text:
Bob Gillespie's New Mexico Report
Brief Report on New Mexico Visit by Bob Gillespie 2/19-21/2007[edit]
Draft 3/6/07
The two and a half-day visit to New Mexico included interviews with rural librarians, with the state librarian, with one of the members of the legislature who introduced a bill providing rural library support through the State Librarian, Others included a representative of the Wire New Mexico project to build a large state network infrastructure that would connect to the New Mexico LambdaRail network. We also met with the Governor's Science advisor who has been active in the effort to find resources to complete the investment for economic development in New Mexico LambdaRail.
The New Mexico LambdaRail is connected to the National LambdaRail network providing bandwidth speeds (up to thirty Gigabits per second and access to national and international research performed at Federal Laboratories and universities across the world). This network has emerged as an alternative to the Internet 2 initiative and the Abeline network. The availability of dark fiber (unused fiber laid by communication companies) has provided the opportunity for purchasing long term rights of use of the fiber at relatively low cost. This, combined with the technology advances that allow optical switching at high speeds over multiple light wave lengths, is driving the development of the national and international infrastructure. The National LambdaRail network has no Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) restricting applications allowing the flexibility to connect state and local users even if they are not performing research and education on the network. In March the two Boards agreed to develop a joint plan for merger with the new organization to be named Internet2-National LambdaRail.
In New Mexico there are a series of programs at the development of the information infrastructure:
1) Establishing the not-for-profit corporation responsible for the connecting New Mexico Lambda Rail to the National LambdaRail network. Currently the New Mexico Lambda Net is lit and functioning and work is proceeding on the implementation of the necessary additional networks feeding it as well as a detailed business plan;
2) Implementing Wire New Mexico by putting Statewide Fiber Backbones and Metropolitan Area Networks (Sandoval County) to connect to the New Mexico Lambda Net and provide "off-ramps" to connect state departments, educational institutions, and other users including libraries in rural and metropolitan areas.
3) Legislative actions to fund programs including establishing revolving funds for increasing rural libraries access, stimulating access to programs for rural health care, and funding an Internet to the Hogans program. Another project is a Supercomputer initiative to support research and economic development in cooperation with the universities and Federal laboratories.
There are many parties involved in interventions, not just the librarians at the target libraries. Those parties involved include:
• The public librarians and their related Professional organizations;
• The Boards or organizations responsible for budget and governance of the public libraries:
• The State librarians;
• The service providers including local ISP and/or Municipal networks;
• Communications companies working to provide "last mile" connections;
• The State network;
• The National network (LambdaRail or Internet2);
• Discipline applications provided to address health care, public safety, homeland security, training;
• Professional groups or organizations.
• As hoc or other groups formed by the librarians to highlight these issues and benefit from exchanging with others, statewide or national
Discussion during the interviews allowed explorations of some potential interventions including:
1) Programs that would be long lasting initiatives----starting organizations to support web sites, training programs that could take advantage of the current Gates Foundation programs such as the WebJunction support. Annual conferences, to exchange ideas and collaborate and "circuit riders" were included.
2) Identify major projects to track the impact of the interventions and also to prepare material that would be of help such as models for statewide programs, model legislation and state committees and commissions;
3) Funding planning activities jointly with the state networking offices to strengthen the quality of planning;
4) Determining if there are any suitable options that the national networks, LambdaRail or Internet2, could support on a national level that would address library connectivity issues effectively
Table of Contents[edit]
|Table of Contents
|Interviews and Meetings
|Models of Intervention
|Options for Recommendations
|NM Public Libraries---Reported Internet Speed
|Very rough sketch of some of the costs and fees
|Implementation Schedule for Wire New Mexico
|Wire New Mexico Objectives
|New Mexico LambdaRail Board
|Affiliate users for NMLR
|Sandoval County Plans for Wi-Fi
1. Purpose[edit]
The purpose of the visit was to follow-up the brief presentation made by Richard Akeroyd, State Librarian for New Mexico at a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation meeting several months ago attended by Rick Weingarten. The presentation highlighted the beginning stages of library connectivity efforts in a state making major investments in the network infrastructure.
Richard had been Library Programs Director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was quite familiar with the issues dealing with connectivity. Richard was the key contact at New Mexico, organized the visit itinerary and participated in each of the interviews.
Rick asked Bob Gillespie, who has been a consultant on Technology and Network Policy for the ALA and OITP. Bob's background included the computing industry as Director of Software Research for Control Data Corporation----software architecture for supercomputers and early timesharing and network development efforts. He also was Vice Provost for Computing at the University of Washington and a member of the Computer Science Department.. He was the Council President for EDUCOM and also supported the efforts to speed the development of the NSFnet through support from NTTF (Network and Telecommunications Task Force) of EDUCAUSE where he helped guide their efforts in supporting Congressional bills including the High Performance Computing and Networking efforts. He was a principal investigator for a number of NSF supported grants aimed at exploring the creation of a national research and education network as his report on The Accidental Revolution: Computing and Higher Education. He was President of NorthWestNet (a six state regional network). He also has been a consultant to ALA and OITP on policy issues of technology, networks and libraries and was a principal investigator on a NSF grant which resulted in a booklet in 1995 entitled "A Director's Checklist for Connecting Public Libraries to the Internet."
The visit objective was to review the state networking situation in New Mexico, the status of the network, the organization, budget and planning structure and the opportunities provided to the public libraries. He reviewed material dealing with LambdaRail and I2 and the current overlap between the organizations as part of the preparation for the visit.
2. Interviews and meetings[edit]
The interviews were held starting on Monday, February 19th and finished Wednesday, February 21st. Richard Akeroyd(New Mexico State Librarian) was present at each of the interviews. Richard reports to an assistant secretary of the Cultural Affairs Department and has the opportunity to submit bond issues for funding for the public libraries in the state as well as require annual reports from the libraries. He has been very active in identifying the needs of public libraries and winning funds for a variety of state library programs which include support for underserved rural areas.
2.1 Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones discussed
• The general management structure of the various state network programs. Richard had helped establish the Tribal Libraries Program and the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation Public Access Computer Hardware Up-Grade Program provided funds for equipment replacement and addition. The "Wire New Mexico" program is an ambitious long term effort to provide a state infrastructure for connecting among departments, universities and municipalities. The Tribal Libraries program has also received money ($270,000 year) from the State Legislature that has supported a Tribal Libraries Leadership Institute and a website the allows the New Mexico's Native American communities to tell their stories. The funds also support consultants and also to provide an Internet to the Hogans program that provides timely Internet access to issues of concern to the Indian communities.
• H.B. 655 which was introduced by Representative Arnold-Jones in the New Mexico House during the current session of the legislature. The bill was aimed at supporting rural library development by providing a non-reverting fund under the guidance of the Library Division of the Cultural Affairs Department that could be used to support ties to New Mexico LambdaRail and other networks as well as staff support for professional development, training, etc. The current Bill appropriates $2,000,000 to the fund.
• Current estimates for the cost of the National LambdaRail membership include
A)$1 million/year for "operating" costs which provides an access point and
a contribution (over time) and B) $5 million for capital costs). This does not include
other connection points at $50 thousand/year for a 1 gigabit access point (which is expected to be shared among a number of organizations) or many of the other costs for support of the backbone network. The New Mexico Lambda Rail project is organized as a not-for -profit corporation guided by a Board made up of members of the universities communities as well as representatives drawn from the New Mexico government. It will provide access to state organizations, universities, other agencies where there are some limits to use in an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for use by non state or university research users which will be guided by the New Mexico LambdaRail Board. Critical issues ahead include establishing a business and operations plan and service prices that will break even within a few years while building out the connections needed in the underserved areas of the state.
2.2 Geri Hutchins and Patricia Moore from the New Mexico State Library provided an overview of State Library Programs, New Mexico Libraries and the status of the library connectivity.
• Geri Hutchins presented us with a very complete spreadsheet of the NM Public Libraries showing the 89 libraries, number of each of the public access computers, current Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well as types of service, speed, whether they have a web site and other information. The spreadsheet provides a solid base for forecasting some of the requirements and cost estimates for improving connectivity and its summary table is below:
Table 1 NM Public Libraries---Reported Internet Speed
|Number of Libraries
|% of Libraries
|768K or higher
|Below 128K
|Not reported
There are a significant number of areas in the state, especially at some of the reservations, that have no communications access---no wireless, no telephone. The state planning currently for Wire New Mexico is addressing the basic infrastructure but it will not necessarily meet all the needs. Thus much planning effort (and funding) will be required to wire the population.
They felt that the public library planning problems will be significant (identifying the needs, estimating the use and other issues dealing with selecting equipment and software) and felt that resources and training should be available to the libraries to ensure good planning and also to make sure that a good case was presented for funding.
2.3 Maile Pickett, Embudo Library and RAIL Network for a discussion of small library connectivity issues and challenges.
Maile described the constraints on a small library non-profit (501c(3)) that is funded privately. Also, there are legal issues that restrict the ability of state agencies to fund other entities even if they are performing services that are in the state's interest.
The three libraries have reached the status of full public libraries by undergoing a 3-year period of development that was fostered and directed by the State Library Guidelines. She noted that the Embudo Valley library has three part-time staff (total .75 FTE) and that it serves the Valley of about 8,500 people in a series of unincorporated mountain villages. The collection has about 12,000 items with a large children and teens section as well as an extensive South West collection. There is Wi-Fi access to the internet through a DSL connection and three public access computers. They have a Family Literacy program that has been operating for the last five years. They have banded together with two other rural libraries for an informal cooperative approach with---RAIL (Rio Arriba Independent Libraries).
Her primary focus is fund raising from grants and local support. While interested in the long range plans for infrastructure her priority was finding funding for one full time librarian. Currently the public access computers are heavily used for access to job opportunities, writing résumés, reading government documents, etc. She felt that the applications of interest would be include health care and access to training (especially training to use the computers).
They have not been able to update their library catalog for six years (not enough people time), the space is completely full and all resources at the limits.
2.4 John Martinez, General Services Administration to discuss Wire New Mexico Program
John reviewed the scope of the Wire New Mexico program---aimed at building the state infrastructure for communications as a blend of high bandwidth fiber allowing connections to LambdaRail, microwave towers, local Wi-Fi and municipal access. The state will be supporting necessary state services, universities, public education and others. He asked for a copy of the chart prepared by the State Librarian staff members to use in further studies of connections through Wire New Mexico. The telephone and communications companies will be playing a significant role in laying fiber and last mile activities but will not be delivering the services represented by LambdaRail. A variety of sticky problems (such as setting rates of recovery for cost of access) are being addressed. The scale of the project is large and there are many agencies involved. The coordination is guided through the State CIO office. They have been fully involved in the planning for connection to LambdaRail.
2.5 Cynthia Crispman (Tribal librarian, Santa Domingo) for discussion of tribal library connectivity issues and challenges. There are about 2,500 people in the city of San Domingo. They have 11 public access computers. They are in Sandoval County which has a major thrust to provide Wi-Fi access throughout the county (see the endnote for a web site and description of the ambitious project). (She felt money that could be used hire staff to work on planning was quite important. Templates and guides for analysis of telecommunications needs were would also ease the problem of planning for additional connectivity.
2.6 UNM with Moira Gerity, IT Director; Gary Bauerschmidt, Associate IT Director; and Louella Phillips and Cris Landsgraf, IT staff, for discussion of their work establishing a GigaPop (ABQ-G) to provide an aggregation for various state networks and on-ramps to the National Lambda Rail.
Moira Gerity described their current focus now that LambdaRail was lit. The plan states that the vision of NMRL is:
"To make the state of New Mexico a model of state-of-the-art high-speed network capable of supporting advanced research, technology development, and educational objectives."
One currently critical task was the development of a business plan for (I received a copy of the current draft plan "New Mexico National Lambda Rail Draft Business Plan revised November, 2006)) which makes the assumptions that NMLR will:
1) have as its primary mission to develop and maintain an interchange point for high speed networks within New Mexico;
2) begin operations prior to year end 2006;
3) be financially self-sustaining from generated revenues by 2009.
The services were categorized as:
Chart 1 NMLR Affiliate segmentation
(chart supposed to be here)
We observed that we did not notice a specific provision for libraries and described why we expected that that should be addressed. For instance we noted the e-government (including FEMA and Homeland Security) services provided through public libraries were extensive and forecast to be even more significant. Also the potential legislation establishing rural library network services would address a significantly underserved population as Wire New Mexico extended telecommunications services throughout the state. There was a close link with medical services and we noted the recent action of the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its rural health care initiative to allow providers to receive up to 85% of the costs of connecting to National LambdaRail.
Another point cited was bill for the "Internet to the Hogans" (SB 1139 ) which sets up a revolving fund for connections to the internet to the 52 Navajo chapter houses, schools, libraries and rural hospitals.
It was clear that the management and complete costing of linking groups to NMLR were at the early stages. Some of the fees were estimated::
Table 2 Very rough sketch of some of the costs and fees
|$1 Million
|$5 Million
|Labs to small cities
|$75 thousand to $1,500
|Any affiliate
|$10,000 to $350,000+
|Connectors (aggregate demand)
|$10,000 to $350,000+
|Connection fees, last mile, network management, other services
One of the problems that not for profit organizations face is raising capital to use in two frequent issues: 1) to replace equipment with new technology and 2) to develop new and competitive services. As normally these organizations are not able to take out loans and often they depend on federal or state organizations for their capital. It will be quite important that the planning for the operation of the NMLR continues to work closely with the state and federal sources of support.
2.7 Tom Bowes (Governor's Science Advisor) with Rep. P. Arnold-Jones and Richard Akeroyd to discuss statewide planning for infrastructure support though LambdaRail.
Tom spoke about the Governor's commitments to the telecommunications infrastructure of the state and their expectations for its impact on economic development and also research and education. He showed us a letter of support for a New Mexico supercomputer program which was signed by the Heads of Sandia and Los Alamos in addition to the presidents of the three New Mexico universities. This program was one more step in building and sharing the research resources in the state supported by the New Mexico LambdaRail backbone. He also expected significant statewide sharing of information resources such as the Los Alamos Digital Research library and the use of the OCLC database that would be available to all state libraries at no cost.
We discussed the expectations for access to the New Mexico Lamda Rail network (NMLR) and limits for its use. While the access and use was governed by the charter of the not for profit corporation he did not expect that that their use exceed the limits. In contrast to other networks National LambdaRail has no acceptable use policy and thus is not restricted to higher education and research. However, the NMLR has some limits that are part of its incorporation dealing with percentage of use by other than educational and research organizations.
3. Observations[edit]
3.1 The State of Arizona along with the universities and legislative leaders have made a real commitment to the development of a gigabit infrastructure as a major state resource.
• Commitment of people and dollars to support access to LambdaRail at a level of
more than an annual $1 Million and longer term of $5 Million;
• Other commitments represented at this stage are bills in the current session of the New Mexico state legislature to allocate funds for the commitments to LambdaRail and rural libraries program and the proposal for a supercomputer initiative jointly supported by the New Mexico universities and the Sandia and Los Alamos National laboratories.
• In the Wire New Mexico Statewide project a complex series of steps are currently under way (the chart below is from a July, 2006 presentation by the Chief Information Officer for the State). Funding at that time had been committed for Statewide Fiber Backbones and Metropolitan Area Networks(MAN) at the level of $8 Million. The total project will require funds in the twenty million or more range depending on the connections and readiness of various state agencies.
Table # Implementation Schedule for Wire New Mexico
The current objectives for the project are shown in the following table :
Implementation Schedule goes here
Table 4 Wire New Mexico Objectives
Business Objectives
The business objectives for the State network architecture are:
• Efficient delivery of client services by state agencies.
• Continuing implementation of a single statewide, integrated telecommunications backbone for a state government.
• Leverage existing state-owned resources to reduce recurring costs.
• Reduce state-wide, bottom-line costs for communications.
Technical Objectives
Technical objectives for the State network architecture are:
• Integrate existing digital microwave network and other state-owned resources into one state system.
• Protect network continuity and security.
• Ensure adequate and scalable bandwidth for present uses and future growth.
3.2 New Mexico LambdaRail has been lit and is operating now. It provides support for network research and complex scientific applications as well as operation at lower bandwidth at layer 3 which is the IP network providing internet access. New Mexico LambdaRail has been established as a not for profit corporation, the Board appointed and the detailed business plan including affiliation fees and bandwidth fees is in draft form.
Table 5 New Mexico LambdaRail Board
|Tom Bowles
|Chief Science Advisor for Governor Richardson
|Carroll Cagel
|Chair, IT Commission
|Rick Homans
|Cabinet Secretary, Economic Development Department
|Arturo Jaramillo
|Cabinet Secretary, General Services
|Roy Soto
|Terry L. Yates
|Vice President for Research and Economic Development, UNM
|Barney Maccabe
|Vimal Chaitanya
|Vice President for Research, New Mexico State University
|Michael Hites
|Vice President for Planning Information Technology and CIO, NMSU
|Van Romero
|Vice President for Research, New Mexico Tech
|Bob Tacker
|IS Director, New Mexico Tech
3.3 While some people already understand that the role and mission of public libraries embraces a larger framework with everything from e-government to training, teaching and advising (especially with the rapidly changing technologies) many are not aware of the shift. That message is a critical one as the narrow definitions mean that there is education to do, especially in the legislative arena. It may be important to see if there is a way for participation by the groups not represented in the Board (small business, business leaders, libraries and others). Perhaps an Advisory committee reporting to the Board would be appropriate to consider.
3.4 Sandoval County is implementing a wireless broadband service for municipal and public use. The Appendix contains an article about its ambitious goals. I was not able to meet anyone involved with the network and there are concerns about its scope and the difficulties of implementation,
3.5In March the two Boards (National LambdaRail and Internet2 agreed to developing a joint plan for merger with the new organization to be named Internet2-National LambdaRail. They previously had tried to merge but failed to come up with a plan addressing the many issues in merger. Some of the problems to overcome will deal with operating differences (Acceptable Use Policies), operational approaches and membership representation. However, the merger is seen as an important step to avoid divisive competition and to provide the broad leadership for research and education.
4. Models of Intervention[edit]
Diffusion of technology usually follows three general steps:
1) In the first stage the technology is used to carry out functions as they were currently defined. The benefits are sometimes saving money, increasing control and/or other values.
2) In the second stage the organization begins to see ways to improve the uses of technology to aid in achieving objectives and starts to find new ways identify new applications.
3) In the third stage the technology now allows the objectives of the organization to be changed and re-organized to allow complete exploitation of it.
Everett Rodgers, who identified a number of critical elements that define the spread of inventions and innovation also highlighted the "network" effect. That is where the rate of adoption of the ideas is increased over time as more are on the network. This is certainly what to expect as we move up the bandwidth by another order or two of magnitude as well as increasing the scale of the network.
We are concerned, for the public libraries, to examine strategies that will allow us speed adoption of innovative ideas through the use of the broadband networks including networks like NMLR where the number of institutions and users will be increasing by a factor of ten over the next three or four years and the band width also increasing by another magnitude. The New Mexico plans include providing new collaborative opportunities through access to the National Research Laboratories (Los Alamos and Sandia) as well as to the universities in New Mexico. The networks will allow collaborative experiments and joint endeavors at a scale previously impossible as the network is now truly national and international in scope.
The public libraries are on a similar trajectory. When I worked on a booklet for the National Science Foundation with the other principal investigators (George Needham and Eleanor Jo Rogers) in 1995 we were hoping that a practical guide "A Director's Checklist for Connecting Public Libraries to the Internet" would help accelerate the adoption of the use. According to George less than a quarter of US libraries had access in 1995 and, of course, we are in the high 90ies now. Alas, we can't take much(or any) credit as we were not able to mount a significant dissemination program or track the use.
What is the structure of a model?
We should identify our major assumptions:
1) We are assuming access and use will allow significant gains to the public libraries in carrying out their missions.
2) We will assume that resources (either provided by their funders or by kindly states or raised individually) will allow the additional cost of connections absorbed through the current budgeting practices. That means there may be state-wide efforts (such as New Mexico LambdaRail and WIRE New Mexico and also the CENIC effort in Californian that has placed access points in each county) that will be critical in providing access.
3) The public library staff members will require significant training to be able to help patrons with their own uses and access. The training could be online as well as through conferences and workshops.
4) Some remodeling and space issues will be important as new display terminals, projectors and wide screens will be important in the conferencing and education applications of the very high speed broad band technology,
5) There are other Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation programs such as the convenient templates and help in building web sites through the WebJunction that will be important tools.
6) The public libraries will need to collaborate with other similar libraries and other dissimilar organizations that will need to share the costs of bringing access to spots that have little or no communication lines today,
7) There are many parties involved in interventions, not just the librarians at the target libraries. Those parties involved include:
• The public librarians and their related Professional organizations;
• The Boards or organizations responsible for budget and governance of
the public libraries:
• The State librarian (if there is one);
• The service providers include local ISP and/or Municipal networks;
• Communications companies working to provide "last mile" connections;
• The State network;
• The National network (LambdaRail or Internet2);
• Discipline applications provided to address health care, public safety,
homeland security, training, and other applications;
• Professional groups or organizations.
• As hoc or other groups formed by the librarians to highlight these issues and benefit from exchanging with others, statewide or national
5. Options for Recommendations[edit]
The interviews provided the opportunity to discuss some ideas for intervention. These examples are not in a priority order because we need to determine the criteria to use to evaluate the impact, the risk, the excitement. These are placeholders for some of the ideas that should be considered:
1) Programs that would be long lasting initiatives----starting organizations to support web sites and training programs that could include "training the trainers" that might take advantage of the current Gates Foundation programs such as the WebJunction support.
2) Identify major projects to track the impact of the interventions and also to prepare material that would be of help such as models for statewide programs, model legislation and state committees and commissions;
3) Fund planning grants calling for joint efforts with the state networking offices to strengthen the quality of planning;
4) Determining if there are any suitable options the LambdaRail or Internet2 could support on a national level that would address connectivity.
5) Convene annual conferences on the issues of speeding connectivity to compliment web sites and statewide efforts.
6) Work with LambdaRail and I2 to determine programs at a national level to support intervention efforts.
7) Commission studies that would provide an assessment of progress against key factors to track and guide the intervention process over several years,
8) Determine a time scale---five years or more---to continue the projects.
9) Identify complimentary programs already being pursued by the Gates Foundation to draw on their experience (WebJunction. Others?)
10) Identify a series of model documents that would be useful such as Statewide
guidelines, charters, types of Boards, for committees or commissions focused on speeding connectivity.
11) Identify and pass along legislative approaches, identifying the elements for success.
Sandoval County plans for Wi-Fi
Sandoval County, New Mexico unwired
Sandoval County, New Mexico is rolling out wireless broadband service throughout the county (3714 square miles or 9620 square kilometers) for municipal and public use. When the network is fully deployed, Sandoval will join the southeastern part of Washington state as having the largest Wi-Fi "clouds" in the US. Visit the Sandoval County website at www.ollagrande.net for more information including the five-year plan and scope of work. The county is holding a contest among high school students to redesign the website, create a logo and coin a slogan.
Contrary to a recent article in USA Today, Oregon does not have the largest Wi-Fi cloud in the US (the honor belongs to Washington state). This mistake has been replicated in other print and online publications.
Sandoval is a largely rural county with 101,500 residents, 70% of whom live in Rio Rancho. The presence of an Intel manufacturing facility led to a dramatic increase in the county's population (mostly in Rio Rancho). The county is also the home of several Native American tribes who live in pueblos that do not have access to adequate telecommunications services.
According to the feasibility study prepared by Dewayne Hendricks of the Dandin Group for Sandoval County, several broadband providers offer service in principal metropolitan complex of Rio Rancho, Corrales and Placitas. However, large parts of the county do not even have phone service.
Muniwireless readers will recognize Rio Rancho as one of the communities served by Azulstar, a wireless ISP. Azulstar pays Rio Rancho a monthly fee to mount their equipment on city property. This is an open arrangement for all qualified firms that wish to provide services in the city. It is not restricted to a single, winning bidder. Other wireless broadband providers in the area are Lobo.net, Cibola Internet Services, Road Runner Internet and Higher-Speed.net. Fiber is provided by Qwest and Time Warner Telecom. Cable companies working in the Sandoval County area are Cable One and Comcast. Phone companies providing service in the area are Qwest, Sacred Wind, Cable One, Comcast, Time Warner Telecom and McCloud Communications. Internet Services, via wireline, are provided by Ballard Communications, Qwest and Time Warner Telecom. [data from feasibility study]
Uses of the countywide network
- General Business Internet Access: significantly higher bandwidth for e-commerce applications, B2B, delivery of possible new services that can be developed from more remote locations.
- General Residential Internet Access: reasonable bandwidth for general Internet access, ability to tele-commute for work from home, medical access from home.
- Telephony: less expensive telephone service with modern features for all users.
- Control / Health-and-Status Systems: inexpensive ways to gain real time access to remotely-located devices that are hard or expensive to reach via wireline systems.
- Emergency Services / Public Safety Support: digital cloud coverage for the areas served by the Emergency Services that is complete and reliable for mobile users.
- Entertainment: high-bandwidth access for delivery of video and music content on demand.
- Peer-to-Peer Data Exchanges: high-bandwidth access for exchange of large files.
- Video / Audio Monitoring: moderate bandwidth for remote access of streaming video camera equipment.
- Tele-commuting for work: medium to potentially high data transfers and streaming for the ability of home workers to be totally immersed into a particular work task (such as medical transcription) or work collaboration.
- Medical Monitoring and Remote Health Management: low (medical monitoring) to moderate bandwidth with assured, preferably redundant access to guarantee continuous, real time availability of life-critical data.
Open network, high bandwidth model
Jonathan Mann of Olla Grande, Inc., a company set up by the county, says that the network will be open to service providers to create competition in the market for broadband services. The network, which is owned by the county, will cost approximately $9 million to build. The county has provided $2 million in startup funds, according to the Albuquerque Tribune.
I urge everyone to read the feasibility study for more details on the Sandoval County network. You will see that the county's goal is to deploy a network that provides enough bandwidth for the applications described above and not simply the minimum required to view web pages. Most city and countywide deployments set an unambitious target of 1 Mbps downstream bandwidth for end users and even less upstream bandwidth -- not enough for VOIP, video, telemedicine, entertainment and other applications.
http://www.stlib.state.nm.us/tribal_libraries.php?id=C0_86_31 This website provides a general definition of the Tribal Libraries Program (TLP).
http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/07 Regular/bills/house/HB0655.pdf HB0655 "This Bill relating to Libraries, enacting the Rural Library Development Act…"
http://www.ollagrande.net/ Sandoval County Wireless Broadband web site.
http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/07 Regular/bills/senate/SB1139.pdf SB1139 "Making an appropriation for the Internet to the Hogans…"
http://www.cio.state.nm.us/content/itcMtgs/2006aug15/WireNMPresentation7-19-2006.pdf page 2 "Wire New Mexico Overview, Office of the Chief Information Officer, July28, 2006"
http://www.cio.state.nm.us/content/itcMtgs/2006aug15/WireNMPresentation7-19-2006.pdf page 17
http://www.sandovalcounty.com/BBandInfo/BBandInfo.html This provides access to the plans (including Summary, Assessment, Plans-A and B for the implementation.
The web site for general information about the project is http://www.ollagrande.net/Content.asp?PageID=19 Another clear layout of the and detailed summary of the county's approach is found at http://www.sandovalcounty.com/BBandInfo/BBInfraStructurePlan.html


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Peter and the Starcatcher
a play by Rick Elice
based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
music by Wayne Barker
directed by Meredith McDonough
Have you ever wondered how Peter Pan got his name? Or how he met Tinkerbell? In this swashbuckling grown-up prequel to Peter Pan, a dozen brilliant actors playing pirates, mermaids—and of course, our favorite Lost Boys—set out for an adventure filled with ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of theatrical storytelling. This multiple Tony Award-winning play, based on the bestselling children's novel, will have you and your entire family hooked from the moment you let your imagination take flight.
January 29 – February 17, 2016
For more information call 502-584-1205 visit actorstheatre.org


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Cheer someone up—or just share a happy thought. Our joyful mug arrives brimming with yellow and white daisies and roses. It's like delivering a smile to someone!
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A man who was previously out on bond for stealing turned himself in to Maries County sheriff's deputies for a more recent incident regarding stolen property.
A man who was previously out on bond for stealing turned himself in to Maries County sheriff's deputies for a more recent incident regarding stolen property.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Jacob W. Burke, of Vienna, after he turned himself in, according to a press release from Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman.
Under one warrant Burke faces charges of burglary in the second degree, and theft/stealing of a firearm. Both of those charges are class C felonies.
Another warrant issued for Burke is for theft/stealing of property valued at more than $500, also a class C felony, possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, which are both class A misdemeanors.
Additionally, a female suspect was brought in, booked and released pending a warrant application.
On Friday, Dec. 28, members of the Maries County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant in the 13000 block of Highway 42 just east of Vienna to search for stolen property that had been stolen from Maries County Road 339 a few days earlier.
During the course of the search, sheriff's deputies located numerous items that had been reported stolen, including some weapons that had been stolen from an address on Highway V.
Sheriff's deputies also located a large amount of suspected drug paraphernalia and a suspected controlled substance.
"It was good to solve these thefts and return most of the stolen property," Heitman said.
Burke was currently out on bond for a different stealing-related charge.
Burke remains in the Maries County Jail on a $60,000 bond.
Associate Circuit Judge Kerry Rowden, of the 25th Judicial Circuit, has revoked Burke's previous bond for felony stealing.


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Are you a great toy detective?
There's only one way to find out!
The first week of each month, Kaplan Toys will select a mystery toy for the "What Toy Am I?" Contest. Each day of the week (Monday-Friday), clues will be posted about that week's mystery toy on the Kaplan Toys Facebook fan page. The fan that first deciphers the weekly clues correctly will win the mystery toy! Everyone else will have the opportunity to guess again with a new mystery toy the following month. For more details, visit our fan page next Monday –when the contest begins!


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About Start Foundation
Start Foundation is an established Venture Philanthropy Fund (founded in 1998) that makes both grants and Social Investments. Start Foundation developed out of Start Temporary Recruitment Services. Start Temporary Recruitment Services was founded in 1977 to combat unemployment by offering flexible labour contracts. The founders represented employers, trade unions and the national government. Start Foundation inherited both its capital as well as its ideology. Its endowment size is approx. 130 million euros.
Mission Statement
Start Foundation creates, preserves and makes jobs accessible for disadvantaged persons who have little to no access to the labour market in the Netherlands.
Jobs transform lives and communities. We believe the opportunity to work should be available to everyone, everywhere. We need to reform our perspective on solidarity and wealth by bridging the gap between rich and poor. Such can be done through participation in working life. Therefore we need to combat discrimination by age, educational levels, ethnic origin, sex and other barriers. Economics should contribute more to the quality of life for all Dutch people. Adding community value is as important as making profit.
Venture Philanthropy
Start Foundation adopted the Venture Philanthropy model (VP). VP works to build stronger social purpose organisations by providing them with both financial and non-financial support in order to increase their social impact. Start Foundations approach includes both the use of social investment and grants. The key characteristics are: high engagement, tailored financing, multi-year support, non-financial support, involvement of networks, organisational capacity-building and performance measurement. The field of operations includes charities, socially driven business as well as traditional business. The total amount of annual spending, both grants and investments, is approx.4-6 million euros annually. Since 2014 Start Foundation has embraced the idea of mission-related investment. At least 10% of its endowment should be invested in a mission-related manner by 2018.
How to achieve the objectives over the years?
1998 – 2002 Emphasise Empowerment of marginalised groups
2002 – 2008 Introducing investments in social entrepreneurship
2008 – 2014 Investing in regular business (SME) to make them more social (acquiring business for the good)
2015 – 4 clear objectives:
Creating new jobs (in circular economy)
Making business more inclusive
Empowering those most in need
Development of new private/public business to increase job availability for disadvantaged people.
Most important publications over the years:
The project carrousel: how philanthropy doesn't contribute to system changes
Passion and Money: how come social firms hardly grow and scale
The Vulnerable: why government policies fail
Valuenomics: investment strategy driven by values
Profile analyses: least wanted disadvantaged groups by employers
Social Impact Bonds, a practical guide
Factors hampering diversity on the labour market
Economics: shortage of jobs/jobless growth
Productivity: labour becomes top sport
Labour laws: failure has a high price due to rigid laws
Taxing: 20-30% extra costings
Personal hampers: depths, motivation, multiple problems
Discrimination: selection policies by employers
Repression: both horizontal and vertical
Some eye-catching investments over the years:
1999 First job office for HIV-infected people
2001 Job applications on a golf course: well offs meets have nots
2003 Investment in the Netherlands' first social firm: the handicapped delivery service
2006 Introducing micro credits for unemployed entrepreneurs
2008 Introducing crisis credits to enable SME businesses to survive the crisis
2012 Paying fine fund for employers who offer internships to young refugees
2013 Founder of DNZ the network for inclusive employers (500 members)
2014 First Dutch Social Impact Bond developed with ABN AMRO bank
2015 Investment in the waste food factory where wasted talent can flourish
2016 Bought four Amsterdam brothels, prostitutes will run windows themselves
Jos Verhoeven (1961) is the managing director (and co-founder) of Start Foundation. Jos has a working class background. He started his career in residential homes for vulnerable children in need, followed by working at a centre for school dropout youth and later a consultancy for employment projects for disadvantaged people. He started Start Foundation in 1998. Jos studied labour market strategies and management in the social economy. In 2015 Jos Verhoeven was elected as the Netherlands' most influential person in Dutch philanthropy. "Jos is not throwing money around, sympathises deeply with his target groups and wants to get things done. He is pro-active, extroverted and, above all, an innovative outspoken social entrepreneur with massive civil power."


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This is Bert Sperling, and I'm asking for your help.
I'm doing research to find how people in different cities do their holiday shopping.
I hope you can take less than a minute and answer these few questions about your holiday shopping habits.
I'll release the results in a few weeks and you can see how your city compares with others across the United States.
And that's it. Thanks for your participation.
North (zip 29112), South Carolina
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The typical American commute has been getting longer each year since 2010. The average one-way commute in North (zip 29112), takes 25 minutes. That's shorter than the US average of 26 minutes.
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Price from
Explore the majestic heart of India
Home to no less than three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Agra is India's undisputed sightseeing capital. Hear the histories and learn the legends of Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal on locally-led guided tours, then uncover further secrets of the city under your own steam. Extend your stay to make an optional trip to see the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri.
Independent Experiences
Independent travel, without the stress. Peregrine's Independent Experiences are a range of short 'mini tours' that you can add to other Experiences or as an extension to a longer tour, to craft your perfect holiday itinerary. Independent Experiences are for 1-3 travellers, come accompanied by a local Peregrine guide and depart daily. /experiences
- Start
- Agra, India
- Finish
- Agra, India
- Destination
- India
- Style
- Independent Experiences
- Code
- Physical rating
- Ages
- Min 7
- Group size
- Min 1, Max 4
Why you'll love this trip
Be caught up in the romance of the Taj Mahal
Uncover the secrets of Agra city on a guided tour of its neighbourhoods
Learn about the various structural defences incorporated into Agra Fort
Is this trip right for you?
Please note that this is not a group tour, but an independent trip using local guides in Agra.
From April 2017, the main dome of the Taj Mahal will undergo mud pack therapy to restore its original colour. It is expected the dome will be covered in iron scaffolding during the process which is expected to last a year.
Meet your guide at your accommodation and get some tips on how to spend your first day exploring and the best place for dinner.
The rest of the day is free for you to explore the local bazaars or enjoy an evening meal.
If you wish to visit the Taj Mahal for sunset, your guide can arrange this for you today for an additional cost.
Please note the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays so keep this in mind when planning your time here.
- Jaypee Palace or similar (1 night)
Meals IncludedThere are no meals included on this day.
Alternatively if you opt for a later 2 pm visit to the Taj your guide will meet you at a time decided the previous evening (this is usually around 8.30 am in order to visit the Red Fort first).
Visit the Taj Mahal - a masterpiece of shimmering white marble set amid beautiful formal gardens. Built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife Mumtaz, this 'teardrop on the face of eternity' (as it was described by writer Rabindranath Tagore) lives up to all expectations.
Visit Agra Fort on the banks of the Yamuna River. Built in 1565 by Emperor Akbar, the fort was originally designed to be a military structure. It was converted to a palace in Emperor Shah Jahan's time and eventually became his prison after he lost power in 1658.
Today you will also have free time to unwind and relax, explore the back lanes of Agra, visit the Taj again, or watch local artisans and villagers making handicrafts, marble inlay work, or carpets.
- Jaypee Palace or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
- Agra - Local Guide (Full Day)
- Agra - Taj Mahal
- Agra - Agra Fort
Meals Included
- Breakfast
There are no activities planned until your included departure transfer to the airport or train station.
Otherwise there are optional activities available including a return visit to the Taj for sunrise, a spectacular sight of changing colours as the sun reflects off the white tiles, or a visit to the deserted Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri.
Additional accommodation is available to extend your stay or you may like to add on another of our Independent Experiences or Urban Adventures in India.
Meals Included
- Breakfast
Meals2 breakfasts
TransportAuto-rickshaw, Private vehicle
AccommodationComfortable hotel
Included Activities
- Agra - Local Guide (Full Day)
- Agra - Taj Mahal
- Agra - Agra Fort
Dates & availability
Trip search is unavailable.
There are currently no scheduled departures on our Taj & Agra Experience - Independent trip. If you are interested in other trips in the region visit one of the links below.
Jump to a departure month
Important notes
The main dome on the Taj Mahal will undergo mud pack therapy due to begin in April 2017. It is likely the entire dome will be obscured by iron scaffolding. Portions of the white marble façade will be covered in mud and plastic sheets during the cleaning process. The restorations will be carried out in sections and the work on the dome is expected to last one year.
Essential trip information
Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.View Essential Trip Information


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THE feud between One Direction and rising star Jake Bugg raged on tonight as the singer made another dig about the globally successful boy band - a quintet he believes should not even be referred to as a "band".
Fresh from winning the Global Success award at last week's Brits, One Direction, who are playing at Glasgow's SECC tonight, do not impress the shaggy-haired musician.
Speaking on the red carpet at the NME Awards, Bugg was reluctant to say too much about the boy band as he said he did not want to "wind them up".
But when he was asked if he was pleased the band was nominated for Worst Band, and shoe flying victim, Harry Styles nominated for Villain Of The Year, Bugg said: "I don't know how they can really be considered a band though to be honest. I'm not too sure. I think the more I play on it, it'll wind them up."
When pressed on whether or not the band's huge success and popularity vindicates their position in the music world, Bugg said: "They're there to look good. Music wise? I assume they don't really have a clue.
"We'll just see. They might do. Probably the ugliest one is the best singer. He might know a couple of chords."
The singer, who is nominated in the Best Solo Artist and Best Album categories at tonight's awards, said he did not even know who he was up against and said he finds award ceremonies "boring".
When asked if he thinks he will help One Direction with some songwriting in future, Bugg said: "No. That should be their job, not mine."
The feud started when Bugg criticised the boy band in an interview, expressing his disgust at people referring to them as the new Beatles.
Afterwards, One Direction member Louis Tomlinson tweeted: "Hi JakeBugg do you think slagging off boy bands makes you more indie?"
Also getting in on the action was Niall Horan, who tweeted: "Really buggs me that artists we're fans of, flip on us in the press!"


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It's the question investors everywhere are wrestling with: Are asset prices in a bubble, or do they simply reflect the fact that the global economy is growing once again?
For Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, the answer is clear. In fact, he says the bubble may already be bursting.
"I think it's a colossal bubble in all asset prices, and eventually it will burst, and maybe it has begun to burst already," Faber said Tuesday on CNBC's "Futures Now" as the S&P 500 lost ground for the second-straight session.
Read More Welcome to the Everything Boom, or maybe the Everything Bubble
Of course, Faber has long been expecting a market decline. But for the precise reason that stocks have simply continued to rise, he's now become even more bearish.
"Obviously I've been wrong in the sense that I expected a correction to occur over the last two years, and it hasn't happened since October 2011, when the S&P was at 1,074. We've gone up in a straight line, without a larger correction than 11 percent, and I think we're not going to have a correction, but we're going to have a bear market," he said.
Marc Faber and Peter Schiff may be just what this rally needs
(Watch Marc Faber discuss his call Wednesday on "Closing Bell" at 3:10 pm ET)


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Advanced Aesthetics / Plastic Surgery
Houston Texas 77024
Dr. Ravi Somayazula practices the full spectrum of plastic and reconstructive surgery while focusing on cosmetic breast and body surgeries as well as non-surgical procedures. He strives to make every patient feel special and respected—not just another person walking through the door. Once you meet Dr. Ravi Somayazula, you will soon understand that his bedside manner is unparalleled, and he will invoke your utmost confidence in his care. He specializes in Breast Augmentation (Implants), Tummy Tucks, Liposuction, Mommy Makeovers, and miraDry®, Botox®, and dermal fillers.


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Tue 3rd Jan 2006 10:28 UTC, submitted by sean batten
The LA Times is speculating the arrival of a Google PC running an OS also made by Google. "Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart, among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap - perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars." They also say that Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president of products, will give a keynote speech at CES coming Friday, announcing all this.


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Supporting Acts: Bonnie McKee
Olly Murs
Olly Murs is living the dream – not just his own, but that of anyone who longs to realize their true inner talents, of music fans who search for entertainers of real substance in a time when pop is more cynically packaged and depersonalized than ever. After tremendous success in the U.K., Murs comes to the United States to tell his story on In Case You Didn't Know, the title of which is a typically self-deprecating acknowledgement of Murs' duality – the quirky boy who became a television sensation on The X Factor but still calls tiny Withan, Essex home, the superstar in Britain that's looking to make his name overseas with the eagerness of the new kid in school. With a sound and style that firmly places him within the "modern classic" pop star galaxy of Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Cee-Lo Green, there's little reason to believe he won't make good on that ambition. But in order for Olly's dreams as a pop star to live, another had to die. Like many boys in the small town of Witham, Murs grew up supporting Manchester United and dreaming of being a professional footballer himself. Unfortunately, while playing for the semipro Witham Town team, Murs withstood a neck injury that prematurely ended his career. At that point, it seemed like Murs would follow the path of his mates back home – watching football at the pub, downing pints of lager, working a regular office job. And Murs did all of that before his luck started to turn in a manner that simply appears like divine intervention in retrospect. He'd soon catch his big break, but this was in Witham, not London. So it wouldn't be from an industry scout or record exec. No, his local pub just happened to have a karaoke machine with "Mack The Knife" and other classics that Murs would sing after being egged on by his mates. Flush with confidence from his well-received pub renditions of Robbie Williams and Stevie Wonder songs, he auditioned for Britain's top singing competition show The X Factor on a whim. He performed "Superstition" in his first audition, which no less of an authority than Simon Cowell said inspired "the easiest yes I've ever given." The odds were stacked against Murs – beyond the fact that he was 23 years old at the time with no formal training, he was literally learning on the job. Even Adele, lauded so for being a "normal" star, came from the same prestigious and starmaking BRIT School as Jessie J and Amy Winehouse. This was all a life-changing experience, but winners of reality shows – especially males – tend to flame out in the public eye. Murs took great strides to avoid that similar fate on his UK debut, which went double platinum on the strength of the conversational smash "Please Don't Let Me Go." It would've been easy for Murs to rest on his laurels, but he grew up worshiping pop stars whose success emboldened them to take risks. Taking inspiration from the stupendously popular and constantly evolving likes of Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson, In Case You Didn't Know feels like a more personal, hands-on work by hearkening back to the music Murs performed in those Witham karaoke bars – timeless Sinatra cool, rough and ready rockabilly, showstopping ballads, doo-wop and even some hip-hop. Unafraid to branch out in order to meet his fans halfway, the avid beatboxer and Eminem fan tapped up-and-coming American duo Chiddy Bang as a guest on lead single "Heart Skips A Beat." Beyond proving the staying power of Murs as a singer-songwriter as well as a performer, it's proof that his voice and joie de vivre is transferable to any genre it places itself in. While Murs' success story is thoroughly modern, the appeal of In Case You Didn't Know is steeped in the classic ideal of a singer being a full-on entertainer. When describing how he fits into that lineage, Murs explains "they had a style, it's not all about having the biggest voice" and from his indestructible smile to his deep personal connection to his fans, there's no doubt that Murs is 100% committed to entertaining a crowd. And In Case You Didn't Know bustles with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of someone who's just thrilled for the chance to perform on the same stages of his idols - Murs admits he loves spending time in Las Vegas with buddies like some kind of 2012 Rat Pack, but he hasn't been to New York yet. When he arrives with fellow sensations One Direction, there's no doubt he'll be welcomed as if he were home all along. Humble to the extreme, Murs admits there are better pure vocalists, but few who understand the impact created by truly connecting to a crowd and giving them what they want. What makes Murs stand out? "You have to ask my fans," he chuckles. "I just think they like to see a down-to-earth guy who really enjoys being out there." Indeed, In Case You Didn't Know is the sound of someone in love with life and wanting to share the feeling with everyone he can.
Cost: 20.00
Categories: Concerts & Tour Dates
Elton John
Weezer & Pixies
New Kids On The Block, Salt...
Carrie Underwood, Maddie an...
Reo Speedwagon With Warrant
Foreigner with special guest
Andrea Bocelli
Styx With Night Ranger
Tower Of Power - 50th Anniv...
Creedence Clearwater Revisi...
Tower Of Power - 50th Anniv...
Harlem Globetrotters
Sorry, you missed Olly Murs at Social.
Demand that Sacramento gets added to the next tour!Demand it!
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We're generating custom event recommendations for you based on Olly Murs right now!


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odroid wrote:There are two USB 3.0 hosts and one USB 2.0 host in Exynos-5422.
One is used for Gbit Ethernet and the other one is used for SATA bridge.
So there is no more USB 3.0 port if we don't add a USB 3.0 hub controller.
The heatsink(metal frame) is included by default. We will apply the thermal paste and assemble it in our production line.
Sentilix wrote:Great news!
Your pictures shows two different metal frames. Will the supplied frame / heatsink be the short version or the long version with room for a harddisk?
crashoverride wrote:As soon as I saw the MC1, I had an idea ...
There should be a custom board designed that sits on the top and ..
1) Provides a 6 port GB switch [4 cluster + 1 LAN/WAN + 1 Management (see below)]
2) Has a micro-controller or other processor invisibly attach to the switch.
3) Provides 4 serial console ports that attach to each unit in the cluster accessed through #2.
4) Provides switchable 4 power ports that attach to each unit in the cluster controllable through #2.
Effectively, its a cluster management device/power supply that stacks on the top and is IP accessible.
Or use really small (128-256MB) microsd cards, though not sure you can buy any easilycamh wrote:@odroid - one option for network booting is to add some cheap SPI flash to the board that is enough to hold uboot with a device tree. If uboot has the network drivers built-in, you can easily network boot from there. Not sure if the SoC you're using supports that, though.
mad_ady wrote:Or use really small (128-256MB) microsd cards, though not sure you can buy any easily
crossover wrote:But I don't know how to use the personal cluster computer MC1.
Do you guys know who needs the ARM cluster computer? Only for research and educational purpose?
nobe wrote:in this case, wouldn't it be much easier to use standoffs + XU4Q ?
odroid wrote:@camh
BTW, do you have your own blog? or can you explain the purpose of your cluster computing?
Firehawke wrote:but I'd also like to see you guys offer a power supply that can power at least four of these off one plug. The thought of having to plug four bricks in kinda makes this whole thing shaky to me, and since they're designed to be stacked it makes more sense to have an arrangement that can share the power cable.
Users browsing this forum: andy5macht and 1 guest


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Reviewed By Richard M (HUNTSVILLE, AL) Reviewed for a 1998 Ford F-150 —12/10/2015 9:18 AM
had problem w/a bit of steering wheel wander. The steering felt Sloppy even after I had new front end and standard Monroe Gas Matic Shocks put on my 1998 Ford F-150. 4x4 I stripped off the Monroes, in favor of the PRO COMP 9000 shocks and struts and then added the PRO COMP STABILIZER. The result is absolute perfection. Rides great, stopped the Steering Wheel sliding back and forth, and the Truck feels "sure footed" and there is very little body bounce


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Sapphire HD 5670 1GB Review
Closer Look:
Before you can start fragging you have to install the drivers so that you don't sit there utterly disappointed by the graphics performance of this shiny new card. Thankfully, Sapphire has included a disc to get you started although the manufacturer website is a great alternative. I will browse through the disc to see what is included.
After you insert the disc and allow the autorun to start the process you end up with the Sapphire GUI on the desktop. There are three options to choose from, ATI Easy install, Online Manual and Adobe Reader. Of course, the ATI Easy install is for installing the drivers and proprietary software to gain the most functionality from your new purchase. You have a choice of operating systems to choose from so just choose the appropriate OS and you get to start the ATI driver install wizard. The Online Manual is a link to download the manual while Adobe Reader links to Adobe's website to so you can download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
When you choose to install the drivers from the disc just move forward through the process and check the options best suited for your needs. You have two options; you can choose either the Express install that manages the whole process for you or the Custom Install that allows you to choose what software you will install from a list. Agree to the EULA and let the wizard finish and do the customary reboot to finish the installation.
One of the big knocks on the 5 series cards is the fact that there were really no games available at launch to showcase the DX 11 technology. Fast forward 3+ months and you have a few games to play. Dirt 2 was just released at the beginning of December and Battle Forge has been out and patched for DX 11. Dirt 2 has been a significant part of the bundle in many 5 series cards to get the end user a game that uses the DX 11 features such as tessellation. With Battle Forge you can play online for free or if you like the game you can sign up and buy the game.


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MCsquared necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 258 diseños de 65 diseñadores freelance.
Gateway Short Sale
*We negotiate with banks to reduce the amount owed by the homeowner in situations where the home is worth less than owed and foreclosure is imminent.
As full-service short sale professionals, Gateway Short Sale excels at saving time, money, and reputations for qualified short sale homeowners, realtors, and loan modification agents. We understand the time, complications, and frustrations involved in the short sale process, and we appreciate the urgency with which these negotiations need to take place. Let Gateway Short Sale manage the short sale details while helping you improve your financial situation.
Gateway Short Sale is empathetic towards distressed homeowners, busy realtors, and frustrated loan modification agents. We are professional, respectful, and confident in our ability to help all parties involved.
PROFICIENT. We have the access, knowledge, and skills to get the job done in a timely fashion.
PROFESSIONAL. We take our business seriously and recognize that reputations are on the line -- including our own.
PARTNERS. We specialize in relationships and offer each partner a financial opportunity and incentive to work with Gateway Short Sale, including: debt relief for the homeowner, full listsing commission for the realtor, found revenue for the loan modification agent, or increased time-value of money for the lenders.
HOMEOWNERS: Homeowners unable to make mortgage payments for over 90 days and who have received a notice of default (NOD) from their lender.
REALTORS: Realtors looking to reduce the time and effort involved in the short sale process by outsourcing the work while still retaining full listing commissions.
LOAN MODIFICATION AGENTS: Load Modification Agents, unable to provide assistance to distressed homeowners, who are looking to earn an income stream from dead end leads who are short sale candidates.
Maximum freedom in the area of creativity with a few starting points for you:
1) This is a serious business that we believe requires solid, bold, non-pastel colors
2) Must use a commercial font
3) Think crisp message delivery
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text: My name is Valerie and I am a self taught artist. I like to spend time outside in nature. I try to capture as much of that as I can in my art. My goal with my art is to be relatable, kinda abstract and creative. I hope someone or everyone loves my pieces as much as I do. Follow me and like my page on Facebook @valeriestobinart.


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By Ed Harris
Every year, Mark Pooler is often the last man to leave the frigid waters of Sloper Pond during the YMCA's annual Polar Plunge. For the past seven years, Pooler has spent approx. 75 seconds in the water, racking up the donations.
"We pledge by seconds," said Pooler, the Outdoor Center director at YMCA Camp Sloper. "So the longer we are in, the more money we raise."
Pooler specifically stays around the 75 second mark to avoid any potential health issues arising from staying in the ice cold water too long. He tries to stay warm by running around to keep the blood flowing and he gets pumped up by the large crowds that come to cheer on the plungers.
"It's cold, but it is what it is," Pooler said about the mid-January dip in Sloper Pond.
The Eighth Annual Polar Plunge will take place on Saturday, January 19 at 1 p.m. at YMCA Camp Sloper, in the icy waters of Sloper Pond.
All funds from this event will be donated to provide financial assistance to help send children and teens to YMCA Camp Sloper this summer.
The teams this year will include the Southington Fire Department led by Fireman Bob Hunt and the Southington Board of Education led by Superintendent Dr. Joe Erardi, Board of Education Chair Brian Goralski and High School Teacher Bob Lasbury. In addition, the Southington Politicians Team under the leadership of Mike Riccio and Dr. Al Nateli, and the Calvanese Foundation Team under the leadership of Foundation Board Member Lauren Forgione, Alyssa Calvanese and Aqua Turf Maitre d' Donny Jenkins will return again in 2013. Team Southington, joins the action for the second year in a row and is led once again by Town manager Garry Brumback. The Southington Community YMCA will have a team too, led by Pooler and Executive Director John Myers.
Last year, 80 plungers jumped into Sloper Pond, marking the first year that the plunge was held amidst snowy conditions.
Brumback, who is taking his second dip this year, said the plunge was for a great cause and that he believed it took more courage to say no to jumping into Sloper than it does for saying yes.
"It really is for the kids," Brumback said. "It's well worth the ten minutes of agony."
The Feature Team for 2013 will be 'Team Lake Compounce' led by Compounce General Manager Jerry Brick. Team Lake Compounce will be made up of employees and friends that want to join the cause.
"We are excited to be a part of a great community tradition that will help kids in our great town of Southington," stated Brick in a release. "It is a privilege to help kids in our community and we are delighted to be part of that effort."
Anyone interested in taking the plunge this year should contact Mark Pooler at 860-621-8194 x 304. Each plunger must raise a minimum goal of $100 to plunge, must be at least 18 years old, and be part of a team.
Team YMCA and Team Southington are always looking for new plungers and happy to have any brave souls join in on the fun.
"We're still accepting brave plungers," Pooler said.
Sponsorship opportunities are available again this year. Business or families who would like to support this event through sponsorship should contact Donna Ayer at the YMCA for more information at 860-628-5597. Polar Plunge banner sponsorships are $250 each.
"There is nothing better in this world than seeing a child with a smile on their face, and YMCA Camp Sloper does this each and every day," said Bob Lasbury, Southington High School Teacher and Boys Basketball Coach, who will be taking the Polar Plunge for the fifth time in 2012, according to a release. "I am proud to be a part of a great cause like this and it really is a lot of fun."
The Polar Plunge is set for Saturday, Jan. 19 1 p.m.


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Boards & Commissions
Citizen's Commission on Public Service and Compensation (CCPSC)
1) Documentation:
2) Description
Commission to review the salaries of elected city officials. Commission serves every two years for a two-month term (from 01/15/17 to 03/15/17).
3) Maximum Number of Members
4) Meeting Location
Meets as required.
5) Meeting Time
To be determined; will be provided on meeting notice.
6) Information Sheet
7) Members
No members exist for this board.
For further information please contact the City Clerk's Office at (520) 791-4213.
Datapages for the boards are provided in Adobe PDF format. You'll need the free Acrobat Reader to view the documents.


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Pinoy Australia Information Forum was founded by a small group of Filipinos whose aim is to migrate to Australia. It is now a leading online Filipino-Australian community site for Filipinos in Australia and a valuable resource for people also planning to migrate to Australia.
I'm very happy to announce PinoyAu Forum's new app called "SimplyStall" . It's a new Gumtree like service for Pinoys in Australia but in a way better!
So if you have any items just collecting dust? Why not convert it to cash?
If you are selling new items or products or wish to give an item away for free then this might be a good avenue for you.
This project is a new initiative to unify and have a common portal for Pinoys in Australia to sell and share stuffs.
It's now available on Google Play and Apple App Store.
Please do try it out. I'd appreciate if you can help me spread the good news and start selling your old or new stuffs.


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It's not where you are, but what you do when you're there, that's important
It's not where you are, but what you do when you're there, that's important
She wrote poetry as a child; today she writes songs as a way of understanding the world. Feminist, soulful hip-hop artist and prominent protagonist of conscious rap, U.S.-born Akua Naru is promoting her new album, The Blackest Joy, in Germany this month: in Hamburg December 16, in Berlin Dec. 17.
New Year's in New Zealand! The Waiohika Estate on North Island is hosting the 16th Rhythm and Vines Festival from December 29 to 31 this year. Fans of rock, folk, and drum and bass camp out, enjoy the vibe and get to be among the first to celebrate 2019.
When we travel, we are like a film at the moment of exposure; it is memory that will develop it.
Like to spend the night in a house of ice and snow, like the Inuit? Well, you can – and without having to travel to the Arctic or give up any of life's comforts.
Igloo villages pop up each year in seven Alpine locations, including Zugspitz glacier, Gstaad and Davos. Couples can book a romance igloo and cuddle up in a double sleeping bag. The cheaper option is a night in the group igloo.
The Hôtel de Glace near Quebec, Canada, is rebuilt in snow and ice every year. It has 45 rooms – and a chapel where guests who have warmed to each other can even tie the knot.
If you hate the cold but want the igloo atmosphere, book in at the Arctic Resort in Kakslauttanen, Finland. From your glass igloo, you'll have the best view of the northern lights right from your bed.


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Courtesy Nicole Dow; Neighbor Newspapers
Show support of the environment through family friendly activities in Milton, Roswell and Alpharetta in commemoration of Earth Day.
The city of Milton and Milton Grows Green will host the fifth annual Earth Day Festival April 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Friendship Community Park at 12785 Birmingham Hwy.
The festival will include children's games and activities, arts and crafts, animal exhibits, entertainment by local youth performers and vendors featuring environmentally friendly products and services.
"It is a nice blend of educational and fun activities," said event chair Teresa Stickels. "We want people to know that it can be fun to be interested in the environment and to learn about the environment, and there are lots of fun things that you can do to help the environment."
The festival is a free community event, although there will be vendors selling food and drinks.
Jack Lindon of Milton Grows Green said the festival has developed over the last several years to have a greater focus on making the event appealing for children and families. New this year will be an Easter egg hunt, he said.
Stickels added, "The event is the day before Easter Sunday, so we're going to have some ducks and bunnies and chicks, which should be very fun for the kids. Parents can take pictures of their children with the animals."
Lindon said the attendance of the festival grows every year. Last year an estimated 1,500 came out.
In Roswell, the Chattahoochee Nature Center will host its Earth Day Kids Fest April 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival will include children's activities, eco-crafts, up-close animal encounters, environmentally friendly vendors, food and a sing-along and dancing with Farmer Jason.
Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for children and free for children 2 and under. Those who ride their bike to the center will also get free admission.
The center is at 9135 Willeo Road.
On April 22 — the official date for Earth Day — the Alpharetta Branch Library at 238 Canton St. will host its Earth Day Kids Celebration from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The event is geared for patrons ages 3 to 10.


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- Molyvos
What to see in Lesvos
Lesvos Attractions
One of Greece's quieter destinations, Lesvos may not have the high-profile attractions of other islands, but breathtaking scenery, stunning beaches and natural, unspoilt beauty make this island a fabulous place to explore.
History buffs will appreciate the Archaeological Museum and the Theophilos Museum in Mitilini, and the roman aqueduct in Moria, which was built in the second century AD, while science enthusiasts will want to be sure to visit the highly-regarded Geological Museum in Sigri. Don't miss an excursion to the most scenic town on the east coast of the island, Mandamados, famous for its cheeses, or the war ruins at Pyrgi Thermis. The holiday resort town of Molivos boasts a fantastic maze of winding streets, red-roofed stone houses, and exciting remnants of its medieval past. Head to Molivos or Petra for some donkey trekking through the mountains and views over the sparkling ocean, or for a really special sight, the Petrified Forest of Sigri near Eressos is one of the world's most important natural monuments, boasting fossilized remains that date back 15 million years.
The pebbly beaches in Molivos are also great for sunbathing, while the crystalline turquoise waters provide excellent snorkelling conditions. The beaches in Plomari and Vatera are known as the best on the island; for an interesting day out, head to Eftalou to enjoy the therapeutic thermal baths, or walk the mile long beach of Eressos.
Donkey trekking
Donkey trekking is a great activity for the whole family to enjoy together and even the little ones will be thrilled…
Eftalou Thermal Baths
A trip to the Eftalou Thermal Baths is a wonderful excursion for anyone on holiday in Lesvos. The hot, natural springs…
Petrified Forest of Sigri
One of the two largest petrified forests in the world, the Petrified Forest of Sigri on the western edge of the island,…
Become our Lesvos Travel Expert
We are looking for contributors for our Lesvos travel guide. If you are a local, a regular traveller to Lesvos or a travel professional with time to contribute and answer occasional forum questions, please contact us.


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Top 100 Hit Collection 4 Band 4
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Top 100 Hit Collection 4 Band 4. (Das Beste aus den Charts / Noten - Texte - Akkorde - Tipps). By Top 100. For piano (Keyboard). This edition: MF 2004-01. Electronic Keyboard Music. Grade 2-3. Edition with MIDI-diskette. 52 pages. Published by Schott Music (SD.49034827).
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Sheet Music Plus
Sheet Music Plus offers one of the world's largest selection of sheet music. Their collection includes music books, music sheets, songbooks, music scores, choral sheet music in many genres.
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I had an all-day session on the JT modes today. Actually, almost all of today's contacts were on JT65A. I did listen for JT9-1 signals a few times but most of the time I only saw stations I had already worked before.
I put out a CQ call on 15m JT9-1 and Joe Taylor K1JT came back to me. I've decoded Joe's WSPR signals numerous times and I've exchanged several emails with him but I had never had a radio contact with him until now, so that was a nice surprise.
Then it was back to JT65A. The contrast in activity was extreme. There were so many stations active I couldn't find a space to call CQ, so I had to wait and pounce on new stations that called.
I must say that when using JT9 I miss the infrastructure that has been built up around the JT65A mode - the reverse beacons, the auto-spotting to PSK Reporter so you can see how far your signals have got, the JT-Alerts when you decode someone you've worked before. I especially need the B4 alerts. My memory is so bad I can't remember the calls of stations I've worked before so I have often called people who I have worked only a couple of days earlier. I guess that due to the lack of new stations they probably don't mind too much!


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2007-08-22 / Columnists
Pets, Pets, Pets
"How much is that doggy in the window?" DON'T ASK. Reputable breeders do not sell their puppies to pet stores. Puppy millers and backyard breeders do. We the consumers create the market for the pathetic pet store pups. Step back and look at the big picture if no one would buy, the puppy mill atrocities, in time, would stop. The law of supply and demand would score one for compassion.
Perhaps the following poem (author unknown) found online better illustrates why boycotting the stores ends the suffering for both the pups and their poor "breeding machine" parents who often endure a lifetime of abuse: PET STORE PUPPY I'm a little puppy, so cuddly, sweet and small I live inside a cage you see at a Pet Store in the mall. I'm not an only puppy, my sisters are all here. My brothers, too, except for Ralph, who died coz he was scared. It's lonely here at nighttime when all the lights go dark, We tremble in our cages and we whimper and we bark. But no one comes to hold us or to pet our fears away. We sit all night in terror 'til the store opens next day. We don't remember Mama, left so far behind. She did the best she could for us 'til the Man said, "It is time." He crammed us all in cages too small for us you see. We rode for hours; we could not help but lay in poop and pee. And now we sit in a Pet Store where kids taunt and squeeze. They do not hear our whimpers or understand our pleas. We're miserable and it's scary here; we all would rather die, But since we don't we do our best to run away and hide. I know you think my story too sad to leave me be. You want to take me home with you, a happy little puppy. But please, though it is fearful to live here against our will. If you take me that leaves a spot another pup will fill. You can stop our suffering but not by taking us home. You must be strong and leave us here, unsold and all alone. For if you do not take me, then another pup won't come And maybe he won't be shipped so far away from home. Though some of us may not survive the cycle 'ere it falls, If we don't sell, they won't need more puppies in these halls. And if they need no puppies then the Man will not bring more. Eventually it can all stop! You CAN close the door. So when you see a puppy face, so sad and sweet and small In a cage at a Pet Store in your neighborhood shopping mall, The best thing you can do for him is leave him sitting there. That's the best way you can tell all dogs how much you care.
It's so hard to walk away from the stores especially when you've looked into those soulful eyes. I'm just as guilty- I've sent people into stores to purchase particular pups just to get them out bad situations; I've helped place store rejects, but that doesn't solve the big problem nor does that save the parents used over and over who never have a chance to escape the puppy mill.
Don't fall for the sales pitch. The store pups, pedigree or faux breed, were produced solely for profit. Designer dogs are overpriced mixes- a marketing scam. The best 1 of a kind throw away the mold mixed breeds are in the pound. Reputable breeders are responsible for the pups they bring into this world for their whole life. They would NEVER put them in a store. Too many people buy pet store puppies on impulse without considering the heartache of puppy mills or with no knowledge of the breed they are embracing. A dog is a 15 year commitment, not a whim.
If you want to add a dog to your family, adopt one from a shelter or rescue organization, or purchase one from a reputable breeder. Do your homework first to make sure this breed's needs match your lifestyle. Good breeders will put you through the wringer before you get one of their precious dogs. The national AKC rescue for each breed can advise you and point you in the right direction too. Your perfect pet is out there. Patience and persistence will pay off for both the dog and you.
Visit Babylon Town Shelter (643- 9270) Lamar St. W. Babylon for a large selection of adoptable dogs and cats. "Petey" the 8 year neut. Dalmatian in Cage 3 is a victim of divorce. His former owner wrote that this sweetheart Dal is good with kids and other animals. Petey knows sit, down, come, and stay. His breed is prone to urinary stones. Years ago he had a procedure- permanent urethrostomy- to let future stones pass without obstruction. "June" #18689 in the Cat Colony needs a change of luck too. This darling black & white cat was abandoned outside the shelter with her kittens in April. At the time she was a baby herself. I named her for "Adopt a Cat" month which has long since passed.
•Male Dogs: a tall, dark, & handsome German Shepherd Cage 41; nice Chow mix Cage 13; Hound mix Cage 9.
•Female Dogs: "Lady"- buff Cocker Spaniel Cage 95; "Zoey"- black Lab mix Cage 93; Doberman-Cage 67.
•Cats: consider a member of the terrific trio- "Faith, Jewel, Cosmo"- also a declawed orange Adonis.
•Dog Rescue, Sidewalk Sale, 8/25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Back of Cozy Pet, 765 Deer Park Ave., North Babylon.