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Don Meltz planning and GIS is an independent planning consulting firm, owned and operated by Don Meltz, AICP.
What I do
I am a planning consultant. I work with government officials and the residents of small towns and rural areas. I help them identify strategies that will in turn, help them build a better place to live in.
As a planner, I deal with both present conditions and future possibilities. I work with the latest technology and online tools to gather, analyze, and present information in a way that's useful for my clients, and understandable to their constituents. In the past I've usually described myself as — A planner that specializes in GIS. But planner is sometimes too general a term for people to understand without further explanation, and the acronym GIS comes with it's own set of problems. GIS (geographic information systems) is so much more than just using a computer to make maps.
Most of the information planners use has a geographic (i. e. spatial) component. The best planners are also excellent communicators. They know how to distill massive amounts of information and present complicated concepts in an easily comprehensible way. This is what I strive to do. And so, I like to consider myself an expert in Geospatial Communications.
Other pages on this website contain examples of the work I've done for many of my clients. There is a news page that contains announcements of my newest clients and projects. I also maintain a blog where I post a variety of articles, usually on the more technical aspects of what I'm working on at any given moment.
If you would like to contact me to discuss your particular needs and the various services I can provide, please send me an email or give me a call.
Don Meltz, AICP
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
home office: 518-799-5412
mobile office: 518-929-4806
P. O. Box 205
Columbiaville, NY 12050


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Tag Archives: robert forster
Tom Holland is lifestyle and fitness expert committed to helping people better their lives through fitness and through his message of "Believe in Yourself." He has encouraged and coached thousands of people to reach their fitness goals; from losing weight to climbing mountains, running marathons and completing Ironman triathlons.
He is the co host of Herbalife's work out dvds program 24Fit, which has designed by renowned physical therapist Robert Forster. Its soon to be released in the USA.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gareth Bale nets FWA award
Tottenham Hotspur forward Gareth Bale has been named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
Last week, Bale, 23, won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award and the Young Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season.
And the Wales international's excellent season has been further rewarded by being voted the 2013 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association.
He acquired 53% of the votes, narrowly edging out Manchester United's Robin van Persie who received 43%, with Juan Mata coming third.
Bale, who has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season, said: "It is a huge honour to receive the Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers' Association.
"It means a lot to win this award when you consider the number of players that have been outstanding for their clubs in the Barclays Premier League this season.
"I have been very fortunate to be playing in such a fantastic team and I owe a lot to my team-mates and, obviously, the manager who has shown such faith in me.
"This award has been won in the past by some of the greatest names in football and I consider it a privilege that the FWA has selected me to be named alongside them.''
Bale becomes Spurs' first winner of the FWA award since David Ginola in 1999, and the first Wales international to be selected for English football's oldest individual trophy since Everton's Neville Southall in 1985.
He is also the first player to win the FWA and both PFA awards since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007.
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
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Some 213,000 California residents will lose their unemployment insurance benefits Saturday, leaving sidelined workers such as Robin Schirle even deeper in a financial hole.
"I want to go back to work and I don't want to be on unemployment," said Schirle, 26, of San Jose, who was laid off in May and is actively looking for a job as an administrative assistant. "But I was hoping it would last another three months to help me find a job."
The federal budget passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on Thursday failed to include funding for a 26-week extension of federal unemployment benefits that had kicked in after California residents used up their 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance.
The end of the federal extension immediately affects 1.3 million Americans, both those like Schirle who started receiving their federal benefits this month and those nearing the end of their 26 weeks of eligibility.
Eventually, the cutoff of federal benefits is expected to impact another 492,000 California recipients after they use up their 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance. Benefits average $303 per week and range from $40 to $450 per week, depending on the recipient's previous salary, according to the California Employment Development Department.
They will join the 1,255,000 unemployed California workers who had as of Christmas Eve already exhausted all of their state and federal benefits, according to the Employment Development Department.
Last year, California paid out $13.8 billion in unemployment insurance benefits, and it has paid out another $10 billion through October of this year.
The federal extension began in 2008, as the recession took hold, and has been modified several times, providing benefit extensions ranging from 13 weeks to 99 weeks. It was signed into law by President Bush when the average unemployment period lasted 17.1 weeks. By last October, according to a White House study, the average unemployed American spent 36.1 weeks without work. But across the country, the median number of weeks that a person received benefits dropped from a high of 53 weeks in 2010 to 28 weeks now, according to the study.
Because federal unemployment benefits typically are spent directly on local businesses, the White House study cited the Council of Economic Advisers' estimates that canceling the program will cost 240,000 more U.S. jobs by the end of 2014.
Last year, Congress reached a last-minute deal to extend federal benefits until the end of 2013.
Six bills already have been introduced in Congress that would extend the federal benefits anywhere from three months to two years. But their prospects of passage are dim given the acrimony between Congressional Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., that led to a government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Oct. 16.
Across the country, the expiration of the federal benefits immediately impacts 1.3 million Americans. Nearly 40,000 of the 213,793 unemployed California workers who will immediately lose their federal benefits live in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
The largest number of Bay Area residents who are affected — 8,828 — live in Santa Clara County.
The sudden cancellation of their federal unemployment benefits likely will put even more pressure on social service agencies.
"We may see a surge of increased traffic next week," said Denise Boland, director of the Santa Clara County Department of Employment and Benefits Services. "Just how much, we'll have to see. Along with health care reform, January will be a busy month for us."
Poncho Guevara, executive director of San Jose-based Sacred Heart Community Service, said the sudden loss of federal unemployment benefits will add to the "ongoing assault" on social service agencies that provide a safety net for people in need.
"Our concern is that some of these people even could end up homeless," Guevara said. "We're talking about people with families. So kids are going to feel this, and they're so vulnerable. It's just going to be a rough year in 2014 because, once again, our federal politicians can't get their act together."
After she learned on Friday that her newly acquired federal extension of unemployment benefits is suddenly over, Schirle was left to wonder how she was going to put food on the table.
Her husband has a full-time job, but his salary still leaves them $800 to $900 short of meeting their expenses each month.
For Schirle, her husband and their toddler, Christmas this year "was not quite what we hoped for."
"Unemployment (insurance) has saved us," she said. "But I need to get back to work because it's been rough."
Staff writer Mark Emmons contributed to this report. Contact Dan Nakaso at 408-271-3648. Follow him at Twitter.com/dannakaso.


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A Teacher's POV: Using Robot Virtual Worlds in the Classroom
We continue the new section to our blog called Teacher's POV (Point of View) with another post by Jason McKenna, a K-8 Gifted Support Teacher in the Hopewell Area School District outside of Pittsburgh, PA. He took the time to give some examples of how you can use Robot Virtual Worlds in your classroom.
Robot Virtual Worlds is a powerful tool to teach ROBOTC to students. The unofficial motto for Robot Virtual Worlds is "No Robot, no problem." That is absolutely true. If you are just starting a robotics program, or if your budget just can't handle the cost of physical robots, Robot Virtual Worlds is a powerful tool for teachers.
However, the use of Robot Virtual Worlds is not just limited to replacing physical robots. Even if you have dozens of physical robots at your disposal, Robot Virtual Worlds can still be a powerful addition to your curriculum. Here are some examples:
- Differentiating Instruction. One of the hardest things for a teacher to do is to teach to where each individual student currently is in the curriculum. Robot Virtual Worlds allows teachers to do this. Let's say you have a student that is struggling to learn some of the beginning ROBOTC concepts and another that is breezing through the curriculum. With Robot Virtual Worlds, you can easily create a challenge for each student. Creating a challenge for a student is easy. A new challenge can always be created in the Robot Virtual World Level Builder. Additionally, if students are working in Palm Island or Operation Reset, one student can program their robot to make turns while using timing, and the student that is progressing faster can be shown how to use the Gyro Sensor. In this manner, a teacher can differentiate instruction within the SAME lesson. That is the goal for all educators, and it can be achieved easily with Robot Virtual Worlds. To use another example, let's say a student quickly solves a basic movement challenge (ex. Robot Slalom) with a physical robot. Instead of having to wait for the rest of the class to finish, that student can use the Curriculum Companion Pack to solve the same challenge virtually. Only now, the student can use encoder values to move precise distances, instead of just timing.
- Teaching to Mastery. Because Robot Virtual Worlds allows you to teach programming concepts faster (Physical vs Virtual Programming Fall 2012 Study Results), it also affords teachers the opportunity to present more repeated practice to the students. Missions in both Operation Reset and Palm Island reinforce all of the fundamentals of programming that are found in the ROBOTC Curriculum. For instance, if a student has just learned how to line follow with their physical robot, they can then complete missions in both Operation Reset and Palm Island that also require line following.
- Introduction to New Students. As teachers, our days are filled with the unexpected. One of the most challenging surprises is when you are told that you will have a new student in class because the student just moved to your district. Your class is 3 or 4 months into the ROBOTC curriculum, and your new student has no experience with ROBOTC at all. Here is where the Robot Virtual Worlds came be a lifesaver. Instead of having the student jump into whatever challenge the students are doing with physical robots, the student can watch the lessons from the ROBOTC Curriculum and complete the challenges in the Curriculum Companion Pack. After the student has begun to learn some of basics of ROBOTC, he/she can be introduced to the challenge that the rest of class is working on.
- Beginning of the School Year. When students return from summer break, some will have retained all or most of what was taught to them the previous year. Others will have retained far less. With this example, Robot Virtual Worlds can be used as a pre-assessment that can then be used to help direct that teacher's instruction. For example, a teacher can create a challenge in the Robot Virtual World Level Builder that asks the students to utilize different programming concepts. By doing this, a teacher can see what skills need to be reviewed and what skills the students have retained. This is a tremendous time-saver. Most teachers work under the assumption that they had better review everything before moving on to a new concept. Using a pre-assessment eliminates this need. Robot Virtual Worlds are a perfect fit for this pre-assessment.
- Robot Virtual Worlds Levels Builder. This is a great tool for, once again, those unexpected occurrences in the classroom. Let's say you you've been pulled into a meeting without a previous notice. A substitute has been sent to your class for coverage. You're a little hesitant to let the students practice with the physical robots because the students are just beginning and the sub will not be able to answer any of their questions. You don't have time to introduce a challenge in one of the Virtual Worlds; therefore, you quickly tell the students to open the Levels Builder and tell them to create challenges for each other. The students are now engaged and busy, and you can proceed to your meeting.
Those are 5 quick ways that Robot Virtual Worlds can be a big help for any teacher, not matter how many physical robot a teacher may or may not have. Robot Virtual Worlds are not just a replacement for physical robots, they are a tremendous asset in and of themselves.
Unsure what Robot Virtual Worlds is? Check out this video …
Thank you, Jason! If you are a teacher who would like to share your experiences on our blog, send us an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Top Images – Code designed by Brennan Novak, Teacher designed by Juan Pablo Bravo, and Robot designed by Simon Child all from The Noun Project.


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Volvo Construction Equipment offers a broad range of quality, safe, environmentally adapted products, efficient worldwide service. VCE also offer a range of solutions in financing, used equipment and leasing to meet the construction equipment needs of demanding customers all over the world.
Within the business area, a total of more than 150 different models of excavators, wheel loaders, motor graders and articulated haulers are produced. Production plants are located in Sweden, Germany, France, the U.S, Canada, Brazil and Korea.


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I'm back in Wahai, looking out over low tide in the sheltered lagoon in front of the guesthouse. We're taking our first rest day since the trip began, and just returned from snorkeling and fishing. Team members Acun and Endro are avid fishermen and had, until this morning, been skunked in every river and bay that they had tried in Seram. However, Acun's luck changed on this morning's trip and we just enjoyed the sizable fish he brought in, grilled with garlic and crushed chili, along with swami, a steamed, bread-like starch made from cassava root flour.
A lot has happened since my last post. I went back up to "Unit O," and hiked 100 km west to Kaloa with locals Agung, Jon, and PD (our cook from Masihulan). Since we had been planning to take a lot of the supplies in with us, I had lined up eight day porters the night before we set off. However, due to a series of misunderstandings about prices and expected duration of employment—combined with posturing and solidarity on their part and some misreading and mishandling of the situation on my part—the porters walked out on us after sharing a pre-trip breakfast. I was humbled by the experience, recognizing that despite my significant negotiation experience within some Indonesian cultures, I knew next to nothing about how to get things right out here in Eastern Indonesia. I was stressing about this on the walk in, though when we sat down for a rest the three locals who did come with me expressed their surprise and embarrassment at the rudeness of the missing porters.
We arrived back in Kaloa without rain, and I was again treated to the kindness of the people in this very small village. In the evening I met with two of the village elders (Mateas and Lukas) and discovered the tragic history of this community. Asking why it was so small (just 12 houses), they said it used to be huge, numbering more than a thousand people. The site of Kaloa was formerly on the other side of the Isal river, at the mouth of the Rara river which I had explored with Yustus a few days ago looking for a suitable research camp. However, at some time in the 1950s, a devastating epidemic passed through Kaloa. Most of the people died, often within just three days of getting sick. The original village site was abandoned and the survivors set up the tiny villages of Elemata and (new) Kaloa on the east side of the Isal. The pain of the death of old Kaloa was evident on the faces of the elders remembering that time. When I asked Lukas what he would like the rest of the world to know about Kaloa, he said, "its culture and traditions." I asked more about this, and while they did describe a (now dying) tradition of basketry and rattan weaving, what Lukas seemed to be referring to was their culture of dance and song. He described village dances that went on for days, and songs of multi-part harmony. As so often happens out here, I was reminded that it is not just the biological diversity that rapidly is going extinct.
Yustus, Nus, Agung, PD and I set off the next day to find the perfect camp site. We crossed the Isal, no longer in flood, and cut through the tall alluvial forest to the Sawe River. I was aiming for a site about a two-hours hike up the gravelly river bed, where on our recce I had found low, rounded hills with Shorea selanica that would offer a nice ridge/valley contrast for our forest plots. However, during the previous evening's discussion with Lukas and Mateas, I had described what I was looking for: rounded ridges, not slippery, unstable, knife-edge ridges, and they had pointed me towards the hill they called "Kehutupe." I thought it important to explore this option, as I was still looking for sandy ridge tops that would cause significant drought stress for the trees in the dry season. Leaving our packs and the others by the Sawe, Yustus and I continued up the smaller Wehe river and got out on a long, narrow ridge of rattan palms. This was the traditional route cutting through to the Mual and Toluarang rivers to the west, but it did not look like anyone had come this way for a while.
Finally, after a discouraging half hour of slipping and being grabbed by the razor-sharp hooks of rattan, we climbed onto a wide, very flat plateau that seemed surprising in the context of its surrounding landscape. Clearly this was the remains of a level, sandstone sediment layer, and the soils looked acidic and humus-deep like those in similar situations in Borneo. Most amazingly, I spotted a seedling that rang a bell with me. Looking at the distinctive brown glands on the secondary nerves, I recognized a Vatica. I was extremely excited, since I'd just read in Edwards et al (1993; in The Ecology of Seram) that "the Moluccan endemic, Shorea selanica ("meranti"), is the only Dipterocarp species to occur in these lowland forests of north Seram." Had I had found a significant new record expanding the distribution of dipterocarps? I also had a digital copy of Peter Ashton's Flora Malesiana treatment for dipterocarps, and noted that Vatica ressak, the most likely candidate, occurs elsewhere in Maluku but was not listed as occurring in Seram. I'll need to check this when I can access the internet, but for the moment it feels like a fun, albeit minor, discovery.
Returning to the others, we set off for the proposed campsite, another hour up the Sawe. As we arrived the rain started, but we found a suitable flat site high enough above the river to resist flooding. Within an hour we had hung a blue tarpaulin to shelter the bags, created a fire-pit, and a cleared area for my hammock. That evening, we were treated to the first of PD's incredible meals. Hands down, he is the best field cook I have ever had the pleasure of working with, conjuring up from his magic bag of spices restaurant-quality sauces for fish (fresh and dried) and vegetables.
Next morning, I set to work teaching Yustus and Agung how to lay out a 50 m x 50 m survey plot. They took to it rapidly, and soon Yustus was shooting dead-straight lines through tangled rattan and mud in what was to be the first of six plots: an alluvial forest site across the river from our camp. In the afternoon, I taught them how to label the trees with the aluminum tags they had helped make the previous night, and measure the trees with a forester's diameter tape. After working with them in just a few 10 m x 10 m subplots, I was confident in their ability and started to work on identifying the trees and collecting fallen leaves, the fun part for me. Just then, the skies opened again and we rushed back to the camp in the strengthening rain. Within a half hour, the river had risen significantly, turning from a crystal clear brook into a brown torrent.
The storm passed by 6:00pm. As I retired to my hammock after dinner the stars were coming out. Next day dawned with blue skies behind a low mist, the trees still dripping from the previous day's rain. Yustus and Agung continued on with the tree tagging, while I focused on the trees' identifications: the first tree was a Garcinia (its ultra-yellow sap the source of artists' "gambouge" paint), then a Rubiaceae, an Artocarpus (locally "gomu"), an ebony, and so forth. I collect fallen leaves and/or shoot them out of the tree with a catapult, in order to keep track of how many "morphotypes" of plants are in the plot and hence determine which need to eventually be collected for DNA, wood, and botanical specimens. Most interesting was the dominance, both numerically and in terms of species, of the nutmeg family Myristicaceae, which becomes increasingly diverse as one travels eastwards in Indonesia. As a family, the trees are unmistakable with their red sap and distinctive nutmeg aroma.
Despite this, the overall composition of this alluvial forest was not strikingly different from one in Borneo, although it was clear the diversity was going to be less. Not for the first time on this trip, I was nagged by doubts about our standard disperalist model of forest formation in Eastern Indonesia: that all the species have arrived independently via rare, long-distance dispersal events. How can it be that almost all the elements of a Bornean forest have come together in such a similar way on the other side of vast distances of empty water? Surely there must have been a land connection at some time. But that's not what the geological story seems to say.
I had finished two rows, or 0.1 ha, by 1:00pm when it began to rain again. We went back to camp and had lunch as the rain picked up. Thunderclaps and twilight darkness signaled a major rainstorm. The river began to flood again and had risen a meter within just an hour of rain, becoming a terrifying brown force, sluicing down the valley bottom. Watching its deadly power, I made a decision that I had pondered for a while. I had been very troubled by the rivers, especially the deep, wide Isal, since we started exploring this region. I was sleeping poorly, plagued by what I had begun to call the "three-bee jeebees": waking too early from the sound of the frogs, the dripping forest, the river (quiet again by the dawn hours), and imagining team members being swept away or cut off for days from resupply by a swollen Isal.
So, despite the good campsite, the weeks already invested in this location, the promising forest, the "kehutupe" plateau, and some of my own pride, I decided to retreat and move to another site. Where that would be was not immediately clear, but clearly the safety of the team had to be paramount. If this had been a military operation, or even one formed solely of volunteers, we might have stuck it out. However, there was too high a risk of someone drowning (our three Javanese team members cannot swim), of getting cut off by the Isal without communication, or having team members trapped downstream on the Sawe and away from the campsite as night approached. Also at risk was the likelihood of wasting hours and hours each day in a damp, depressed huddle under the blue tarps, as the rain began earlier and earlier each day. After all, we were heading into the rainy season, not out of it!
Next morning, we packed up and headed back to Kaloa. As usual, the sky was blue and the river back to a crystal ribbon. I was tempted to doubt my decision, but the giant, building cumulus clouds, even at ten in the morning, assured me this was the right course. The problem was finding another site. In the park, the suitable area of non-limestone, rolling lowlands was bounded both to the east and west by rivers, the Isal and Toluarang respectively. Ironically and frustratingly, the hill behind Kaloa was a perfect site, even though much of it had been logged: high, rounded ridges; well-drained soil; rivers full of hard sandstone boulders; and open, palm-free forest understories. However, this hill lies outside of the park, beyond the bounds of my research permit. It would have taken days and days of office visits, and no doubt would have involved snag after snag, trying to access this site with correct permission. In the end, I chose to set up a plot in the alluvial lowlands near the coast, easily accessible via the north coast road running through the park. I'll pick up with this story next.


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Cilantro in Guacamole and Pablano Pepper Relish
We also had Mexican inspired last night. It was planned ahead. It was red chili roasted chicken with potatoes, served with guacamole, marinated onions and a salad; from one of Rick Bayless's cookbooks. The chicken was okay; I think if I were to do it over again I would either cook it or marinade it a lot longer. The guacamole was, as always, wonderful. Just avocado, minced onion, serrano chili, chopped cherry tomato, cilantro, lime juice and salt. The onions were a great addition, I might add; just very thinly sliced tomatoes with a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar at least an hour before you eat. A simple but tasty condiment.
Why this obsession with south of the border? Well, two things. I stopped by A Southern Season and picked up there calendar. OMG! Diane Kennedy is coming!! I am signed up and so excited. Also Patrica Wells and Jo Anne Weir! World Class Chef's and Instructors! Wow. Then I was coming back in from the vineyard and walking through the remains of last years garden (read weeds) and no hopes of preparing it for a spring garden for at least another week, I discovered many random patches of cilantro in areas that will need tilling. This is the favorite herb of the founder and and host of weekend herb blogging, Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen; Be sure to go there for the recap on Sunday. I grabbed a handful of it each evening on the way in and featured it in the pablano relish and in the guacamole, making it my herb of the week.
The recipe for the relish:
Pablano Pepper Relish (From Bobby Flay's Grilling For Life)
Serves 4
2 pablano chiles, grilled, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 large dill pickle, minced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c lime juice
1 tea honey
1/4 tea salt
2 T finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 tea black pepper.
Combine all ingredients. Let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.
That's it for today. Check out the website for more recipes.
Labels: cilantro, guacamole, pablano pickle relish, pickled onions, red chili chicken, turkey burgers


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Dale Orris is well-known throughout central and eastern Pennsylvania as a music educator and performer. He is a former lead trumpeter and jazz soloist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Buddy Rich Big Band.
Educational Background
- M.M. in Trumpet Performance, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati
- B.M.E. Susquehanna University
Teaching Interests
- trumpet
- cornet
Activities and Other Interests
Presently, Dale Orris is teaching in the Lewisburg Area School District at Donald Eichorn Middle School in addition to being an Adjunct Professor at Lycoming College.
Mr. Orris performs with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trumpet and is a member of the Commonwealth Brass Quintet and the Columbia Brassworks Quintet. He also performs with many jazz groups throughout Central/Eastern PA, New Jersey and Maryland.
Over the years, Mr. Orris has had the opportunity to play behind many great artists including Natalie Cole, Mel Torme, Bill Watrous, Aretha Franklin, Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, and the Temptations.
Mr. Orris is active as an adjudicator and clinician and is a former Pennsylvania State President of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE).


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Our Princess Pre-lit Fir Tree is available in a selection of colours including Black, White and Green with choice of two colours of LED lights - warm white and multicolored.
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Every project needs some blinking LEDs. This one has 300!
This 10×10 LED Matrix has 100 serially connected WS2812B LEDs which are controlled by an LPC11U24 microcontroller. The µC receives commands and image data from the PC via USB. The frame measures 400x400x35mm and is constructed from lasercut wood panels and holds without screws or glue. The grid dividers have been painted white to maximize light reflection. Initially I planned to cover the front with frosted plexiglas, but when I glued paper onto the grid during construction, the realized that it may look even better with a nice paper as the diffuser.
The WS2812B leds came on a 2m long self-adhesive strip with 60 LEDs per meter. To mount them to the woodpanel, the strip was cut between each LED and attached to the wood. To bridge the gaps, 3 wired cable pieces were soldered to the LEDs in a serpentine layout.
Controlling the LEDs is done via a one-wire serial protocol which is simple but has rather strict timing requirements. A one-bit is high for 0.8µs, then low for 0.45µs while the zero-bit is high for 0.45µs and then low for 0.8µs. To set the color of x LEDs, x * 3bytes are sent from the µC to the first LED in GRB order. The first LED takes the first three bytes and sets its three constant current sources accordingly. All following data is passed on to the next LED after the signal has been reshaped. This repeats for all LEDs on the line. To start over, the data line is pulled low for at least 50µs, after which the first LED is again ready to accept data.
There are several ways to produce the required timing: If the µC is fast enough, one can just use delays of the appropriate length. If the µC is just fast enough, the delays have to be handcoded in assembler (see the Adafruit NeoPixel Library for reference). A third way uses the State Configurable Timer available in some LPC µCs (see this forum post on LPCware.com).
My solution (adapted from this code on GitHub) uses the built-in SPI hardware of the LPC to generate the correct timing by setting the wordsize to 15bits and then transmitting
- 111111111100000 for a one-bit
- 111110000000000 for a zero-bit
Image date is stored in a big array of 300 bytes and can be received by the µC via USB. Unfortunately, the maximum packet size of USB2.0 full-speed devices is 64 bytes. This means 5 packets are needed to transmit the necessary 300 bytes. I use the first byte in each packet to indicate which part of the image is contained in the following 60 bytes and then copy them to the appropriate position in the array. Additionally, a few commands to clear, refresh, fill or set individual pixels are implemented via USB control transfers (Commands are sent to Endpoint1 and image data is sent to Endpoint2.)
On the PC side I wrote a little program in Delphi which uses libUSB-win32 to handle the USB communication. Using the program, one can paint each pixel, display 10×10 bitmaps or transmit a downsampled stream from the desktop (size and position are configurable). All image data can be gamma-corrected before transmission to ensure better color representation.
Up until now, I concentrated on the software and used an LPCXpresso development board to test the code. Next I will design a small circuit board that can be placed inside the case of the display and make it a stand-alone unit.
Future plans include some procedural effects generated by the µC (like plasma or fire), SD-card interface for automatic playback of images/videos and a bluetooth interface to stream image data from a PC or android phone.
When the project has reached a point where the software is presentable, I will make it available here or in a follow-up post.


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Sociological Collection
- Update Frequency: Daily
- Audience: General, student, research
Sociological Collection includes more than 475 full-text titles. It provides information on all areas of sociology, including social behavior, human tendencies, interaction, relationships, community development, culture, and social structure.
- Database Provider: EBSCO Publishing, Inc.
- Database Tutorial: EBSCO Tutorials
Express Link (bookmark): http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbsc


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ALA is coming up fast, and I really need to get my schedule in order. Actually, I think this is a desperate plea for ALA to extend back to a full 5 day conference. Why do I think that's the way to go? Um, well, see for yourself (for best effect, scroll to 6/25):
Um, pretty please? An extra night or two in the hotel would make me so much happier than spending all this money and not getting to participate in fully 2/3 of the programs I want to attend. ALA is a great conference, and I for one would rather spend more time there than have a schedule and set of choices like the one above.
If anyone is interested in coordinating sessions and notes for any of my quadruple booked sessions, let me know. Training, transliteracy, technology & learning, and Commons development & evolution are the general topics in conflict. Well, that and amazing speakers, great film opportunities, and Guy Gavriel Kay!!!


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Liverpool took advantage of some comical Brighton defending to book their place in the last eight of the FA Cup.
A sixth round clash against Stoke City at Anfield now awaits, after the Reds punished Gus Poyet's Seagulls for three own goals on an afternoon to forget for the Championship side.
Martin Skrtel headed the hosts into an early lead, meeting Steven Gerrard's corner on five minutes to beat Peter Brezovan - the chief culprit with some poor goalkeeping throughout the match.
But the early signs looked good for the Seagulls, and they drew level 12 minutes later, when Kazenga LuaLua's long-range free-kick bear Pepe Reina in the Reds' goal.
With half-time looming, the Merseyside outfit earned a crucial advantage though. Luis Suarez's initial effort was blocked, but Glen Johnson's follow-up header went in off the unfortunate Liam Bridcutt.
Andy Carroll was rewarded for his impressive display on 57 minutes, latching onto Stewart Downing's cut-back and firing into the net to make it 3-1, before Bridcutt put past his own goalkeeper again 14 minutes later.
It got worse for Brighton though, when Lewis Dunk chested into his own net under minimal pressure to make it 5-1 with a third own goal for the visitors.
Luis Suarez had time to miss a penalty after Dirk Kuyt was brought down in the penalty box, and the Dutchman would impressive after his introduction from the bench. Suarez got his goal on 85 minutes, heading home from Carroll's nod back across goal.
A day to forget for the sorry Seagulls.


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Merlin reception counter size:
Desk width: 2100mm
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Desk depth: 750mm
Return depth: 600mm
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Looking for custom finish, size or shape? Please contact us on 1800 263 262 to discuss your requirements.
* Delivery and installation is calculated at 15% of order total, with a minimum charge of $150 per order. A surcharge of $45 applies for projects in the Melbourne CBD. Orders over $5,000 are exempt from the 15% delivery and installation fee. Further volume discounts apply to large orders. We specialise in commercial office furniture and only deliver to commercial business premises. Delivery and installation is within metropolitan Melbourne unless otherwise specified. Installation is based on work in normal business hours and is subject to site access, and excludes stairs. All pricing excludes the GST.


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Photo: Weibo
China's education system has become notorious for the pressure it puts on students. The college entrance exam, known as the gaokao, has become particularly well-known for its difficulty, with tales of high school kids putting themselves on IV drips to help with studying making lurid headlines around the world.However, the pressure may begin a lot earlier than that. A teacher in China posted an image to Weibo of an essay, reportedly written by a 6th grader, which appeared to show the youngster cracking under the pressure. Tea Leaf Nation has translated the essay:
"Time passes very quickly. It's midterm season soon, I already began nervously preparing for the test, I must begin working harder, because if I don't work hard and review well, then my grades will not go up, and I will be scolded by my parents, and if I get scolded by my parents then I will lose self-confidence, if I lose self-confidence then I will not finish my studies, if I do not finish my studies then I will not graduate [from university], if I can't graduate from university then I will not find a good job, if I don't find a good job then I won't be able to make money, if I don't make money then I can't pay taxes, if I don't pay taxes then it will be difficult for the country to pay salary to teachers, if teachers can't get paid then they will not be dedicated to teaching, if they are not dedicated to teaching, then this will impact our nation's future, if our nation's future is impacted, then it will be difficult for China to advance and develop, and the Chinese people will degenerate into a barbaric race. If the Chinese people degenerate into a barbaric race, then the USA will begin to suspect that our nation has large-scale murderous weapons, if our nation has large-scale murderous weapons, then the USA will start a war with China and World War III will erupt, if WWIII erupts, both the strengths of both the USA and China will not be enough, if their strengths are not enough then they will use nuclear weapons, if they use nuclear weapons then they will destroy the environment, if the environment is destroyed then this will create a big hole in the atmosphere, if there is a big hole in the atmosphere then global warming will escalate and the glaciers at both poles will melt, if the glaciers melt then the global water level will rise, if the global water level rises then the entire human race will drown and die. Because it relates to the survival and security of the entire human race, therefore I must spend the remaining next few days on review in order to do well on the test, and thus prevent a tragedy from happening."
While the original poster appeared to find the post funny, others were not so sure. People's Daily quoted others who appeared to despair at the child's thoughts.
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Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
Dear OncoLink "Ask the Experts,"
What are the signs of ovarian cancer?
Christina S. Chu, MD, Assistant Professor of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, responds:
Patients with ovarian cancer often do not have symptoms until late in the disease process. Symptoms are often vague and include weight gain or loss, abdominal bloating, feeling full after eating only a small meal, pelvic pressure, indigestion, and a need to urinate frequently.
Unfortunately, these symptoms are common and not specific for ovarian cancer. Any woman, particularly one over the age of 40, who has persistent symptoms without another identified cause, should be screened by her physician and the diagnosis of ovarian cancer considered.


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"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a song by British rock band Oasis. It was released as the second single from Heathen Chemistry on 17 June 2002, peaking at number two in the UK charts. It went silver in the UK.
The song is an "epic weepy" anthem in the spirit of "Don't Look Back in Anger", reassuringly advising that in times of hardship, simply get over it and get on with your life. Noel Gallagher explained the song saying "A friend of mine was going through a pretty bad time and I sort of wrote it with him in mind."
Noel Gallagher had great expectations for the song, saying "I hope it does for us what 'Don't Look Back In Anger' did... I didn't want it as a single because I thought we'd done all that before, but everyone's going, 'You're fucking mad.'". NME said, 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' [is where] you really start rolling out the red carpet. A return to the long lost humanism of 'Don't Look Back In Anger', it's a reminder of Noel's knack of cheering up his audience just when they need it most." Q magazine held up the song as proof that "genius never completely left Oasis".
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" was one of the songs played during the end credits of the movie, The Butterfly Effect, starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. It has been on the TV show Smallville too. The song also appeared after England's defeats in the 2002 Football World Cup and the 2006-07 Ashes. Noel Gallagher dedicated it to the English football team before playing it at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival. The song is also featured in the film Made of Honor, Starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan and appears towards the end of the film.
Track listing
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" - 5:02
"Thank You for the Good Times" - 4:32
"Shout It Out Loud" - 4:20
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" - 5:02
"Thank You for the Good Times" - 4:32
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" - 5:02
"Thank You for the Good Times" - 4:32
"Shout It Out Loud" - 4:20
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" - 5:03
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" (demo) - 5:08
10 Minutes of Noise and Confusion - Pt. Two - 7:24
"10 Minutes of Noise and Confusion - Pt. Two" is the second part of a feature covering 48 hours on the road with Oasis during the Tour of Brotherly Love which took place in the USA with the Black Crowes during May and June 2001.
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Hi, Are you still interested to play tennis? I am on the same level of you.I am available everyday in the aftrenoos.
Morning and early afternoons works for me as well! The specific day(s) will vary from week to week though and some weeks I'll have more days available than others. If you want to get together some time next week, the only day that will work for me is Tuesday 930ish - 11a...would that work for you?
Hi Maria,
Would you be interested in getting together sometime and hitting around for fun?
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Berlin , Germany/Juvisy Sur Orge, France, 10 July 2006 - When Materazzi's ball hurtled towards goalkeeper Barthèz with amazing speed and perfect timing, it was the photographers from Agence France Presse [AFP] that recorded every centimetre of its path from his forehead to the back of the net
1. These accredited professional photographers work with the best camera equipment and demand memory cards with the highest recording speed and capacities to suit their requirements. It was an honor for SanDisk ® (NASDAQ: SNDK) to be able to sponsor AFP with SanDisk Extreme ® III cards ranging from 2 GB to 8 GB
Millions look on
Both companies have brought the highest level of quality to this partnership. Didier Guèrin, spokesman for Agence France Press: "Since 1835 we have had an excellent reputation. Today, 2,000 employees in 165 countries work on maintaining that standard. We realize that billions of World Cup fans worldwide follow our second-to-second news coverage in the newspapers, on TV and on the Internet. Every day we publish a total of around half a million words and something like 700 photos; all of these must meet our standards of editorial quality. Our photographers often work under extreme circumstances, not only during the Tour de France or the Formula 1 season, but also in Somalia, Darfur, Sulawesi and Urugstan. Rain, heat, darkness, cold, speed - they are able to reproduce all of these faithfully with the reliable cards from SanDisk."
Up to 20 MB per second
For memory card producer SanDisk the partnership also provides a useful practical case study. Tanya Chuang , senior retail marketing manager at SanDisk, said, "It goes without saying that an intensive test period preceded the introduction of the SanDisk Extreme III cards. We recognize the photographers from Agence France Press as extraordinarily demanding professionals who are satisfied with nothing but the best. Their experiences are very valuable and help us to develop new cards with even faster recording speeds and still more storage capacity. The cards that we now offer vary from 2GB to 8GB capacities and are equipped with ESP technology which enables them to read and write at least 20MB per second (MemoryStick PRO Duo has a write speed of 18MB/sec, 20MB/sec. read speed.)
3 They are resistant to shocks, vibration, and temperatures between -25°C and +85°C. This sturdiness gives the technology an impressive life expectancy. If the photographers have questions, they can contact our Extreme Technical Support Hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com
SanDisk, the SanDisk logo and SanDisk Extreme are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries. The ESP Technology logo is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s).
1 These high resolution pictures taken by AFP with a SanDisk Extreme III memory cards are neither able to be diffused or published except with a clipping dedicated to this release or the SanDisk- AFP corporation
2 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes
3 Performance based on internal SanDisk test data
SanDisk Corporation
Mike Wong


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Hiring process
Becoming an intern
Ericsson internships are part of a competitive program with a wide range of opportunity. Ericsson's University Relations team, Brand Ambassadors and Hiring teams regularly scout campuses, technical conferences and student organizations for top talent. In addition to on-site recruitment, Ericsson engages with students across our social platforms as well as at our virtual events and online career chats. Ultimately, every applicant needs to apply to a role online during the recruitment phase. We encourage all applicants to create a candidate profile which can be done by joining our talent community. Once you are a member of our talent community, you will receive job alerts that match your interest. Complete this step today and begin discovering what makes YOU + Ericsson such a powerful combination. Your future starts here: Ericsson Student Jobs.
Internship acceptance criteria
1. Current students
Students must graduate on or after the end date of the term
2. Able to complete required hours
20 hours during school year, 40 hours during summer
3. Must qualify for hire
Must qualify for hire post-graduation
Slight exceptions with manager approval
Conversion steps
As an Ericsson Intern, you will acquire new skills, apply your classroom learning and be able to contribute to The Networked Society. Full-time conversion is not guaranteed for interns but can be the final result for interns who perform very well. Before starting the conversion process, it is important to understand the following steps.
Intern discusses long-term interest with his/her manager
This step is extremely important because your manager will need to go through the approval process for your conversion.
Manager seeks approval to enter requisition
The manager will seek approval to enter the rec. for the intern's conversion. This is why it is so important to continually remind your manager of your interest and desire for a full-time opportunity.
Requisition goes through approval chain
This is a global process and can take several weeks. During this time, you recruiter will notify you of your status change.
Once Requisition is approved, recruiter and manager discuss offer details
During this time, your recruiter will speak with you about salary expectations and will be an advocate for you in the offer process.
Full-time offer is made to intern
Congrats! You have an offer! Your start date will be set in alignment with your graduation date and will take into consideration any travel you may have planned post-graduation.
Find your job...
If you already know what you're looking for, start here. You can view all of our current vacancies across all of our regions.
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Ericsson complies with applicable country, state and all local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location across the world in which the company has facilities. In addition, Ericsson supports the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the United Nations Global Compact.
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Ericsson is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified disabled individuals during the application and hiring process. Ericsson will make modifications or adjustments to the job application or interview process that will enable a qualified applicant to be considered for a position. If you require an accommodation due to a disability, please contact Ericsson at email@example.com or (866) 374-2272 (US) or (877) 338-9966 (Canada) for further assistance.
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Pursuant to Department of Labor regulation 20 CFR 655.734, Ericsson Inc. is providing notice to potentially affected workers that H-1B workers are beeing sought at the worksites listed below. All labor condition applications are avaliable for public inspection at our administrative headquarters for immigration matters located at:
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Complaints alleging misrepresentation of material facts in the labor condition application and/or failure to comply with the terms of the labor condition application may be filed with any office of the Wage and Hour Division of the United Stated Department of Labor.
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It has come to our attention that emails and job adverts have been created and circulated by unknown individuals for the purpose of attempting to defraud candidates.
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Ericsson is taking all necessary steps to investigate this matter further.


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From May 2008 through September 2009, a Buzz Lightyear toy spent 468 days in orbit around the Earth. But the space ranger didn't go into his mission cold; he got some training from a fellow who knows a thing or two about life in space: second man on the moon (and Lightyear's namesake) Buzz Aldrin.
This Buzz Lightyear toy was recently inducted into the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, a worthy retirement for such a heroic piece of plastic. To infinity and beyond!
[via GeekDad]


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Elane Photography: 'Paying The Price' For Religious Freedom?
Part of the Religious Freedom Series
Series About:
Download, read and share this FREE article, compliments of Focus on the Family Citizen magazine!
[This story originally appeared in the November 2013 issue of Citizen magazine.]
Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jonathan never wanted to become the poster children for religious liberty in the United States.
But seven years after declining to shoot a same-sex commitment ceremony in Taos — citing their Christian beliefs — that's exactly what the Huguenins, owners of Elane Photography in Albuquerque, have become. In late August, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the couple had to choose between operating their business and living according to the convictions of their faith.
The last paragraph of the decision — coming at the tail end of a four-page concurring opinion penned by Justice Richard C. Bosson — is nothing short of chilling.
"In the smaller, more focused world of the marketplace, of commerce, of public accommodation, the Huguenins have to channel their conduct, not their beliefs, so as to leave space for other Americans who believe something different. That compromise is part of the glue that holds us together as a nation, the tolerance that lubricates the varied moving parts of us as a people," he wrote.
"In short, I would say to the Huguenins, with the utmost respect: it is the price of citizenship."
But according to the U.S. Constitution, that's a price too steep for anyone to be expected to pay, says Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been on the case since the outset.
"The core of what's happening to the Huguenins is basically a government action to suppress dissent and force affirmation to a specific set of beliefs," he tells Citizen. "This is a threat to basic First Amendment freedoms.
"Anyone who sees the importance of civil liberties has to be concerned about that."
Elaine Huguenin knows the stakes, and she and her husband are willing to take this case as far as they need to.
"In the U.S., we don't go through that much persecution. We aren't getting burned at the stake right now," she told Citizen in 2009, during the only interview she ever granted about the case outside of an ADF newsletter. "But this is persecution for our faith. If we paid somebody off so we wouldn't have to go through this, it would be backing down. It's not something that we're about to do."
That's why the Huguenins are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the matter once and for all — for everybody. Because one thing's for certain: Conscience rights and free speech must apply to everyone equally if they are to apply to anyone at all.
Truth and Consequences
The crux of the issue in Elane Photography is the way the state Supreme Court defines the term "public accommodation." It is, Lorence says, an incorrect application of laws stemming from the Civil Rights era; the New Mexico Human Rights Act was passed in 1978.
"Public accommodations are usually referring to uniform products — stuff you sell or eat," he explains. "There was a real problem in the South of black people not being able to find a place to eat or stay, driving miles and miles in the middle of the night, and that's where this started."
But over the years, the concept of "public accommodation" has been broadened in many places to include virtually any kind of business. Tim Schultz, state legislative policy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), confirms that about 20 states have laws like New Mexico's, where even businesses selling an inherently artistic or expressive product could be treated like sandwich shops.
"There are some commercial professions — a speech writer, a tattoo artist, an advertising agency — where there is no standard product and you have to negotiate," Lorence explains. "You have to come to a meeting of the minds to achieve (the goal). To apply a public-accommodations law to that situation is just a very bad fit."
The state Supreme Court did give the Huguenins a couple of options if they want to remain in business: Though they must photograph any homosexual couple seeking their services for same-sex unions, the court said, they don't have to allocate as much of their time to those jobs as to heterosexual weddings if they don't want to. They also can put a disclaimer on the company Web site saying they personally disapprove of same-sex unions.
That "sounds like an unnecessary imposition on the sincere religious beliefs of others—and a great way to wind up with lousy wedding photos," writes law school instructor Tamara Tabo of Texas Southern University.
In a recent blog, Tabo, who is not a social conservative, recognizes the holes in the court's logic. "Who wins in any meaningful sense (with a disclaimer)?" she asks. "Would gay and lesbian couples actually hire such a photographer, even if they knew that by law they couldn't be denied service? Is proving a political point worth ending up with terrible wedding pictures? How is that a satisfying conclusion for either the religiously motivated business owners or the same-sex couples who want their blessed days recorded and celebrated?
"Strong-arming others who differ on fundamental matters of faith and conscience should be something our society does cautiously and rarely, when at all," she concludes. "In cases like Elane Photography, neither side is served well by doing so. Sadly, ironically, this does little more than encourage less tolerance among people who disagree. Not more."
Unflattering wedding photos are the least of what might happen once a Christian business owner posts a disclaimer like that, though. This summer, Aaron and Melissa Klein were forced to close their bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in Gresham, Ore. Like the Huguenins, they cited their Christian beliefs when refusing to make a cake for a same-sex ceremony. Afterward, they faced death threats from gay activists and a boycott that didn't target only them.
"In Gresham, they threatened to boycott the (bakery's) suppliers — and then they called up the suppliers," says Bruce Hausknecht, Focus on the Family's judicial analyst. "They were pressuring everyone all the way up the chain. Economic warfare seems to be one of the tools in the LGBT box."
"They have killed our business through mob tactics," Aaron Klein told Fox News. "It's a sad day for Christian business owners and it's a sad day for the First Amendment."
Land of Disenchantment
And the problems with the New Mexico Supreme Court's ruling don't stop there: The U.S. Supreme Court, says Lorence, has already ruled that adding disclaimers to speech the government compels doesn't justify the compellation.
And then there is the troublesome fact that a broad swath of people, from gay activists all the way up to the New Mexico Supreme Court, assume that the kind of "compromise" and "tolerance" Bosson mentions in his opinion must be provided only by Christians or social conservatives.
Take, for example, the case of the Santa Fe hairdresser who made headlines last year when he refused to do Gov. Susana Martinez's hair. Upon finding out Martinez, a Republican, does not personally support same-sex marriage, Antonio Darden, who is homosexual, left her a voicemail saying not only would he never do her hair again, but "I am going to let all gay people know (to) stop serving you, stop providing you with what you need."
And earlier this year, ADF President and CEO Alan Sears endured a situation very similar to what Vanessa Willock did when she contacted Elane Photography in 2006: While at a conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif., this summer, Sears asked his hotel to recommend a professional who could shoot a photo his family could use on their Christmas cards later. The hotel obliged — but the photographer (who ordinarily shoots weddings) responded to Sears's email by saying, "While I appreciate your inquiry, I oppose the goals and interests of your organization and have no interest in working on its behalf."
The difference, in both the Martinez and Sears cases, is that when professionals refused service based on their personal convictions, no one complained to the state Human Rights Commission. Rather, the patrons simply took their business elsewhere, and the individuals' rights were upheld.
In such a politically charged climate, where might help come from? One possibility could be the U.S. Supreme Court — but it's a long shot.
Lorence thinks there's a good chance the Court will take the Elane Photography case. "The Supreme Court has a great concern for freedom-of-speech rights," he says, pointing out that even Westboro Baptist Church — the Fred Phelps-led clan from Kansas that is perhaps best known for picketing American soldiers' funerals — won an 8-1 decision there. "So I have some hope that the Supreme Court would take this case and rule the right way."
Therein lies the rub. Hausknecht says the issues ADF plans to argue are "not clear winners," given a 1990 Supreme Court ruling that only minimally protects religious freedom. Paul Becht, an Albuquerque lawyer who filed an amicus brief in Elane Photography (see "State of Confusion," page 20), calls it "a Hail Mary."
The ruling in question, Employment Division v. Smith, held that religious freedom only rarely provides exemptions from a "neutral law of general applicability" — one that applies to everyone, regardless of their motivations, religious or otherwise. In other words, if the free exercise of one's religion is only collateral damage, and not the intended target, the law is probably going to pass constitutional muster.
"That shocked everybody at the time," Hausknecht says. "That's why when they passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993, it was done by a coalition of everyone in Congress. But unfortunately, the Supreme Court later declared that the federal RFRA doesn't apply to the states, so a lot of states were left to either pass one themselves or accept the decision in Smith. So now you've got about half the states with court decisions or statutes saying they will apply the rule so that all religious exercise" is protected.
Though New Mexico has a RFRA, passed in 2000, the high court failed to apply it in Elane Photography. And other states — including California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin — could find whatever religious-liberty protections they do have are similarly at risk, based on the way their public accommodations laws are written.
That means it's up to state legislatures to provide better conscience protections for people of faith in the public square — either by passing new laws or amending existing ones.
"If the people of New Mexico think their people aren't protected by their own state law," Hausknecht says, "we're kind of stuck with it until the legislature repeals or rewrites it."
Such reforms could prove very popular with voters if they're explained clearly. In a July survey of 1,000 adults, Rasmussen Reports found 85 percent of respondents believe a wedding photographer who opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds has a right not to shoot that ceremony. Only 8 percent disagreed.
Launching those efforts will take work — and a lot of bipartisan agreement.
"We know what the politics of religious freedom are, but the worst thing would be for this to be seen as a Left-Right issue," the EPPC's Schultz tells Citizen. "It's got to transcend party affiliation. I protect religious freedom for people I disagree with. You've got to protect it, or a lot of bad things happen. It's got to be on both sides of the aisle and for people of all faiths."
Citizen Editor Karla Dial is a native New Mexican.
To find out how strong religious-freedom protections are in your state — and what you can do to make them stronger — contact your state family policy council. Visit http://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/articles/state-family-policy-councils for more information.


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Apr 30, 2011
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Sitting just one win behind Morehead State for the final spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the Tennessee Tech softball team will look to claw its way up the standings as it hosts its final home series of the season against Austin Peay this weekend.
Tech leads the all-time series against the Lady Govs with a 61-17 record. The Golden Eagles have built a 19-game winning streak against Austin Peay, and have not lost to the Lady Govs since the 2003 season.
APSU owns an 11-33 record and sits in 10th place in the OVC standings with a 6-18 conference record, which includes a 1-5 mark in its last six games. The Lady Govs are led by Tiffany Smith, who has driven in 18 runs, while hitting four home runs.
The Golden Eagles went 2-of-3 in their last home series against Morehead State, which saw pitcher Holly Thomas come away with a pair of wins. At the plate, catcher Callie Schmidt paced the Golden Eagle offense with one home run and four RBI.
The first pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m., with the second game following shortly after. Game three of the series is set for Sunday, at 1 p.m.
Fans who cannot attend the games can follow the live stats at the link here:


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Easy Spanish Step-By-Step ePub/PDF/Kindle
- Over 10 million titles covering all genres in our book directory.
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Easy Spanish Step-By-Step was written by best authors whom known as an author and have wrote many interesting books with great story telling. Easy Spanish Step-By-Step was one of the most wanted books on 2019. It contains 320 pages. This book was very surprised because of its top rating and got about best user reviews. So, after finishing reading this book, I recommend to readers to not underestimate this great book. You should take Easy Spanish Step-By-Step as your reading list or you will be regret because you have not reading it yet in your live.