomprehensible to her; but it lasted only a single instant.
"Well! how is he?" she turned to her husband and then to her.
"But one can't go on talking in the passage like this!" Levin said, looking angrily at a gentleman who walked jauntily at that instant across the corridor, as though about his affairs.
"Well then, come in," said Kitty, turning to Marya Nikolaevna, who had recovered herself, but noticing her husband's face of dismay, "or go on; go, and then come for me," she said, and went back into the room.
Levin went to his brother's room. He had not in the least expected what he saw and felt in his brother's room. He had expected to find him in the same state of self-deception which he had heard was so frequent with the consumptive, and which had struck him so much during his brother's visit in the autumn. He had expected to find the physical signs of the approach of death more marked--greater weakness, greater emaciation, but still almost the same condition of things. He had expected himself to feel the same distress at the loss of the brother he loved and the same horror in face of death as he had felt then, only in a greater degree. And he had prepared himself for this; but he found something utterly different.
In a little dirty room with the painted panels of its walls filthy with spittle, and conversation audible through the thin partition from the next room, in a stifling atmosphere saturated with impurities, on a bedstead moved away from the wall, there lay covered with a quilt, a body. One arm of this body was above the quilt, and the wrist, huge as a rake-handle, was attached, inconceivably it seemed, to the thin, long bone of the arm smooth from the beginning to the middle. The head lay sideways on the pillow. Levin could see the scanty locks wet with sweat on the temples and tense, transparent-looking forehead.
"It cannot be that that fearful body was my brother Nikolay?" thought Levin. But he went closer, saw the face, and doubt became impossible. In spite of the terrible change in the face, Levin had only to glance at those eager eyes raised at his approach, only to catch the faint movement of the mouth under the sticky mustache, to realize the terrible truth that this death-like body was his living brother.
The glittering eyes looked sternly and reproachfully at his brother as he drew near. And immediately this glance established a living relationship between living men. Levin immediately felt the reproach in the eyes fixed on him, and felt remorse at his own happiness.
When Konstantin took him by the hand, Nikolay smiled. The smile was faint, scarcely perceptible, and in spite of the smile the stern expression of the eyes was unchanged.
"You did not expect to find me like this," he articulated with effort.
"Yes...no," said Levin, hesitating over his words. "How was it you didn't let me know before, that is, at the time of my wedding? I made inquiries in all directions."
He had to talk so as not to be silent, and he did not know what to say, especially as his brother made no reply, and simply stared without dropping his eyes, and evidently penetrated to the inner meaning of each word. Levin told his brother that his wife had come with him. Nikolay expressed pleasure, but said he was afraid of frightening her by his condition. A silence followed. Suddenly Nikolay stirred, and began to say something. Levin expected something of peculiar gravity and importance from the expression of his face, but Nikolay began speaking of his health. He found fault with the doctor, regretting he had not a celebrated Moscow doctor. Levin saw that he still hoped.
Seizing the first moment of silence, Levin got up, anxious to escape, if only for an instant, from his agonizing emotion, and said that he would go and fetch his wife.
"Very well, and I'll tell her to tidy up here. It's dirty and stinking here, I expect. Marya! clear up the room," the sick man said with effort. "Oh, and when you've cleared up, go away yourself," he added, looking inquiringly at his brother.
Levin made no answer. Going out into the corridor, he stopped short. He had said he would fetch his wife, but now, taking stock of the emotion he was feeling, he decided that he would try on the contrary to persuade her not to go in to the sick man. "Why should she suffer as I am suffering?" he thought.
"Well, how is he?" Kitty asked with a frightened face.
"Oh, it's awful, it's awful! What did you come for?" said Levin.
Kitty was silent for a few seconds, looking timidly and ruefully at her husband; then she went up and took him by the elbow with both hands.
"Kostya! take me to him; it will be easier for us to bear it together. You only take me, take me to him, please, and go away," she said. "You must understand that for me to see you, and not to see him, is far more painful. There I might be a help to you and to him. Please, let me!" she besought her husband, as though the happiness of her life depended on it.
Levin was obliged to agree, and regaining his composure, and completely forgetting about Marya Nikolaevna by now, he went again in to his brother with Kitty.
Stepping lightly, and continually glancing at her husband, showing him a valorous and sympathetic face, Kitty went into the sick-room, and, turning without haste, noiselessly closed the door. With inaudible steps she went quickly to the sick man's bedside, and going up so that he had not to turn his head, she immediately clasped in her fresh young hand the skeleton of his huge hand, pressed it, and began speaking with that soft eagerness, sympathetic and not jarring, which is peculiar to women.
"We have met, though we were not acquainted, at Soden," she said. "You never thought I was to be your sister?"
"You would not have recognized me?" he said, with a radiant smile at her entrance.
"Yes, I should. What a good thing you let us know! Not a day has passed that Kostya has not mentioned you, and been anxious."
But the sick man's interest did not last long.
Before she had finished speaking, there had come back into his face the stern, reproachful expression of the dying man's envy of the living.
"I am afraid you are not quite comfortable here," she said, turning away from his fixed stare, and looking about the room. "We must ask about another room," she said to her husband, "so that we might be nearer."
We care about eBooks because we care about the environment.
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Charges of meddling at FWS lead to expanded lynx habitat
The Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a revised critical habitat designation for the Canada lynx that marks a twentyfold expansion over a Bush-era designation tainted by political meddling.
The service set aside 39,000 square miles of forest in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. The decision reverses a 2006 designation that enraged environmentalists by declaring 1,841 square miles of habitat for the lynx.
In 2007, FWS agreed to revisit the designation after it was determined that Julie MacDonald -- President George W. Bush's appointee as the Interior Department's deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service -- had pressured federal biologists to reach industry-friendly conclusions.
Critical habitat designations prohibit actions that would diminish the land's capacity to support their resident threatened or endangered species and are the chief implementation instrument of the Endangered Species Act, and logging is listed as the most threatening human activity throughout much of the lynx's habitat.
The new designation is unlikely to affect timber management, though, said Shawn Sartorius, FWS's lead biologist for the species. "Because their critical habitat units are so large, it's pretty tough to imagine a project that would preclude [lynx] recovery within a unit," he said, adding that the Forest Service had amended its plans to preclude such projects.
After a decade of lobbying and litigating, environmental groups celebrated the announcement, albeit with reservations.
Critical habitat was limited to lands that lynx currently occupy or have occupied in the recent past. Noah Greenwald, biodiversity program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, called such logic a holdover from MacDonald and said that, in order to recover, the cats needed to be able to expand into parts of their historical range that they no longer occupy.
"Those additional areas would have been great to see, but overall, we're very pleased," Greenwald said. "It's a vast improvement."
Conservation groups were also hoping to see critical habitat designated in sections of Colorado's southern Rockies, where state wildlife officials have been reintroducing lynx since 1999 after the local population went extinct in the 1970s. FWS officials say they are not sure the state's habitat can support a lynx population, and without that knowledge, it would be premature to designate the area as critical habitat.
The Canada lynx was listed as "threatened" on the endangered species list in 2000 following a lawsuit from environmental groups. Because the reclusive cats depend on large, contiguous tracts of boreal forests to survive, their population has plummeted as timber harvests and development have destroyed or disconnected the forests. An estimated 1,000 lynx remain in the wild, according to FWS estimates.
Canada lynx range from 30 to 35 inches in length and weigh between 18 and 23 pounds. The cat is distinguished by its pointy ears and its broad paws and long legs that allow it to stay above snow drifts while hunting snowshoe hares.
Copyright 2009 E&E Publishing.
|Photo © Paul S. Hamilton


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Building on elements of the first game, Q-Games brings corrosive acid and creative lighting tricks to bear in PixelJunk Shooter 2.
Shooter 2, the first true sequel in Q-Games' PixelJunk series, picks up where the first game left off, plunging the player into the belly of the beast, which is incidentally the name of the first level I played through at Sony's E3 2010 booth.
New game mechanics surface immediately as I find my ship inside the digestive tract of the giant beast that swallowed me whole at the end of the original game. Corrosive acid pours from various orifices and pools in the valleys of the creature's innards, its touch slowly eating away at my ship's armor until washed away with soothing water.
The goal remains the same here: Rescue the trapped scientist by any means necessary. Enemies pop out of the walls, firing projectiles I dodge with varying degrees of success. Unlike water, which allowed shots to pass through, the acid dissolves my bullets, so shooting through it is out of the question.
Furthering my troubles is the fact that shooting the creatures insides causes more acid to ooze forth, making shooting more dangerous than ever.
While water washes the acid from my ship, it doesn't remove it from play on contact, as it did with lava in the first game. Instead, when water and acid mix, they form a slippery gas that fills the area. When your ship hits the gas it becomes nearly impossible to steer. In order to navigate, I must use the ship's grapple to hook myself onto small, circular nodules, spinning around them and releasing like a slingshot in the direction I want to move. It takes a little getting used to, but soon I find myself making it through the final exit, with most of the scientists safely onboard.
I don't fare quite as well in the second level I played.
Light is another element added in PixelJunk Shooter 2, and it doesn't play nice.
The area I find myself in next is comprised of light areas and dark areas. I'm safe enough in the light, able to rescue scientists normally, but in the darkness I can't grapple them, no matter how hard I try.
To make matters worse, motes of shadow gather as I traverse the darkness. If I spend too much time without light, those shadows converge on my ship, destroying it instantly.
My first weapon in the fight against darkness turns out to be a timed switch that inverts light and dark areas, allowing me to pick up stranded scientists previously lost in the inky blackness.
Soon I find a ball of light, growing out of one of the area's walls. Latching on I carry it with me, illuminating the passageways, though each time it hits a wall pieces fall off, leaving it dimmer and dimmer.
I carry the light ball to some scientists and pick them up, but once I drop the ball I can't grab it again. As the Sony rep urges me on I make a mad dash for the light, but the shadows converge, and my ship explodes.
After thoroughly enjoying the first game and tasting what the next has to offer, I'm eagerly awaiting the fall release of PixelJunk Shooter 2. I just hope I can keep a handle on my fear of the dark long enough to finish it.


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TORONTO (AP) — Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plunged nearly 30 percent Friday after the company posted a loss and warned of future losses despite releasing its make-or-break new smartphones this year.
RIM also announced that it will stop developing new versions of its slow-selling tablet computer called the Playbook.
Analysts were looking for insight into how phones running RIM's new Blackberry 10 operating system are selling. It wasn't good.
RIM said it sold 6.8 million phones overall versus 7.8 million last year. That includes older models. In wasn't until well into a conference call with analysts that RIM announced that 2.7 million of the devices sold in the quarter were Blackberry 10 models.
RIM's Blackberry 10 operating system is critical to the company's comeback. New phones running the BlackBerry 10 software began selling around the world this year. The BlackBerry Z10, a touchscreen model and the Q10, which sports a keyboard, have received positive reviews, but there was a delay in getting them to market in the U.S.
The first quarter, however, included a substantial period of sales of the Z10 phone in the U.S. It didn't include sales numbers for the Q10 in the U.S. The Q10 just went on sale in the U.S. earlier this month.
Sales results and RIM's projections, however, signal that the new BlackBerry 10 phones are not selling well. The company said it anticipates it will generate an operating loss in the second quarter, too.
Mike Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, said it's clear the new operating system has not turned the company around.
"With Z10, Q10, and Q5 all shipping in the August quarter and BlackBerry still guiding to a loss we believe that is strong evidence BB10 has not turned around BlackBerry in an extremely competitive smartphone market," Walkley said.
Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said on a conference call with analysts that the "transition takes time" and noted things are better compared to last year when "we were told the company was finished."
Shares of Research in Motion Ltd. dropped $4.02, or 28 percent, to close at $10.46 Friday.
The BlackBerry, introduced in 1999, was once the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people. But it lost its cachet not long after Apple released the first iPhone in 2007. Apple's device reset expectations for what a smartphone can do. RIM promised to catch up while developing new a software system called BlackBerry 10, which uses technology it got through its 2010 purchase of QNX Software Systems. But the company took more than two years to unveil new phones that were redesigned for the multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers now demand. During that time, RIM cut more than 5,000 jobs and saw shareholder wealth of more than $70 billion vanish.
The Canadian company said it lost $84 million, or 16 cents a share, in the three months ended June 1 on revenue of $3.1 billion. It lost $518 million, or 99 cents per share, on revenue of $2.8 billion a year ago.
Analysts expected RIM to earn 5 cents a share on revenue of $3.37 billion.
The number of BlackBerry users in the world also fell by four million to 72 million. RIM also said it anticipates it will generate an operating loss in the second quarter. Heins noted the highly competitive smartphone market makes it difficult to estimate revenue and levels of profitability.
Heins also announced on the call that he has halted further development of RIM's failed tablet offering, the Playbook. The Playbook has not sold well.
"Our teams have spent a great deal of time and energy looking at solutions that could move the BlackBerry 10 experience to Playbook, but unfortunately I am not satisfied with the level of performance and user experience and I made the difficult decision to stop these efforts and focus on our core hardware portfolio," Heins said.
Heins said they'll continue to support the PlayBook on the existing software platforms and configurations. Asked if RIM will continue to make the Playbook, a RIM spokeswoman said the company is evaluating its hardware strategy.
Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners, said said it's tough for RIM because it's hard to make money on handsets now.
"There are a lot of people that haven't been able to make it happen. For all the talk about Apple and Samsung, there are companies like Nokia and HTC," Gillis said.
Gillis said things look bleaker for the company and it's going to continue to be a struggle.
Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek said the high end global smartphone market is saturated and brutally competitive.
"Everybody is coming to this reality. You talk to HTC, Samsung and even Apple, the high end is saturated. That's a fact," Misek said. "Anybody in the high end who wants a smartphone in the world has one, so you have to knock somebody away from another platform. That is a brutal, brutal market."
RIM has unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets, but hasn't said if the device will be available in North America.
Misek was expecting the company to sell 4 million BlackBerry 10 phones. He said the sale of 2.7 million new BlackBerry 10 phones was the most disappointing news Friday.


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Ladies, we know that we are capable of doing anything. We are the masters of multi-tasking; devoted wives and mothers, working both inside and outside of the home. So why are there still some tasks that seem to send us irrationally into panic mode? Certain "maintenance" type tasks were gender specific in the past, but by 2014 a lot of the stereotypes have broken down.
Let's take changing your refrigerator filter as an example. Most of us rely on our husbands to handle this, because frankly, we are not sure what, how or when to do it ourselves! So I have complied a simple "How to Change Your Refrigerator Filter" instruction that will allow you to add this to your ever expanding skill set.
- Know when to change the filter. Most need replaced every 6 – 12 months depending on the use frequency. If you have a larger family that uses a lot of water, it might not last as long. Your water and/ or ice may start to taste funny or different. A lot of refrigerators will display an indicator light when it is time for a change.
- Determine which type of filter you have:
- Push-in filters are built into the appliance. They fit into a compartment within the refrigerator usually on the front bottom, behind the grille, or within the upper right interior and are generally easy to install.
- Twist-in filters are just that. Usually found in the upper right interior, they will either have a push button release, or simple twist release.
- Inline filters attach at the back of the refrigerator to the incoming water line. These are generally going to be found on older models that do not come with a built-in filter.
**One important note; before you discard your old filter, make sure to note the make/ model number so that you can obtain the proper replacement filter. **
Once you determine the filter type/location, follow these basic steps to replace it:
Push-in filter:
- Remove and discard the old filter by pushing the "eject" button or by twisting off the filter cap.
- Remove the filter cap on the end of the filter to reuse on the new filter.
- Line up the arrows on the new filter and on the filter cap. Snap it into place by turning it clockwise.
- Continue pushing the filter in, until the eject button pops.
- Make sure the cap is secure.
- Reset Refrigerator Water Filter indicator light if equipped.
Twist-in (base grille) filter:
- Locate the filter cap in the base grille; turn to the left to remove.
- Slide the filter handle on the end of the filter to reuse on the new filter.
- Discard old filter.
- After removing new filter from packaging, replace filter handle and insert by twisting into place.
- Reset Refrigerator Water Filter indicator light if equipped.
Twist –in (interior) filter:
- Filter is located in the upper right interior of refrigerator.
- Open cover by either pushing or pulling.
- Release old filter by twisting counterclockwise.
- Insert new filter and lock into place by turning clockwise until it snaps.
- Reset Refrigerator Water Filter indicator light if equipped.
In-line filter:
- Turn off cold water supply.
- Between the shut-off valve and refrigerator, locate an easily accessible portion of tubing. Cut tubing, by using tubing cutters for copper/plastic. Cut square not angled to avoid leaks. Smooth cut edges with steel wool or file if necessary.
- Remove end cap on new filter and insert tubing. Lock into place by holding down end cap.
- Turn water supply back on.
- Hold filter over a bucket and run water until clear. Do this for both ends of the filter.
- Make sure to check for leaks
After replacing your refrigerator filter, make sure to run a gallon or two of water and discard. This will flush the carbon residue from the filter. And that's it… mission accomplished!
If you need any advice on what kind of filter you have, part number or even installation assistance, you can contact Filters Fast, the experts in the air and water filtration industry.
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• meadow •
med-o • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A flat plot of land covered with grass, usually set aside for grazing cattle or mown for its hay.
Notes: Today's Good Word is an authentic English word—not borrowed from any other. It is also a very beautiful one that might well have been included in The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English. It is so beautiful that it has been adopted as a family name, Meadows, as in Audrey Meadows, the actress. It comes with several derivatives, including meadowy "like a meadow, having meadows" and meadowless "without a meadow". Meadowage is rarely used but may refer to the amount of meadowland someone owns or the rent paid by someone else to use it.
In Play: Without trees or shrubbery, meadows are likely to attract wildflowers: "Charlotte Russe loves nothing better than a picnic in a flowery meadow on a balmy summer day." Just be careful, Charlotte, various types of livestock often consider meadows their property. That is because meadows are often used for pastures: "The Alpine valley was patched with meadows dotted with half-dozing cows grazing lazily."
Word History: Today's Good Word is an extension of mead "meadow". In Proto-Germanic it was probably mædwon, for we find it as Dutch made and German Matte. It is related to Old English mæð "crop, harvest", derived from mawen "to mow". This word comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, me-/mo- "mow", which not only turns up in related languages like Dutch maaien and German mähen "to mow," but in other Indo-European languages as well, such as Latin metere (still mietere today in Italian) and Welsh medi. (We can only wish Claudia Riiff Finseth a meadowy picnic in gratitude for reminding us of this very beautiful Good Word.)
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text: COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Warm April weather is nothing new in Sri Lanka. Over generations, Sri Lankans have become accustomed to temperatures of up to 34 degrees Celsius during this month, when the sun moves directly overhead. They also know from experience that the baking heat will soon be eased by the arrival of the monsoon in May. But this once-predictable cycle is changing. Weather experts, government officials, farmers and ordinary people seem unsure as to what the monsoon season is likely to bring this year. http://www.trust.org/item/20140424080217-ofdz5/?source=hptop


text:
We are all about Tutu's. Here you will find everything you want to know about tutu's...
We know that tutus have been around since the early 1700's.
The first tutu is said to have been merely a skirt cut to just above the ankles to reveal the feet.
As ballet became more and more popular more types of tutus emerged:
Classical Pancake Tutu:
This is a short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting that extends outwards and from the hips. It has a fitted bodice. This style has more layers of net and a wire hoop; hand tacking is used to keep the layers flat and stiff.
Classical Bell Tutu:
It is a short stiff skirt made with layers of netting in a bell shape and fitted bodice. It extends down the hips and does not have a wired hoop.
It is usually longer than a Classical Pancake Tutu. The famous painter
loved painting them.
Romantic Tutu:
It's a three quarter length bell shaped skirt made of tulle with a fitted bodice. Some designs also include sleeves. The hemline falls between the knee and the ankle.
This Romantic Tutu flows free and emphasizes the ethereal beauty of the romantic ballets such as
Les Sylphides
. It became popular by the famous virtuoso Swedish ballerina
Marie Taglioni
. In 1800s Taglioni became known as the first ballerina to dance "en pointe" (on her tip-toes in ballet slippers).
Balanchine or Karinska Tutu:
This tutu is also known as the "
powder puff
" and although similar to the bell and pancake tutus, it has no hoops. And there are fewer layers of netting.
This design was especially designed for the ballet version of Georges Bizet's Symphony in C and has become an icon. Barbara Karinska was a well known Russian dressmaker and fabric artist who designed the first "powder tutu" in 1950. She also created the knee � length chiffon ballet dress which became the standard design for ballet costumes. All her tutus were famous for their spectacular embroidery and designs.
What is your Tutu like?
Send us your digital photos
, and we'll showcase your work in our Photo Gallery with a link to your company Web site.


text:
We're pleased to announce our 18th Skirmish tournament!
Skirmishes will occur on a weekly basis and be a bit more light-hearted than our current tournament lineup. Including everything from tier 1 tournaments to tank vs tank faceoffs, the format will be different every week! so be sure to read it carefully every week for changes.
Here are the rules for this week's Skirmish:
With maximum number of 7 players per battle, a team must field a selection of tanks based on the below tier limits.
Teams are also limited to a maximum total of 42 tier points.
The winner of each round will be determined as the first to 3 victories on a given map.
Each battle will last 15 minutes.
The Encounter battle mode will be used for this tournament.
Note that only 64 teams will be allowed to participate. Teams will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis, see Registration for details.
The full schedule will be provided at the close of registration, once the final team count has been determined. Rounds will begin at 7:30PM PDT (10:30PM EST, 2:30AM UTC the following day) each scheduled day. Curious what time this is in your region? Use this handy Time Zone Converter to help you out!
There will be a 2 minute break in between rounds.
Each battle will last 15 minutes.
The following prizes will be provided to each member of the respective team, including reserves.
There will only be one map used during Skirmish XVIII. The map will be Malinovka.