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Observing Strategies
The recommendations and performance numbers given in this section are based on observations done during the commissioning and System Verification in August and September 2002. For the Hamamatsu CCDs, which have a higher sensitivity in the red, the considerations below still apply, however the exposure times may be ~1/3 shorter.
- Recommended Exposure Times: Choosing the best exposure time for Nod & Shuffle observations is highly dependent on the stability of the current cloud cover conditions. There is a trade-off because shorter exposure times, while yielding more accurate sky-subtraction also lead to significantly increased overheads. During Commissioning and System Verification for Nod & Shuffle it was determined that an exposure time of A = 60sec gave acceptably low sky-subtraction residuals for photometric or nearly photometric (CC = 70%) and relatively stable sky conditions. For highly variable sky conditions or heavier cloud cover (CC = 90% or Any) an exposure time of A = 60sec gave unacceptably high residuals and we recommend a shorter exposure time, e.g. A = 30sec.
- Sky subtraction and Nod & Shuffle -vs- Classic GMOS Spectroscopy: Nod & Shuffle gives the possibility of eliminating systematics from the sky subtraction, even in the presence of very strong sky lines. The advantage of Nod & Shuffle is largest in the red, due to the many strong sky lines. By eliminating the systematics from the sky subtraction, Nod & Shuffle makes it possible to combine spectroscopic observations to reach total exposure times of many tenths of hours without being affected by systematic sky residuals. It has been demonstrated that with total exposure times of 28 hours it is possible to determine redshifts from absorption lines of objects as faint as i'(AB)=24.7 mag. For exposure times of a few hours and fairly bright objects, typically i' brighter than 20-21 mag, the advantage of Nod & Shuffle is smaller. However, if you are concerned about getting high signal-to-noise spectra and are studying faint absorption features, you may still want to consider Nod & Shuffle. Example longslit spectra taken with Nod & Shuffle illustrate these points.
- GMOS Integration Time Calculators The GMOS North and South ITCs do not account for systematic uncertainties in the subtraction of bright skylines, and as such is quite easily adapted for estimating realistic sensitivities using Nod & Shuffle. All one needs to do is to set the sky aperture to 1 times the target aperture in the Analysis Method under Details of Observation instead of using the default sky aperture of 5 times the target aperture.


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California's slow but steady recovery continued last month as employers added 27,700 jobs and the state's unemployment rate held steady at 7.4 percent.
July's employment gain exceeded the 24,200 jobs that were added in June. More importantly, California added 323,600 jobs so far this year and has now added 1,371,500 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
"Statewide and locally we're generally staying the course we've followed for the past several months with solid year-over-year job gains," said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "There are more milestones we need to pass going forward, but we're moving forward with steady gains. We should get back to a more normal labor market sometime in 2015."
Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire both shed jobs in July, but the bulk of those losses were tied to education-related positions typically not filled during the summer months.
L.A. County's unemployment rate was unchanged last month at 8.1 percent but was down from 10 percent a year earlier. The county lost 57,600 jobs in July, although 69,200 were added over the year representing an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent.
Los Angeles County's biggest decline in July came in government, which lost 38,700 jobs. Local government educational services accounted for 88 percent of the decline, which equated to 33,900 jobs.
Education and health services followed, with a loss of 10,800 jobs. School breaks whittled educational services by 6,800 jobs and social assistance accounted for 3,800 of the 4,000 jobs that were lost last month in health care and social assistance.
The information sector lost another 3,400 jobs — mostly in motion picture and sound recording — and additional losses were seen in trade, transportation and utilities, wholesale trade, transportation, warehousing and utilities, construction, financial activities and manufacturing.
Nominal gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and mining and logging.
Year over year, professional and business services led the way with 27,600 new jobs. That was followed by job gains in educational and health services (up 18,800), retail trade (up 9,700), leisure and hospitality (up 8,600), construction (up 7,700) and motion picture and sound recording (up 7,400).
L.A. County's manufacturing sector — an industry that has suffered significant losses over the years due to downsizing, outsourcing and businesses moving out of state where costs are cheaper — shed another 15,000 jobs over the year.
That didn't surprise Robert Reed. Reed owns Chamber Sheet Metal Inc., a Canoga Park business that provides sheet metal products to air conditioning contractors and others who require custom work.
"I used to have seven employees but now it's down to just me, one guy in the shop and my daughter," he said.
Reed said his business has been hammered by increasing fees, restrictions and mandates.
"Every time we turn around they are coming up with something new," he said. "You get an agency that monitors air conditioning units and they are making new requirements so they can justify their jobs. That means companies have to put more into what they are doing when they install it in someone's home. And with the economy and all the competition … you can't raise your prices. It's just more money out of your pocket."
Reed said his business is down by 50 percent.
"I would have been better off if I would have sold the business six years ago," he said.
The Inland Empire lost 17,000 jobs in July and its unemployment rate jumped to 9.2 percent from a revised 8.4 percent the previous month. The 2013 rate was 10.9 percent.
The region's biggest decline came in the government sector.
Manufacturing lost 1,300 jobs, but leisure and hospitality added 1,400 jobs.
The Inland Empire has added 36,200 jobs over the year.
Trade, transportation and utilities provided the biggest annual employment gains for the two-county region with 10,100 new jobs.
Additional job gains were seen in leisure and hospitality (up 9,400), educational and health services (up 7,800) and professional and business services (up 7,700).
Manufacturing lost 1,100 jobs.
Michael Macho, division president of BIS Computer Solutions in La Crescenta, said businesses are beginning to spend more for the information technology services his company provides as the economy gradually improves.
"A lot of times businesses will put off capital expenditures for things like new PCs or software," he said. "But if they put it off too long that can catch up to them and be detrimental to their business. And the IT solutions we offer can make companies more efficient."

subset: commoncrawl


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Ladies 3 Fold Reva umbrella with chrome plated tubs and Zinc plated ribs. UV coated fabric with high quality water repellent chemical.
Open Canopy Span (OCS): 38-39 inches
Method Of Operation: Manual Open
Fabric: Polyester (With Protective UV Coating)
Frame: 3 Fold
Closed Length: 10.5-11 inches
Umbrella Care: Please allow the umbrella to dry before closing.
Disclaimer: Product colour may slightly vary due to photographic lighting sources or your monitor settings
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Welcome to Citizen Umbrella, the home of exceptional quality umbrellas & a leading umbrella selling company in India. We do not want to boast but, we are incredibly proud of the fact that we are the oldest & one of the few companies that manufactures rain umbrellas entirely in India. Supported with skilled team of professionals, we have emerged as one of the prominent manufacturers, exporters, dealers, suppliers, distributors & umbrella sellers in India. Our constant quality oriented deliveries and consistent performance has made us the number one choice in the umbrella market. Our umbrellas are the result of revolutionary designs with quality workmanship and they serve as an ideal wet weather precautions. Right from the beginning we've stood behind our slogan "Best Quality Umbrellas at Low Prices" and that is exactly what we strive to bring to our customers as well as our partners & distributors. Being a top umbrella company in the country, our goal is to give our customers sturdy & long lasting umbrellas at cheap rates.
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Running for East Hampton Town Board
Endorsements: Republican, Opportunity Party
1. Please share with us accomplishments or experiences that would indicate your commitment to advancing an environmental agenda for East Hampton. These may be professional or personal.
My most enduring statement of my commitment to conservation and protecting our environment is Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons (Little Brown 1998), a book with a leitmotif deploring the development of our rapturous landscapes. The year Philistines was published I was asked to be the speaker at the summer benefit for the then-called Group for the East End.
Also, as the host of Plum TV (2003-2005), and the host and producer of Steven Gaines' East End (2001-2004), and host and producer of Sunday Brunch Live from the American Hotel (2003-2010), I was afforded the opportunity to be a vocal supporter of conservation issues, including the Dark Skies interest group. I interviewed Susan Harder several times to help spread the word, and I practice what I preach; I have low lighting and I use the light shields given to me by Ms. Harder.
I have also written and spoken about the use of pesticides, the control of the deer population, and my concerns about ground water.
As a journalist who is identified with the Hamptons, I have had the opportunity to speak about these issues with the national press over the years, and last year I wrote a brief article for New York magazine about dune erosion and the cost to the homeowners to replace dunes and replant grasses every few years.
On a proactive basis, I would propose incentives to builders and home owners for green construction and maintenance. I would direct more attention (and funds) to aquifer protection. I would prioritize Community Preservation Fund purchases in consultation with local environmental groups. I would revitalize the Natural Resources Department and strengthen its enforcement tools by enacting more stringent laws. I would ban, if I could, all pesticides, although I know this is unlikely to happen. For the record, I never have allowed any poison to be sprayed on my property, which is all woods and natural. I am a strong proponent of wind energy and would like to see more windmills built.
2. What do you believe is the role of town government regulation and enforcement in maintaining a clean, sustainable environment? What, if any, changes are the most important?
I've always believed the government should take a strong role in the regulation and enforcement of the environment. I would like to see an alliance between town government and private conservation groups to help tackle the issues. I would appoint a member of the town board as liaison responsible for conservation issues. (That would be me, I'd volunteer gladly.) Unfortunately when times are tough environmental concerns sink in interest and become the government's stepchild. But we can't afford to be a fad, particularly here in the East End where so much depends on our eco-system, and we have to lobby against the national Republican attempt to disassemble the EPA.
3. What resources, experts or opinions will you consult when making decisions that affect East Hampton Town's environmental resources?
I don't think I'd need to go much further to get expert advice than to ask the directors and staff of all the organizations who have written this very comprehensive questionnaire.
Coastal, Drinking and Surface Water
4. In view of the extreme weather conditions as of late, what should East Hampton Town, as a coastal community, do in the short and long term to prepare for these changes?
We've got to get the Army Corps to end their study and for them to recognize that we've got different issues than Fire Island and seek Federal support to make changes that will help us ease erosion. (One suggestion, although I'm hardly an expert, would be to alter or remove the artificial jetties that cause so much erosion west of East Hampton beach.) Fortunately, because of Tim Bishop's support we're able to dredge Montauk Harbor.
5. Do you believe current Town policies adequately protect drinking water quality and sustainability? If not, what, if any, policy changes would you support?
One priority is to correct the alarming problems with the sewerage treatment plants in East Hampton. If private aging septic systems need to be replaced the homeowner has to pay for it, so there should be a governmental financial incentive plan to help homeowners afford the modernization to meet present standards.
6. Periodically, East Hampton Town's bays and creeks are closed to shell fishing or swimming due to poor water quality. Some water bodies do not meet Federal EPA MS4 storm water protection standards. What concrete actions will you support to improve the quality of our surface waters?
We need to actively pursue solutions in particular to the modernization or replacement of septic systems that were built before present government standards and seek affordable solutions to problems with runoff. I would support the Lake Montauk Watershed committee.
Land Preservation
Public land preservation protects our drinking water supply and improves drinking water quality, quality of life, tax rates and property values in the Town of East Hampton.
7. Should the Town continue to use the Community Preservation Fund to purchase land? If so, what changes, if any, would you support in land preservation policy or practice? If not, what funding mechanism do you propose ought to replace it?
I enthusiastically support the Community Preservation Fund. While we can never preserve enough open vistas, I'm proud that we've already been able to keep 42% of our land open space, but our work is hardly finished. I would like to see the CPF expanded to include not just land but waterways.
Dark and Quiet Skies
8. In 2006 the Town passed the "Smart Lighting" law which enhanced previous legislation addressing light pollution. What are the most important benefits (if any) and shortcomings (if any) of the Smart Lighting law? What actions would you support to expand or modify the enforcement of this law?
I would expand the Smart Lighting laws, particularly as it pertains to landscape lighting and decorative lighting of private residences. I have been a supporter of Dark Skies from the start, as I've already discussed in the first question. At the same time there are isolated situations where for safety issues the light needs to be corrected—for instance the crosswalks in Montauk—but other than specific instances I will be an implacable advocate for Smart Lighting.
9. Noise pollution caused by aircraft, particularly helicopters, has been a source of complaints from residents for many years. Because of financial agreements with the FAA, the Town government currently has little control over East Hampton airspace. How will you address these complaints? What specific rules would you like to see enacted?
This is a biased question. The supposition is that because of the town's relationship with the FAA that we have "little" control over the airport, and that by not taking any further Grant Assurance money we would gain complete control and end the noise. Legal experts disagree that this is the case, and even without Grant Assurances our airport would subject to Federal regulations. Personally, I'd ban all helicopters, if we could, but it would take a $5 million lawsuit to find out, and only one other airport in America has ever been successful in banning one class of aircraft entirely. I remained undeterred, however, to find a solution to the airport noise. Let's see what the new southern route affords us, and if the seasonal control tower helps mitigate the problem.
Government Planning and Enforcement
Historically, East Hampton has been a national leader in community and environmental planning and open space preservation.
10. What is your vision for the future of the Planning Department in East Hampton Town? What aspects of the Planning Department's organization and function are most important for the Town's future and what aspects, if any, would you change or strengthen?
A seven-year term is too long a term to have near absolute control the future of the town. I know that the terms are staggered, but still, a long term like seven years creates the opportunity for the board to get stagnant and cling to a philosophy that it not in tune with the 21st Century or the changing needs of the people who live here.
11. Are the Town's Comprehensive and Local Waterfront Revitalization Plans adequate in your opinion? If not, which specific policies or plan recommendations do you not support or would like to see changed? Which policies would you prioritize for implementation?
Not adequate. One initiative I would like to take is public education about our waterways.
Solid Waste and Water Waste Management Facilities
The Town's systems for the management of both solid waste (trash and recyclables) and water waste (sewage) have been the focus of critical discussion in recent years.
12. What is your assessment of the state of these systems, what are the major problems requiring correction, and what are the most urgently needed changes in policy and practice?
I believe I've made my views about water waste clear above, although there is certainly a great deal more I could learn about this issue. As for scavenger waste I would sub-contract the removal to a private company.


text:
Insane Clown Posse Suing FBI Because of Course They Are
Seriously, you do not want to mess with these guys, lest you wind up drenched in Faygo or, worse, on the receiving end of a lawsuit. Clown rappers the Insane Clown Posse are suing the FBI for categorizing their fans, the Juggalos, as a dangerous street gang. That's right, the Juggalos are right up there with Latin Kings and the Aryan Brotherhood.
ICP filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see what information the FBI had used to determine that the Juggalos are a dangerous criminal organization. That was over a month ago, and since they haven't seen anything, they are filing suit against the Feds.
If you're a Juggalo who's been treated unfairly by law enforcement because of your affiliation with Insane Clown Posse (this is not a joke), ICP has launched JuggalosFightBack.com, where you can share your tale of mistreatment and possibly also makeup tips. ICP members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are of course not responsible for any mistreatment you might have incurred at the annual Gathering of the Juggalos.


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Can a woman's life be saved by completely changing her appearance? Sa Geum Ran is in a desperate situation. With nowhere else to turn, she goes to Han Tae Hee (Joo Sang Wook), the heir to a large company who suffers from a broken heart. With Tae Hee's help, the woman undergoes plastic surgery and transforms into the beautiful Sara (Han Ye Seul). Can Sara adjust to her new life as a stunning beauty while also helping Tae Hee heal his broken heart? "Birth of a Beauty" is a 2014 South Korean drama series directed by Lee Chang Min.
This show does not have any episodes


text:
New England School of Photography
The New England School of Photography (NESOP) exists to meet the increasing demand for more qualified photographic professionals working in all areas of the photographic and imaging industries. It is the mission of the school to produce highly skilled creative and professional craftspeolpe in the art of visual communication. The school's approach to visual education is one of practical application. NESOP students learn by working with standard industry equipment at actual photographic applications and problem solving. The school's coursework is designed to increase each student's skills in all phases of photographic endeavor by continually challenging his intellect and taxing his creative ability. At NESOP individuals are immersed in an environment filled with photography everywhere they look. The 2-year Professional Photography Program exists in an environment in which all levels of photographic and visual skill are represented from the established artist showing in the gallery to the seasoned professional guest lecturer to the novice struggling with his first camera. Within this environment the goal of NESOP's curriculum is to create photographers who are both visual artists and marketable professionals by instilling a keener sense of awareness and providing them the means for effective visual communications.
School Information537 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Locale: City: Small
Open Admissions: Yes
Sector: Private for-profit, less-than 2-year
Carnegie Basic: Not applicable, not in Carnegie universe (not accredited or nondegree-granting)
Religious Affiliation: Not applicable
Accrediting Agency: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Common name(s): NESOP
Students & Faculty
Total Tuition $28,700.00
Other Requirements:
Degrees & Programs


text:
All meat no potatoes?
From the article: "PCIe 3.0 ups the bus' based clock to 8GHz from 2.0's 5GHz. A change to the bus' line coding system, from 8/10-bit to 128/130-bit further increases the amount of data that can be pumped down the PCI pipe every second. So while PCIe 2.0 can do 4bn transfers a second, PCIe 3.0 can do 8bn"
What I was really looking for was bandwidth, and according to these guys* for an x16 is 32 GB/s vs. the prior 16 GB/s... which IMO makes the whole PCIe-based SSD stuff even that much more attractive (although lower prices would be nice:)
* http://www.trentontechnology.com/support-center/technical-information/resources/163-trenton-technology-pci-express-3-pcie-2


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All-Purpose Ink - Green Apple
Availability: In Stock
You save : R13.32
Incl. VAT: R37.00
Product ships out in 5-7 working days.
It's blendability, washability and versatility, has made this quick-drying craft ink a fast favorite among fabric artists on natural fabrics. Works great for Marbling! Has a very light hand, if any. They can be used on wood, paper, leather and other porous surfaces, All-Purpose Inks are water-based and non-toxic, making it fun for artists of all ages.
When used on fabrics, the ink must be heat set for permanence. For best results the manufacturer recommends using 100% cotton or silk, but we think it sure work on any natural fabric with a smooth surface. Heat set between color applications to prevent bleeding. Or layer colors to achieve a blended "watercolor" effect.
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GDT – Edmonton Oilers 1, Ottawa Senators 4 – Mar 9, 2010 @ 7:30 PM – SNET – Game 66
Well, the Oilers are coming off 2 wins in a row now. After watching them plod heartlessly through January, it's nice to see some effort out of everyone right now. I'd like to believe that there has been a big morale and culture shift, however really there shouldn't be much reason to believe that, as the only guy of the vets from 06 to go was Staios. However, there are a lot of new faces in the line-ups these days, so there is a possibility that this is the case. Even Horcoff, everyone's favorite goat, has stepped his game up lately. I think, personally, I'd bet that with the trade deadline gone, the guys can relax a fair bit more and play loose. The Senators have won only 1 game in their last 5. So they'll be hoping to bounce back against a team that is normally considered the free spot on the big card. Not tonight though!
Prediction: 3-1 Oilers
Continue reading 'GDT – Edmonton Oilers 1, Ottawa Senators 4 – Mar 9, 2010 @ 7:30 PM – SNET – Game 66'»


text: Reinke Expands Remote-Management Portfolio February 20, 2013 11:00 PM Tweet The reintroduced Ontrac product line gives growers several options for monitoring their irrigation systems from a remote location, says Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc. Choices include satellite and radio. © Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc. TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Nate Birt Top Producer Managing Editor Email Farmers can now control their center-pivot irrigation systems with the help of a radio-based product from Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc., the company announced. The reintroduction of its Ontrac product line marks an ongoing effort to act on grower feedback, it says. "Listening to the needs of growers from across the U.S. and around the world is an important part of our research and development process at Reinke. We believe we've captured a solution for them with Ontrac," Reinke President Chris Roth says. "Ontrac is designed to provide a comfortable level of irrigation system remote management, and we are excited to reintroduce the ease of use technology, dependability and time saving attributes of this product line to our customers." Previously, the manufacturer only offered satellite-based communication as part of Ontrac. The product line now comprises Ontrac Radio, Ontrac Satellite Plus and Ontrac Satellite, Reinke says, and it can be integrated with irrigation machinery from any manufacturer. The radio system broadcasts from a base station such as a home computer, giving farmers secure access to their irrigation systems using web-enabled devices. Engineers from Reinke perform a communication-path study to ensure optimal system performance. The satellite systems are intended for use in areas with poor cell reception and offer varying degrees of control options. The most advanced option is Ontrac Satellite Plus. Benefits of remote management products include the ability to view pivot locations, control irrigation machines and track pressure, Reinke says. More information is available by calling the toll-free Grower's Hotline at 866-365-7381 or by going to www.reinke.com. Back to news


text: Chris Black wrote: > > We are looking for an external RAID solution that will provide at LEAST > 100MB/s read bandwidth, probably under RAID 10 (0+1). So far I have been > disappointed with performance for external raid arrays that we have > looked into, and I haven't found a good site with actual benchmarks > for external raid arrays. So I'm using the list :) > I know some of you probably have some experience in high performance > external raid solutions so I'm asking for tips, suggestions, links, etc. > I don't care if it is an Ultra160 connect or fibre channel, but I have > no experience with fibre channel and don't know about compatible cards > with linux. > Our budget isn't quite in the EMC range, but I still figure there is > something out there that someone on this list might know about. > All replies appreciated. Thanks in advance! > > Chris > You do understand the machine you're connecting to is pretty important when talking about those sorts of rates. Needs to have a 64 bit PCI slot and clocked probably at 66Mhz. Also, one assumes you don't want this any place but on the local machine because if you want it over a network, you double your PCI bus load. A 64 bit 33Mhz bus is 264MB/sec. 64 bit/66Mhz is 528MB/sec. (Theoretically) Might want to decide what machine is capable of even doing that level in addition to what subsystem. Note the threads lately on PCI Myrinet performance. They discuss tested performance levels of various chipsets. Select one of the good ones as a starting point for your system. Then, go find a card that can sustain that rate. Ultra160 ought to be able to. I personally would consider whether taking a few large SCSI disks and striping them with Linux SW raid would do the job. If you're looking for a canned solution, I'm not aware of one so can't help you there. Good luck. Wes


text:
DotCloud's Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering has exited its private beta stage and is now available for use by developers. Supporting multiple development and database stacks, this toolkit has also been positioned to include a new set of management and runtime services that provide high availability and scaling capabilities.
DotCloud currently supports 12 stacks and databases so that programmers can create an automatically managed development and deployment environment that supports PHP, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, Node.JS, MySQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, Solr, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL.
DotCloud suggests that traditionally, organizations have standardized on a small set of development technologies (using only one stack) in order to minimize the cost and risk of building and running their applications.
"For these development shops, leveraging innovation in development technologies, including scripting languages like PHP, Ruby, and Python and databases like MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis remains out of reach. DotCloud's platform enables developers to adopt these and other stacks without requiring any runtime or management infrastructure or expertise," said Solomon Hykes, cofounder and CEO of DotCloud.
Stacks running on DotCloud share a common management and monitoring system — consolidating what has arguably been fragmented functions into a single platform — and freeing IT organizations from requiring stack-specific management skills.
As a result, companies are now able to adopt new development technologies without additional cost or risk. With this release, DotCloud is adding two new features:
- High Availability: Applications built on DotCloud can automatically span multiple availability zones and datacenters, seamlessly distributing traffic between locations and providing automatic failover.
- Dynamic scaling: As traffic to a stack or database increases, DotCloud automatically allocates traffic across additional resources to ensure it can effectively handle the load.


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Following the January 18 mass online blackout against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), Congress flushed these contentious pieces of intellectual property legislation down the proverbial toilet thanks to a soiling of public outcry. And now a Kickstarter project wants to help you send these bills down the crapper again — literally.
The project, known on Kickstarter simply as "Print the SOPA and PIPA bills on Toilet Paper!", is exactly what it sounds like — SOPA and PIPA on toilet paper. According to the project's creator, who goes by Craig R. (he told us he'd prefer that his "moonlighting as an entrepreneur not become official office gossip"), the point of the project is to create a symbol around which SOPA and PIPA opponents can rally.
"I felt that no one really knew how to symbolize their frustrations with this bill," Craig told us in an email. "Additionally, the anti-SOPA/PIPA groups appeared scattered across the internet. Typically groups with this sort of momentum have a physical emblem to bring them together…I asked myself what could motivate these demonstrators to forge a common alliance."
If nothing else, says Craig, the SOPA/PIPA roll adds a "fun factor" to the heavy topic of intellectual property regulation. In addition to the text of both bills, the SOPA/PIPA roll also includes anonymous comments about the legislation, "so it makes it fun to unravel," says Craig. "It can kind of be like something you save for afternoon reading. So if anything, even if you have problems with the kind of statement it makes, you can think of it as a gag item. A low-tech discussion board, if you will, in a place you never expected!"
While Craig says the response to the project has been "really positive," it's not actually doing well on Kickstarter. At the time of this writing, the project had only raised $45 out of the $2,000 goal, which must be met within the next eight days in order for it to be a success. Craig says the money raised "would go towards finding a custom print shop to mass produce the rolls with all of the quotes and pictures on it, and [to] get a place to warehouse them." The prototype roll, pictured above, was made using regular paper and his home printer.
"That picture is a prototype," says Craig. "I used my [PIXMA] ip6600d Canon printer, and taped sections of TP onto a sheet of firm paper and sent it through the machine using the SOPA/PIPA text. Then I taped the whole thing together to make 2 whole rolls! It took forever too."
If you'd like to see the SOPA/PIPA toilet paper become a reality, check out Craig's Kickstarter project here. Watch Craig's (hilarious) promo video below:
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Every year, more than 200 million people are affected by natural disasters. Many will bear the brunt of recurring floods, storms or droughts, and the majority of them will be women and girls. Most of those affected by recurring disasters survive. In fact, in all but the poorest and most poorly run countries, deaths resulting from weather-related disasters are on the decline.
What is not on the decline is our exposure to risk and the high price that we pay in terms of lost jobs, destroyed or damaged homes and disruption to education, health services and transport infrastructure.
Just as the most expensive hospital is the one that collapses during an earthquake, so the most expensive disaster-management plan is the one that fails to tackle the root causes of recurring disasters. A combination of inept urban planning and ignorance of the true economic cost of such events can all too easily allow valuable community assets to be swept away.
There are two approaches to building resilience to disasters. The most visible is the structural approach, which invests money wisely in flood protection, drainage, preservation of wetlands and forests, and remedial action — based on sound risk assessment — to protect valuable infrastructure.
The other, non-structural approach focuses on early warning systems, public policy, legislation, insurance, knowledge, education, training and community participation. It should also focus on issues that make particular groups of people vulnerable because of their gender, age, religion or poverty.
Ignoring the female voice in a disaster context is foolish in the extreme. We know that some of the most powerful recovery programs in the wake of disasters are driven by women who have survived the worst.
Countries that do not actively promote the full participation of women in education, politics, and the workforce will struggle more than most when it comes to reducing risk and adapting to climate change. Gender equality is thus an essential element of our work in building resilience to disasters and reducing the risk to lives, jobs and property. It is also, literally, a matter of life and death if women and girls are not empowered to participate fully in disaster management and planning.
This year, on the International Day for Disaster Reduction, we want to shine a light on women and girls, and to recognize what they are already doing to build their communities' resilience in places where gender is not a barrier to their full participation in public life. We need to appreciate what women and girls are achieving by putting their experience and knowledge to good use in designing disaster plans and identifying areas for improvement in urban planning and early warning systems.
More than 100 million women and girls are affected by disasters each year. They all have a right to be equipped for survival, and they all have a right to contribute to keeping their communities safe from harm.
We need more women volunteering at the community level, and we need more women in senior positions as disaster managers. A world in which exposure to disaster is growing exponentially — and causing ever-higher economic losses — needs all the female help that it can get.
Margareta Wahlstrom is the UN secretary-general's special representative for disaster risk reduction and head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. The International Day for Disaster Reduction is observed each year on Oct. 13.


text: Compassionate Parents will meet 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Avera St. Luke's Education Center, 709 Sixth Ave. S.E. The support group offers friendship and understanding, promotes positive resolution of grief experiences and fosters physical and emotional health after the death of a child. Parents, grandparents, family and friends are invited. Details: Marge Holland or Judy Toennies, 605-622-5552.


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Thursday, August 30, 2007
Ganeti: Open source virtual server management software released
Today we're happy to announce the first beta release of Ganeti, an open source virtual server management software built on top of Xen and other open source software.
Ganeti started as a small project in Google's Zurich office. We've been using it internally for a while, and now we're excited to share it more broadly under GPLv2.
Here at Google, we've used Ganeti in the internal corporate environment to facilitate cluster management of virtual servers in commodity hardware, increasing the efficiency of hardware usage and saving space, power and cooling. Ganeti also provides fast and simple recovery after physical failures.
Feel free to download it from http://code.google.com/p/ganeti and don't hesitate to give us feedback.
Ganeti Team
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Tribute To Christian Filem
A Tribute to some of my kegemaran Christian movies. 1:The Ten Commandments 2:Passion Of The Christ 3:Do anda Believe? 4:God's Not Dead 1+2
|dihantar oleh 1Josua hampir setahun yang lalu
Your mind tricks you!!
Your mind tricks you!!
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Solar thermal collector
A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to solar hot water panels, but may refer to installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers; or basic installations such as solar air heaters. Concentrated solar power plants usually use the more complex collectors to generate electricity by heating a fluid to drive a turbine connected to an electrical generator.[1] Simple collectors are typically used in residential and commercial buildings for space heating. The first solar thermal collector designed for building roofs was patented by William H. Goettl and called the "Solar heat collector and radiator for building roof".[2]
Solar-thermal collectors heating liquidEdit
Solar collectors are either non-concentrating or concentrating. In the non-concentrating type, the collector area (i.e., the area that intercepts the solar radiation) is the same as the absorber area (i.e., the area absorbing the radiation). In these types the whole solar panel absorbs light. Concentrating collectors have a bigger interceptor than absorber.[1]
Flat-plate and evacuated-tube solar collectors are used to collect heat for space heating, domestic hot water or cooling with an absorption chiller.
Flat plate collectorsEdit
Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar thermal technology. They consist of an (1) enclosure containing (2) a dark colored absorber plate with fluid circulation passageways, and (3) a transparent cover to allow transmission of solar energy into the enclosure. The sides and back of the enclosure are typically insulated to reduce heat loss to the outside air. A fluid is circulated through the absorber's fluid passageways to remove heat from the solar collector. The circulation fluid in tropical and sub-tropical climates is typically water. In climates where freezing is likely, a heat-transfer fluid similar to an automotive antifreeze solution may be used instead of water, or in a mixture with water. If a heat transfer fluid is used, a heat exchanger is typically employed to transfer heat from the solar collector fluid to a hot water storage tank. The most common absorber design consists of copper tubing attached to thermally conductive copper or aluminum fins. A dark coating is applied to the sun-facing side of the absorber assembly to increase it absorption of solar energy. A common absorber coating is flat black enamel paint.
In higher performance solar collector designs, the transparent cover is tempered glass with reduced iron oxide content (the green color visible when viewing a pane of window glass from the side). The glass may also have a stippling pattern an anti-reflective coating to trap more solar energy by reducing reflection. The absorber coating is typically a selective coating. Selective coatings have special optical properties to improve efficiency by reducing the emittance of infrared energy from the absorber.
Some manufacturers have introduced inexpensive flat plate solar collectors that employ polycarbonate transparent covers and polypropylene absorber assemblies.
Most air heat fabricators and some water heat manufacturers have a completely flooded absorber consisting of two sheets of metal which the fluid passes between. Because the heat exchange area is greater, they may be marginally more efficient than traditional absorbers.[3]
In locations with average available solar energy, flat plate collectors are sized approximately 1.2 to 2.4 square decimeter per liter of one day's hot water use. Absorber piping configurations include:
- harp – traditional design with bottom pipe risers and top collection pipe, used in low pressure thermosyphon and pumped systems;
- serpentine – one continuous S that maximizes temperature but not total energy yield in variable flow systems, used in compact solar domestic hot water only systems (no space heating role);
- flooded absorber consisting of two sheets of metal stamped to produce a circulation zone;
- boundary layer absorber collectors consisting of several layers of transparent and opaque sheets that enable absorption in a boundary layer. Because the energy is absorbed in the boundary layer, heat conversion may be more efficient than for collectors where absorbed heat is conducted through a material before the heat is accumulated in a circulating liquid.[citation needed]
Polymer flat plate collectors are an alternative to metal collectors and are now being produced in Europe. These may be wholly polymer, or they may include metal plates in front of freeze-tolerant water channels made of silicone rubber. Polymers are flexible and therefore freeze-tolerant and can employ plain water instead of antifreeze, so that they may be plumbed directly into existing water tanks instead of needing heat exchangers that lower efficiency. By dispensing with a heat exchanger, temperatures need not be quite so high for the circulation system to be switched on, so such direct circulation panels, whether polymer or otherwise, can be more efficient, particularly at low light levels. Some early selectively coated polymer collectors suffered from overheating when insulated, as stagnation temperatures can exceed the polymer's melting point.[4][5] For example, the melting point of polypropylene is 160 °C (320 °F), while the stagnation temperature of insulated thermal collectors can exceed 180 °C (356 °F) if control strategies are not used. For this reason polypropylene is not often used in glazed selectively coated solar collectors. Increasingly polymers such as high temperate silicones (which melt at over 250 °C (482 °F)) are being used. Some non polypropylene polymer based glazed solar collectors are matte black coated rather than selectively coated to reduce the stagnation temperature to 150 °C (302 °F) or less.
In areas where freezing is a possibility, freeze-tolerance (the capability to freeze repeatedly without cracking) can be achieved by the use of flexible polymers. Silicone rubber pipes have been used for this purpose in UK since 1999. Conventional metal collectors are vulnerable to damage from freezing, so if they are water filled they must be carefully plumbed so they completely drain using gravity before freezing is expected, so that they do not crack. Many metal collectors are installed as part of a sealed heat exchanger system. Rather than having potable water flow directly through the collectors, a mixture of water and antifreeze such as propylene glycol is used. A heat exchange fluid protects against freeze damage down to a locally determined risk temperature that depends on the proportion of propylene glycol in the mixture. The use of glycol lowers the water's heat carrying capacity marginally, while the addition of an extra heat exchanger may lower system performance at low light levels.
A pool or unglazed collector is a simple form of flat-plate collector without a transparent cover. Typically polypropylene or EPDM rubber or silicone rubber is used as an absorber. Used for pool heating it can work quite well when the desired output temperature is near the ambient temperature (that is, when it is warm outside). As the ambient temperature gets cooler, these collectors become less effective. Most flat plate collectors have a life expectancy of over 25 years.
Evacuated tube collectorsEdit
Most vacuum tube collectors are used in middle Europe use heat pipes for their core instead of passing liquid directly through them. Direct flow is more popular in China. Evacuated heat pipe tubes (EHPTs) are composed of multiple evacuated glass tubes each containing an absorber plate fused to a heat pipe.[6] The heat is transferred to the transfer fluid (water or an antifreeze mix—typically propylene glycol) of a domestic hot water or hydronic space heating system in a heat exchanger called a "manifold". The manifold is wrapped in insulation and covered by a protective sheet metal or plastic case. The vacuum inside of the evacuated tube collectors traditionally have warranties of 10 years. The reflective coating for the design is encapsulated in the vacuum inside of the tube, which will not degrade until the vacuum is lost.[7] The vacuum that surrounds the outside of the tube greatly reduces convection and conduction heat loss, therefore achieving greater efficiency than flat-plate collectors, especially in colder conditions. This advantage is largely lost in warmer climates, except in those cases where very hot water is desirable, e.g., for commercial processes. The high temperatures that can occur may require special design to prevent overheating.
Some evacuated tubes (glass-metal) are made with one layer of glass that fuses to the heat pipe at the upper end and encloses the heat pipe and absorber in the vacuum. Others (glass-glass) are made with a double layer of glass fused together at one or both ends with a vacuum between the layers (like a vacuum bottle or flask), with the absorber and heat pipe contained at normal atmospheric pressure. Glass-glass tubes have a highly reliable vacuum seal, but the two layers of glass reduce the light that reaches the absorber. Moisture may enter the non-evacuated area of the tube and cause absorber corrosion. Glass-metal tubes allow more light to reach the absorber, and protect the absorber and heat pipe from corrosion even if they are made from dissimilar materials (see galvanic corrosion).
The gaps between the tubes may allow for snow to fall through the collector, minimizing the loss of production in some snowy conditions, though the lack of radiated heat from the tubes can also prevent effective shedding of accumulated snow.[8][9]
Comparisons of flat plate and evacuated tube collectorsEdit
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A longstanding argument exists between proponents of these two technologies. Some of this can be related to the physical structure of evacuated tube collectors which have a discontinuous absorbance area. An array of evacuated tubes on a roof has open space between the collector tubes, and vacuum between the two concentric glass tubes of each collector. Collector tubes cover only a fraction of a unit area on a roof. If evacuated tubes are compared with flat-plate collectors on the basis of area of roof occupied, a different conclusion might be reached than if the areas of absorber were compared. In addition, the ISO 9806 standard[10] is ambiguous in describing the way in which the efficiency of solar thermal collectors should be measured, since these could be measured either in terms of gross area or in terms of absorber area. Unfortunately, power output is not given for thermal collectors as it is for PV panels. This makes it difficult for purchasers and engineers to make informed decisions.
|A comparison of the energy output (kW.h/day) of a flat plate collector (blue lines; Thermodynamics S42-P[dubious ]; absorber 2.8 m2) and an evacuated tube collector (green lines; SunMaxx 20EVT[dubious ]; absorber 3.1 m2. Data obtained from SRCC certification documents on the Internet.[dubious ] Tm-Ta = temperature difference between water in the collector and the ambient temperature. Q = insolation during the measurements. Firstly, as (Tm-Ta) increases the flat plate collector loses efficiency more rapidly than the evac tube collector. This means the flat plate collector is less efficient in producing water higher than 25 degrees C above ambient (i.e. to the right of the red marks on the graph).[dubious ] Secondly, even though the output of both collectors drop off strongly under cloudy conditions (low insolation), the evac tube collector yields significantly more energy under cloudiness than the flat plate collector. Although many factors obstruct the extrapolation from two collectors to two different technologies, above, the basic relationships between their efficiencies remain valid[dubious ].
|A field trial [11] illustrating the differences discussed in the figure on the left. A flat plate collector and a similar-sized evacuated tube collector were installed adjacently on a roof, each with a pump, controller and storage tank. Several variables were logged during a day with intermittent rain and cloud. Green line = solar irradiation. The top maroon line indicates the temperature of the evac tube collector for which cycling of the pump is much slower and even stopping for some 30 minutes during the cool parts of the day (irradiation low), indicating a slow rate of heat collection. The temperature of the flat plate collector fell significantly during the day (bottom purple line), but started cycling again later in the day when irradiation increased. The temperature in the water storage tank of the evac tube system (dark blue graph) increased by 8 degrees C during the day while that of the flat plate system (light blue graph) only remained constant. Courtesy ITS-solar.[11][dubious ]
Flat-plate collectors usually lose more heat to the environment than evacuated tubes, as an increasing function of temperature. They are inappropriate for high temperature applications such as process steam production. Evacuated tube collectors have a lower absorber plate area to gross area ratio (typically 60–80% of gross area) compared to flat plates. Based on absorber plate area, most evacuated tube systems are more efficient per square meter than equivalent flat plate systems. This makes them suitable where roof space is limiting, for example where the number of occupants of a building is higher than the number of square metres of suitable and available roof space. In general, per installed square metre, evacuated tubes deliver marginally more energy when the ambient temperature is low (e.g. during winter) or when the sky is overcast. However, even in areas without much sunshine and solar heat, some low cost flat plate collectors can be more cost efficient than evacuated tube collectors. Although several European companies manufacture evacuated tube collectors, the evacuated tube market is dominated by manufacturers in the East. Several Chinese companies have track records of 15–30 years. There is no unambiguous evidence that the two designs differ in long term reliability. However, evacuated tube technology is younger and (especially for newer variants with sealed heat pipes) still need to demonstrate competitive lifetimes. The modularity of evacuated tubes can be advantageous in terms of extensibility and maintenance, for example if the vacuum in one tube diminishes.
For a given absorber area, evacuated tubes can therefore maintain their efficiency over a wide range of ambient temperatures and heating requirements. In most climates, flat-plate collectors will generally be more cost-effective than evacuated tubes. When employed in arrays and considered instead on a per square metre basis, the efficient but costly evacuated tube collectors can have a net benefit in winter and summer. They are well-suited to cold ambient temperatures and work well in situations of consistently low sunshine, providing heat more consistently than flat plate collectors per square metre. Heating of water by a medium to low amount (i.e. Tm-Ta) is much more efficiently performed by flat plate collectors. Domestic hot water frequently falls into this medium category. Glazed or unglazed flat collectors are the preferred devices for heating swimming pool water.[13] Unglazed collectors may be suitable in tropical or subtropical environments if domestic hot water needs to be heated by less than 20 °C. A contour map can show which type is more effective (both thermal efficiency and energy/cost) for any geographic region.
EHPTs work as a thermal one-way valve due to their heat pipes. This gives them an inherent maximum operating temperature that acts as a safety feature. They have less aerodynamic drag, which may allow them to be placed onto the roof without being tied down. They can collect thermal radiation from the bottom in addition to the top. Tubes can be replaced individually without stopping the entire system. There is no condensation or corrosion within the tubes. One hurdle to wider adoption of evacuated tube collectors in some markets is their inability to pass internal thermal shock tests where ISO 9806-2 section 9 class b is a requirement for durability certification.[14] This means that if unprotected evacuated tube collectors are exposed to full sun for too long prior to being filled with cold water the tubes may shatter due to the rapid temperature shift. There is also the question of vacuum leakage. Flat panels have been around much longer and are less expensive. They may be easier to clean. Other properties, such as appearance and ease of installation are more subjective.
The main use of this technology is in residential buildings where the demand for hot water has a large impact on energy bills. This generally means a situation with a large family, or a situation in which the hot water demand is excessive due to frequent laundry washing. Commercial applications include laundromats, car washes, military laundry facilities and eating establishments. The technology can also be used for space heating if the building is located off-grid or if utility power is subject to frequent outages. Solar water heating systems are most likely to be cost effective for facilities with water heating systems that are expensive to operate, or with operations such as laundries or kitchens that require large quantities of hot water. Unglazed liquid collectors are commonly used to heat water for swimming pools but can also be applied to large scale water pre-heating. When loads are large relative to available collector area the bulk of the water heating can be done at low temperature, lower than swimming pool temperatures where unglazed collectors are well established in the marketplace as the right choice. Because these collectors need not withstand high temperatures, they can use less expensive materials such as plastic or rubber. Many unglazed collectors are made of polypropylene and must be drained fully to avoid freeze damage when air temperatures drop below 44F on clear nights.[15] A smaller but growing percentage of unglazed collectors are flexible meaning they can withstand water freezing solid inside their absorber. The freeze concern only need be the water filled piping and collector manifolds in a hard freeze condition. Unglazed solar hot water systems should be installed to "drainback" to a storage tank whenever solar radiation is insufficient. There are no thermal shock concerns with unglazed systems. Commonly used in swimming pool heating since solar energy's early beginnings, unglazed solar collectors heat swimming pool water directly without the need for antifreeze or heat exchangers. Hot water solar systems require heat exchangers due to contamination possibilities and in the case of unglazed collectors, the pressure difference between the solar working fluid (water) and the load (pressurized cold city water). Large scale unglazed solar hot water heaters like the one at the Minoru Aquatic Center in Richmond BC[16] operate at lower temperatures than evacuated tube or boxed and glazed collector systems so they require larger more expensive heat exchangers but all other components including vented storage tanks and uninsulated plastic PVC piping reduce costs of this alternative dramatically compared to the higher temperature collector types. When heating hot water, we are actually heating cold to warm and warm to hot. We can heat cold to warm as efficiently with unglazed collectors, just as we can heat warm to hot with high temperature collectors
A solar bowl is a type of solar thermal collector that operates similarly to a parabolic dish, but instead of using a tracking parabolic mirror with a fixed receiver, it has a fixed spherical mirror with a tracking receiver. This reduces efficiency, but makes it cheaper to build and operate. Designers call it a fixed mirror distributed focus solar power system. The main reason for its development was to eliminate the cost of moving a large mirror to track the sun as with parabolic dish systems.[17]
A fixed parabolic mirror creates a variously shaped image of the sun as it moves across the sky. Only when the mirror is pointed directly at the sun does the light focus on one point. That is why parabolic dish systems track the sun. A fixed spherical mirror focuses the light in the same place independent of the sun's position. The light, however, is not directed to one point but is distributed on a line from the surface of the mirror to one half radius (along a line that runs through the sphere center and the sun).
As the sun moves across the sky, the aperture of any fixed collector changes. This causes changes in the amount of captured sunlight, producing what is called the sinus effect of power output. Proponents of the solar bowl design claim the reduction in overall power output compared with tracking parabolic mirrors is offset by lower system costs.[17]
The sunlight concentrated at the focal line of a spherical reflector is collected using a tracking receiver. This receiver is pivoted around the focal line and is usually counterbalanced. The receiver may consist of pipes carrying fluid for thermal transfer or photovoltaic cells for direct conversion of light to electricity.
The solar bowl design resulted from a project of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Texas Technical University, headed by Edwin O'Hair, to develop a 5 MWe power plant. A solar bowl was built for the town of Crosbyton, Texas as a pilot facility.[17] The bowl had a diameter of 65 ft (20 m), tilted at a 15° angle to optimize the cost/yield relation (33° would have maximized yield). The rim of the hemisphere was "trimmed" to 60°, creating a maximum aperture of 3,318 square feet (308.3 m2). This pilot bowl produced electricity at a rate of 10 kW peak.[citation needed]
A 15-meter diameter Auroville solar bowl was developed from an earlier test of a 3.5-meter bowl in 1979–1982 by the Tata Energy Research Institute. That test showed the use of the solar bowl in the production of steam for cooking. The full-scale project to build a solar bowl and kitchen ran from 1996, and was fully operational by 2001.[citation needed]
Solar-thermal collectors heating airEdit
A simple solar air collector consists of an absorber material, sometimes having a selective surface, to capture radiation from the sun and transfers this thermal energy to air via conduction heat transfer. This heated air is then ducted to the building space or to the process area where the heated air is used for space heating or process heating needs. Functioning in a similar manner as a conventional forced air furnace, solar-thermal-air systems provide heat by circulating air over an energy collecting surface, absorbing the sun's thermal energy, and ducting air coming in contact with it. Simple and effective collectors can be made for a variety of air conditioning and process applications.
A variety of applications can utilize solar air heat technologies to reduce the carbon footprint from use of conventional heat sources, such as fossil fuels, to create a sustainable means to produce thermal energy. Applications such as space heating, greenhouse season extension, pre-heating ventilation makeup air, or process heat can be addressed by solar air heat devices. In the field of 'solar co-generation,' solar thermal technologies are paired with photovoltaics (PV) to increase the efficiency of the system by taking heat away from the PV collectors, cooling the PV panels to improve their electrical performance while simultaneously warming air for space heating.
Space heating and ventilatingEdit
Space heating for residential and commercial applications can be done through the use of solar air heating panels. This configuration operates by drawing air from the building envelope or from the outdoor environment and passing it through the collector where the air warms via conduction from the absorber and is then supplied to the living or working space by either passive means or with the assistance of a fan. A pioneering figure of this type of system was George Löf, who built a solar heated air system in 1945 for a house in Boulder, Colorado. He later included a gravel bed for heat storage.
Ventilation, fresh air or makeup air is required in most commercial, industrial and institutional buildings to meet code requirements. By drawing air through a properly designed unglazed transpired air collector or an air heater, the solar heated fresh air can reduce the heating load during daytime operation. Many applications are now being installed where the transpired collector preheats the fresh air entering a heat recovery ventilator to reduce the defrost time of HRV's. The higher your ventilation and temperature the better your payback time will be.
Process heatingEdit
Solar air heat is also used in process applications such as drying laundry, crops (i.e. tea, corn, coffee) and other drying applications. Air heated through a solar collector and then passed over a medium to be dried can provide an efficient means by which to reduce the moisture content of the material.
Solar air heating collector typesEdit
Collectors are commonly classified by their air-ducting methods as one of three types:
- through-pass collectors
- front-pass
- back pass
- combination front and back pass collectors
Collectors can also be classified by their outer surface:
- glazed
- unglazed
Through-pass air collectorEdit
Offering the highest efficiency of any solar technology the through-pass configuration, air ducted onto one side of the absorber passes through a perforated material and is heated from the conductive properties of the material and the convective properties of the moving air. Through-pass absorbers have the most surface area which enables relatively high conductive heat transfer rates, but significant pressure drop can require greater fan power, and deterioration of certain absorber material after many years of solar radiation exposure can additionally create problems with air quality and performance.
Back, front, and combination passage air collectorEdit
In back-pass, front-pass, and combination type configurations the air is directed on either the back, the front, or on both sides of the absorber to be heated from the return to the supply ducting headers. Although passing the air on both sides of the absorber will provide a greater surface area for conductive heat transfer, issues with dust (fouling) can arise from passing air on the front side of the absorber which reduces absorber efficiency by limiting the amount of sunlight received. In cold climates, air passing next to the glazing will additionally cause greater heat loss, resulting in lower overall performance of the collector.
Glazed systemsEdit
Glazed systems usually have a transparent top sheet and insulated side and back panels to minimize heat loss to ambient air. The absorber plates in modern panels can have absorptivity of more than 93%. Glazed Solar Collectors (recirculating types that are usually used for space heating). Air typically passes along the front or back of the absorber plate while scrubbing heat directly from it. Heated air can then be distributed directly for applications such as space heating and drying or may be stored for later use. Payback for glazed solar air heating panels can be less than 9–15 years depending on the fuel being replaced.
Unglazed systemsEdit
Unglazed systems, or transpired air systems have been used to heat make-up or ventilation air in commercial, industrial, agriculture and process applications. They consist of an absorber plate which air passes across or through as it scrubs heat from the absorber. Non-transparent glazing materials are less expensive, and decrease expected payback periods. Transpired collectors are considered "unglazed" because their collector surfaces are exposed to the elements, are often not transparent and not hermetically sealed.
Unglazed transpired solar collectorsEdit
The term "unglazed air collector" refers to a solar air heating system that consists of a metal absorber without any glass or glazing over top. The most common type of unglazed collector on the market is the transpired solar collector. The technology has been extensively monitored by these government agencies, and Natural Resources Canada developed the feasibility tool RETScreen™ to model the energy savings from transpired solar collectors. Since that time, several thousand transpired solar collector systems have been installed in a variety of commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, and process applications in countries around the world. This technology was originally used primarily in industrial applications such as manufacturing and assembly plants where there were high ventilation requirements, stratified ceiling heat, and often negative pressure in the building. With the increasing drive to install renewable energy systems on buildings, transpired solar collectors are now used across the entire building stock because of high energy production (up to 750 peak thermal Watts/square metre), high solar conversion (up to 90%) and lower capital costs when compared against solar photovoltaic and solar water heating.
Solar air heating is a renewable energy heating technology used to heat or condition air for buildings or process heat applications. It is typically the most cost-effective of all the solar technologies, especially in large scale applications, and it addresses the largest usage of building energy in heating climates, which is space heating and industrial process heating. They are either glazed or unglazed.
Method of operationEdit
Unglazed air collectors heat ambient (outside) air instead of recirculated building air. Transpired solar collectors are usually wall-mounted to capture the lower sun angle in the winter heating months as well as sun reflection off the snow and achieve their optimum performance and return on investment when operating at flow rates of between 4 and 8 CFM per square foot (72 to 144 m3/h.m2) of collector area.
The exterior surface of a transpired solar collector consists of thousands of tiny micro-perforations that allow the boundary layer of heat to be captured and uniformly drawn into an air cavity behind the exterior panels. This heated ventilation air is drawn under negative pressure into the building's ventilation system where it is then distributed via conventional means or using a solar ducting system.
Hot air that may enter an HVAC system connected to a transpired collector that has air outlets positioned along the top of the collector, particularly if the collector is west facing. To counter this problem, Matrix Energy has patented a transpired collector with a lower air outlet position and perforated cavity framing to perpetrate increased air turbulence behind the perforated absorber for increased performance.
This cutaway view shows the MatrixAir transpired solar collector components and air flow. The lower air inlet mitigates the intake of heated air to the HVAC system during summer operation.
The extensive monitoring by Natural Resources Canada and NREL has shown that transpired solar collector systems reduce between 10-50% of the conventional heating load and that RETScreen is an accurate predictor of system performance. Transpired solar collectors act as a rainscreen and they also capture heat loss escaping from the building envelope which is collected in the collector air cavity and drawn back into the ventilation system. There is no maintenance required with solar air heating systems and the expected lifespan is over 30 years.
Variations of transpired solar collectorsEdit
Unglazed transpired collectors can also be roof-mounted for applications in which there is not a suitable south facing wall or for other architectural considerations. Matrix Energy Inc. has patented a roof mounted product called the "Delta" a modular, roof-mounted solar air heating system where southerly, east or west facing facades are simply not available.
Each ten foot (3.05 m) module will deliver 250 CFM (425 m3/h)of preheated fresh air typically providing annual energy savings of 1100 kWh (4 GJ) annually. This unique two stage, modular roof mounted transpired collector operating a nearly 90% efficiency each module delivering over 118 l/s of preheated air per two square meter collector. Up to seven collectors may be connected in series in one row, with no limit to the number of rows connected in parallel along one central duct typically yielding 4 CFM of preheated air per square foot of available roof area. +
Transpired collectors can be configured to heat the air twice to increase the delivered air temperature making it suitable for space heating applications as well as ventilation air heating. In a 2-stage system, the first stage is the typical unglazed transpired collector and the second stage has glazing covering the transpired collector. The glazing allows all of that heated air from the first stage to be directed through a second set of transpired collectors for a second stage of solar heating.
Solar-thermal collectors generating electricityEdit
Parabolic troughs, dishes and towers described in this section are used almost exclusively in solar power generating stations or for research purposes. Parabolic troughs have been used for some commercial solar air conditioning systems. Although simple, these solar concentrators are quite far from the theoretical maximum concentration.[18][19] For example, the parabolic trough concentration is about 1/3 of the theoretical maximum for the same acceptance angle, that is, for the same overall tolerances for the system. Approaching the theoretical maximum may be achieved by using more elaborate concentrators based on nonimaging optics.[18] Solar thermal collectors may also be used in conjunction with photovoltaic collectors to obtain combined heat and power.[20][21]
Parabolic troughEdit
This type of collector is generally used in solar power plants. A trough-shaped parabolic reflector is used to concentrate sunlight on an insulated tube (Dewar tube) or heat pipe, placed at the focal point, containing coolant which transfers heat from the collectors to the boilers in the power station.
Parabolic dishEdit
With a parabolic dish collector, one or more parabolic dishes concentrate solar energy at a single focal point, similar to the way a reflecting telescope focuses starlight, or a dish antenna focuses radio waves. This geometry may be used in solar furnaces and solar power plants.
The shape of a parabola means that incoming light rays which are parallel to the dish's axis will be reflected toward the focus, no matter where on the dish they arrive. Light from the sun arrives at the Earth's surface almost completely parallel, and the dish is aligned with its axis pointing at the sun, allowing almost all incoming radiation to be reflected towards the focal point of the dish. Most losses in such collectors are due to imperfections in the parabolic shape and imperfect reflection.
Losses due to atmospheric scattering are generally minimal. However, on a hazy or foggy day, light is diffused in all directions through the atmosphere, which significantly reduces the efficiency of a parabolic dish.
In dish stirling power plant designs, a stirling engine coupled to a dynamo, is placed at the focus of the dish. This absorbs the energy focused onto it and converts it into electricity.
Power towerEdit
A power tower is a large tower surrounded by tracking mirrors called heliostats. These mirrors align themselves and focus sunlight on the receiver at the top of tower, collected heat is transferred to a power station below. This design reaches very high temperatures. High temperatures are suitable for electricity generation using conventional methods like steam turbine or a direct high temperature chemical reaction such as liquid salt.[22] By concentrating sunlight, current systems can get better efficiency than simple solar cells. A larger area can be covered by using relatively inexpensive mirrors rather than using expensive solar cells. Concentrated light can be redirected to a suitable location via optical fiber cable for such uses as illuminating buildings. Heat storage for power production during cloudy and overnight conditions can be accomplished, often by underground tank storage of heated fluids. Molten salts have been used to good effect. Other working fluids, such as liquid metals, have also been proposed due to their superior thermal properties.[23]
However, concentrating systems require sun tracking to maintain sunlight focus at the collector. They are unable to provide significant power in diffused light conditions. Solar cells are able to provide some output even if the sky becomes cloudy, but power output from concentrating systems drops drastically in cloudy conditions as diffused light cannot be concentrated.
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016)
- ISO test methods for solar collectors.[24]
- EN 12975: Thermal solar systems and components. Solar collectors.
- EN 12976: Thermal solar systems and components. Factory made systems.
- EN 12977: Thermal solar systems and components. Custom made systems.
- Solar Keymark:[25] Thermal solar systems and components. Higher level EN 1297X series certification which includes factory visits.
- International Code Council / Solar Rating & Certification Corporation:[26] Testing is performed by independent laboratories and typically includes selection of a collector to be tested from a sample group of at least six solar collectors.
- ICC 901/ICC-SRCC™ 100: Solar Thermal Collector Standard
- ICC 900/ICC-SRCC™ 300: Solar Thermal System Standard
- ICC 902/APSP 902/ICC-SRCC™ 400: Solar Pool and Spa Heating System Standard
See alsoEdit
- Concentrated solar power
- Cross-linked polyethylene § PEX-AL-PEX
- Insulated glazing
- List of solar thermal power stations
- List of thermal conductivities
- Nanofluids in solar collectors
- Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES)
- Selective surface
- Solar cooker
- Solar Flower Tower
- Solar thermal energy
- Solar-assisted heat pump
- Trombe wall
- Zeolite
- ^ a b Norton, Brian (2013). Harnessing Solar Heat. Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-7275-5.
- ^ https://www.google.com/patents/US4098260
- ^ rise.org.au. "Domestic Hot Water Systems". Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Polymeric absorbers for flat-plate collectors : Can venting provide adequate overheat protection?". Cat.inist.fr. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ^ "Solar Thermal Collectors in Polymeric Materials: A Novel Approach Towards Higher Operating Temperatures". Proceedings of ISES World Congress 2007 (Vol. I – Vol. V): 640–643. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-75997-3_118. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ^ "Vacuum Tube Liquid-Vapor (Heat-Pipe) Collectors" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ^ "Solar Evacuated Tube Collectors" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-10-06.
- ^ "Solar Flat Plate vs. Evacuated Tube Collectors" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ^ Trinkl, Christoph; Wilfried Zörner; Claus Alt; Christian Stadler (2005-06-21). "Performance of Vacuum Tube and Flat Plate Collectors Concerning Domestic Hot Water Preparation and Room Heating" (PDF). 2nd European Solar Thermal Energy Conference 2005 (estec2005). CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SOLAR ENGINEERING at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ^ ISO 9806-2:1995. Test methods for solar collectors -- Part 2: Qualification test procedures. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ Tom Lane. Solar Hot Water Systems: Lessons Learned, 1977 to Today. p. 5.
- ^ Flatplate vs. EHTP Archived December 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ FSEC test standard 102-10 section 5.6. [2]
- ^ Tom Lane, Solar Hot Water Systems, Lessons Learned 1977 to Today p7
- ^ http://www.h2otsun.com/hotwater/minflyer.pdf
- ^ a b c Calhoun, Fryor "Duel for the Sun" Texas Monthly November 1983
- ^ a b Chaves, Julio (2015). Introduction to Nonimaging Optics, Second Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1482206739.
- ^ Roland Winston et al., Nonimaging Optics, Academic Press, 2004 ISBN 978-0127597515
- ^ Mojiri (2013). "Spectral beam splitting for efficient conversion of solar energy — A review". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 28: 654–663. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2013.08.026.
- ^ Taylor, R.A. (2012). "Nanofluid-based optical filter optimization for PV/T systems". Light: Science & Applications. 1: e34. Bibcode:2012LSA.....1E..34T. doi:10.1038/lsa.2012.34.
- ^ Woody, Todd. "Secret Ingredient To Making Solar Energy Work: Salt". Forbes magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ Boerema (2012). "Liquid sodium versus Hitec as a heat transfer fluid in solar thermal central receiver systems". Solar Energy. 86 (9): 2293–2305. Bibcode:2012SoEn...86.2293B. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2012.05.001.
- ^ "ISO 9806-1:1994 - Test methods for solar collectors -- Part 1: Thermal performance of glazed liquid heating collectors including pressure drop". iso.org. 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "The Solar Keymark, The main quality label for solar thermal". estif.org. 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "SRCC is the principal certification program within the United States". solar-rating.org. 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
External linksEdit
- Canadian government ratings of solar collectors
- Crosbyton Inventory of Records
- Feasibility of photovoltaic Cells on a Fixed Mirror Distributed Focus Solar Bowl
- Detailed Solar Collector Power Output Estimator for Flat Plate and Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Collectors at Various Tilt Angles, Operating Temperatures, Shading, and Location in the U.S.A.


text:
That being said, I did have a few ideas to update the cover and I had been mulling them over for a long time. Recently, I had the opportunity to work on those ideas and this is the result. The new cover is similar in terms of content, but very different otherwise. It's more revealing, more eye-catching, and frankly, more modern. So far, the response to these changes has been very positive. My only complaints are that the cover loses something when it's shrunk, and that's not great when 99% of your sales come from the internet, and also that the font is really cool at full size but a little strange looking when it's shrunk. I still think it's better than the old one in terms of marketability, and I'm curious to see if this change affects sales at all. So, to put it in perspective, I'll post the old cover alongside the new one:
I've already uploaded the new version for Kindle and hope to ship the new paper version in the next few days.


text:
The number of Southwest Florida borrowers with negative equity in their homes slipped to the lowest level in two years during the fourth quarter, new data show. But the percentage of homeowners who owe more on a loan than their property is worth still greatly exceeds the national average.
The number of underwater properties also is greater than what is considered healthy in a real estate market, enhancing the threat of another uptick in foreclosures later this year, according to a report from Zillow.
Analysts attribute the recent equity improvement to steady price appreciations and the overwhelming amount of boom-year mortgages that have already gone into default. Most believe it will take several more years to fully work through the systemic issues caused by the nation's housing crash, which began in 2007.
"Because our market skyrocketed so high, then dropped off so fast, it will take a long time to catch up," said Scott Petersen, a real estate attorney in Sarasota. "If people can still make their payments, they can survive."
There were 44,716 borrowers in the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice metropolitan area with negative equity in their homes from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, the data show.
Though that still represents one-third of all outstanding mortgages in the region, it is the lowest figure since Zillow began tracking the numbers in early 2011.
Combined, underwater borrowers owe $3.5 billion more on mortgages than the current value of their properties, Zillow reported.
Like many areas hit by the Great Recession nationwide, that negative equity was largely the result of a home-value index that reached $156,200 in the fourth-quarter -- nearly 51 percent below the market's peak.
Additionally, 8,765 of those borrowers in Southwest Florida were behind on their payments for 90 days or more, for a delinquency rate of 19.6 percent. That figure ties Vero Beach as the seventh-highest rate in the nation, the report shows.
"It's going to take years for these people to ever reach a break-even point," said Jack McCabe, a real estate consultant in Deerfield Beach. "A lot of people who have been making their payments are going to give up, and that is going to amount to new foreclosure filings."
The 33.3 percent of Sarasota homes with negative equity trailed other major metro areas, however, including Tampa's 41.5 percent; Atlanta's 49.5 percent; and a whopping 59 percent among homeowners in Las Vegas.
The fourth-quarter U.S. average was 27.5 percent.
In response to the federal mortgage settlement, lenders in recent months have been increasingly willing to modify bad loans and reduce borrowers' principal.
But the lack of equity locally -- coupled with a woeful delinquency rate regionally -- have many industry watchers fearful that another wave of foreclosures will hit Southwest Florida's housing market later this year.
Marketwide, that phenomenon could threaten existing home sales by limiting new listings, at a time when inventory levels are stuck near 10-year lows.
"This is the primary reason we are seeing inventory as low as it is, and we will continue to see low inventory in the next couple of years," said Robert Goldman, a Realtor, attorney and developer in Venice. "There are just too many sellers who are not able recover enough to satisfy their loans."
Underwater homeowners decline
The number of Southwest Florida borrowers with negative equity in their homes slipped to the lowest level in two years during the fourth quarter, new data show. But the percentage of homeowners who owe more on a loan than their property is worth still greatly exceeds the national average.


text:
Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Shines Bright
Optimized For Smaller Screens, Technical Advances
Canonical released Ubuntu 9.10 in various forms last week including the Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) edition. UNR has been around since Ubuntu 8.04 (see Mark Shuttleworth's blog for a good summary of UNR) and has taken on some pretty stiff competition of late from Moblin. Enquiring minds want to know which version is better for my netbook? We hope to answer that question in the text that follows.
One of the first things we have to establish before we get too far in the process is the fact that there is a significant difference in the two options when it comes to target audience. UNR is targeted at Ubuntu users looking for a compact and small display-friendly version of their favorite distribution. It brings the majority of the applications found in the desktop distribution along with a few user interface (UI) tweaks to make it a little easier to do what you need to do.
Moblin's stated goals include such things as minimal boot time, high productivity centered around social networking tools like twitter, last.fm and all the popular chat services. It also uses a completely different desktop approach using what they call zones. The idea behind this concept is to group activities into zones for quick access and context switching. With this context we'll proceed with our investigation.
One of the best features added to Ubuntu 9.04 for netbook owners is the USB Start Disk creator tool. This makes it drop dead simple to create a bootable USB disk from any number of different distribution formats including IMG, ISO and others. You'll find the program under the System Administration tab from the applications menu on any Ubuntu distribution after 9.04.
With a bootable USB containing UNR 9.10 in hand, we proceeded to boot and run from the USB disk without installing. This option actually works quite well and includes the ability to save files and make modifications (like adding new wireless drivers -- more on this later) to the OS. You'll even have the ability to view local file systems including Windows partitions.
Installing to a local hard drive is painless. The Ubuntu team has made installing a new OS about as simple as any OS on the market today. A minimal number of questions coupled with a good presentation of disk partitioning options makes the process almost idiot proof. The process is fast, too, so don't stay gone too long after answering that last question.
UI Tweaks
UNR uses a few tricks in an attempt to maximize the available screen real estate. One of these is to combine the top status bar to hold both the typical launch bar icons and what would normally be the top status bar of an application. It also adds a horizontal tabbed list of applications on the left-hand side of the screen starting with Favorites and then Files & Folders, Accessories, Games, Internet, Office, Sound & Video and System.
This is a slight change from previous versions that had files and folders as an additional horizontal tab on the right-hand side of the screen. By default, the icons for each item are large and easy to select when you move your mouse over them. Another nice touch is the plus sign that appears when you hover over the icon with your mouse for adding that application to your favorites menu.
Application switching works the same as you would expect from the desktop edition with a slightly added visual touch. When you hold down the Alt key and hit the Tab key, you'll see a familiar dialog in the middle of the screen with the active applications, but you'll also see either the active screen outlined or the icon highlighted as you cycle through them by hitting the Tab key again.
Moblin's answer to screen real estate issues is to auto-hide the toolbar at the top of the screen. The home page (or Zone) provides a quick snapshot of recently accessed web pages, calendar information and social networking updates. It's not hard to see the emphasis on ease of access to a mobile user's most frequent applications.
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