text:
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Adjust the light intensity of the Philips LED lights with a dimmer switch (not included). This makes this light ideal for creating an ambience for any occasion, whether a cosy meal à deux or chilling out with family and friends in your living room. Philips tested a number of wall dimmers that have proved to be compliant with our LED lights. A list of compatible dimmers is available in the downloads and support section.
A light source you can trust. Philips LED lights offer an extremely long-life of at least 20,000 hours (which equals 20 years on basis of an average use of 3 hours / day with an amount of at least of 13,000 on/off switching cycles). It feels so comfortable to think that you won't have to worry about maintenance or lamp replacement while having the perfect light ambiance in your home.


text:
London 2012: the Olympic Network (part one)
Anticipation of the upcoming summer Olympic Games has already lifted my spirits. This week I received an invitation from Andrew Millar, the British Consul General in Houston, Texas – it's an opportunity to attend a viewing party for the opening ceremony later this month. I'm really looking forward to that event.
You may recall that in my last story, the ICT Infrastructure Investment, I shared some of the interesting high-level details about economic outcomes and seven of the the key principles that were used to develop the overall ICT solution.
Now I'll start to outline the technical building blocks of the BT communication services deployment. Once again, I'm sharing a summary of insight that was previously published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Information and Communications sector.
As you'll see, the London 2012 Olympics network model delivers both a scalable and flexible foundation on which resilient and secure communication services are built. Once you're able to comprehend the full depth and breadth of this huge undertaking, it should give you an appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes investment that will make this "the most connected sporting event the world has ever seen."
The Olympic Network Core Mesh
In essence, the BT managed network core will provide connectivity between the Olympic Park and various other venues to the central Points of Presence (PoPs) — which in turn control connectivity between all venues and from the Olympic estate to the outside world.
At the heart of the core network are pairs of switches using Cisco's virtual switching system (VSS) technology in a mesh configuration. I won't cover the details of the actual switches – the theme of these stories is not really about Cisco per se, but more about what we make possible.
The fault-tolerant configuration adopts virtualization techniques to provide uninterrupted service – i.e., there is a back-up, in the event of failure of any of the separately-routed communications systems.
Moreover, it's designed so that each VSS pair in the mesh appears as a single logical switch capable of surviving hardware or circuit failure within its constituent systems.
The Wide Area Network (WAN)
The wide area network transmission infrastructure is based on Ethernet technologies (see above diagram), primarily for the inherent low cost and high capacity. Within the Olympic Park, each venue is provided with separate dark fiber routes back to the on-park PoPs.
Keep in mind, there's likely going to be a very significant amount of multimedia traffic that will travel across the various interconnection hubs within this multifaceted network.
It's estimated that 14 of the Olympic venue sites will produce up to 20 Gbps of traffic.
There are several configuration options used for connecting off-Olympic Park venues — with around 50 of these off-site locations, producing a potential peak aggregate traffic of an additional 40 Gbps.
Each Olympic competition venue has separate Ethernet access bearers to each PoP, providing one of the two available options – either 1 Gbps Ethernet Access Direct (EAD), or 10 Gbps Optical Spectrum Access (OSA) capacity.
The Local Area Networks (LAN)
The readily available local area network infrastructure is designed to distribute most of the end-user services at each venue — with the exception of the Community Area TV (CATV) services, which is delivered via co-axial cabling within each venue.
Other HD audio quality communications services will be delivered directly from the local BT public network exchange site.
BT wireless network services provide access to the internet for accredited users — including Olympic "rate card" customers, and for the Olympic staff workforce that will be based at the various venue locations. Wireless services will also support the offload of data traffic from the Olympic Mobile network.
Secure Wi-Fi access will be provided – via traffic tunneling to the core service blocks at the PoPs — in all the likely informal work locations, such as facility conference rooms, where wired access may be limited or otherwise unavailable.
The Continuing Olympic Network Story
If any these technical terms are unfamiliar to you, and you would like to learn more, then I recommend the beginning sections of the "Internetworking Technology Handbook."
If you're wondering how this foundation infrastructure will be applied as a cohesive intelligent network, offering internet services, unified communication services and broadcast media services, then you'll want to read my next story on this topic.
In the meantime, here's a short video of the Olympic Park surroundings. Enjoy!
>>More… Connected Life Exchange
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text:
Friday, December 23, 2011
Sanctioned Bullying
The issue of bullying in British Columbia schools was again raised in December 16 issue of The Vancouver Sun, this time, thankfully, before yet another gay youth took his life. But alarming to me in the article titled "B.C. plans tougher anti-bullying policies to protect students," written by Janet Steffenhagen, was not so much what was said as what was implied.
At issue is the likely reaction of some religious groups should Premier Christy Clark, who's gone on record to say her government will do more to ensure all students are protected from bullying in B.C. schools, propose "...an anti-bullying policy that pays special attention to LGBT students or requires gay-straight alliances in faith-based schools [p. A7]."
On one side of the argument is Doug Lauson, president of the Federation of Independent School Associations of B.C., who's quoted as saying, '"We would be 100-per-cent behind a policy or legislation that was against all forms of bullying.... But to emphasize one form of bullying [such as that against LGBT students] would be problematic."
On the other side is the B.C. Teachers' Federation, which has demanded "...better protection for LGBT students for years." Vice-president Glen Hansman said, '"While it is more comfortable for many [people] to stay within the comfort of generic bullying, the effects of racist and homophobic harassment are very real for the people who are the targets...and racism and homophobia don't get addressed if we only speak of bullying [in general]."'
According to the article, several recommendations have been made on policies or programs that should be in place to protect LGBT students and the type of bullying they're subjected to, but some religious organizations and parent groups consistently raise objections, claiming LGBT students would receive preferential treatment, and classroom lessons could conflict with "...their traditional family and religious values."
I came away from reading this article with several impressions. One is that these religious organizations and parent groups don't understand the severity of the bullying LGBT students endure (something I know a thing or two about, having attended several B.C. public schools in the late 60s and '70s). And what the potential outcome of that bullying is (from overwhelming feelings of worthlessness to suicide, which we've heard a lot about in the media over the past year or so).
One other impression I was left with was that, because these religious organizations and parent groups don't distinguish between different types of bullying, or support the necessity to target each area with policies and programs intended to educate and create greater awareness and acceptance, they can turn their backs on the problem and hope the entire matter of sexual orientation goes away.
To me, that amounts to nothing less than sanctioned discrimination and bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths, because these religious organizations and parent groups believe the youths deserve it. After all, everyone knows being lesbian or gay is wrong; everyone who's gay or lesbian should know better. So, if you don't want to be bullied, stop being gay or lesbian.
News Flash!!! After all the unrelenting bullying I endured over most of my grade schools years, with absolutely no support whatsoever, surprise, surprise, I still ended up being gay. You'd think with everything I'd gone through, I would have gotten the message loud and clear, and I would have changed my evil ways. But, no, that didn't happen. And I'll give you one guess as to why it didn't happen.
Let's agree that denying the existence of gays and lesbians, and preventing gay and lesbian youth from getting the targeted protection they need in schools, isn't going to stop young people from being gay and lesbian. And let's also agree that what goes around, comes around. It isn't some other unfortunate schlub whose children or grandchildren are gay. Chances are you have gay and lesbian people in your family right now.
The best thing you can do for those youths who have no choice but to be gay or lesbian is to prevent them from being bullied, thereby ensuring their academic experience is more rewarding, their self-esteem isn't decimated, they're less likely to kill themselves, and they go on to live happy and fulfilling lives. After all, what's the worst thing that could happen to you personally if your child is gay or lesbian? (Hint: It's not about you.)
Posted by Rick Modien at 4:59 PM
Labels: bullying
2 comments:
Yes I'll have to say that bullying is bullying and no matter what it's about it is a terrible thing that can really damage people emotionally. I hope one day we will reach the point where we look at people as just people, but sadly that day seems far away. Not sure what the real answer is to the problem. I would like to continue spreading the word of just being kind to each other though.ReplyDelete
If we don't like someone for whatever reason that's fine. No one has to like everyone. We all need to show some respect though. If you can't show respect towards someone then just don't interact with them. Just my humble opinion though.
Thanks for your comment, Carol. I appreciate your interest in what I have to say.ReplyDelete
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Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 / Dorchester / England)
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I Said To Love.
I said to Love,
"It is not now as in old days
When men adored thee and thy ways
All else above;
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text:
[Look for the podcast play button below.]
Yes siree, June is busting out all over! It's pert'near summer and I just realized that we haven't had a Q&A show since early last month. So ya know what else is bustin out all over? My voicemail and email in boxes, that's what! I have a big hot load of questions from the sexually worrisome out there. And I'm all ready to dish out some snappy answers to dazzle and delight today's correspondents, as well as everyone else in my audience.
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- Ron is hoping I know where he can find some stray dick to suck.
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- Michael thinks his wife is a mess, but actually it's HIM.
- RAHUL wants to know if women like sex as much as men.
- Luke and his GF fuck like bunnies and now she's sore.
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- Conal has a porn jones and needs help.
- Harrison wants to know how to clean his hole on a budget.
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Today's podcast is bought to you by: Dr Dick's Sex Advice and Dr Dick's Sex Toy Review.
Check out The Lick-A-Dee-Split Connection. That's Dr Dick's toll free podcast voicemail HOTLINE. Don't worry people; no one will personally answer the phone. Your message goes directly to voicemail.
Got a question or a comment? Wanna rant or rave? Or maybe you'd just like to talk dirty for a minute or two. Why not get it off your chest! Give Dr Dick a call at (866) 422-5680.
Look for my podcasts on iTunes. You'll find me in the podcast section, obviously, or just search for Dr Dick Sex Advice. And don't forget to subscribe. I wouldn't want you to miss even one episode
Podcast: Play in new window | Download


text:
Yale Places Second of 17 Teams
BRONX, N.Y. – The Bulldog women's cross country team laced up its racing flats for the first time this season on Saturday, where they faced off against 16 other squads. Sophomore Melissa Chapman won the race in a blistering 18:03.63, leading her team to second place overall. The team was only nine points behind Princeton, a nationally-ranked squad and the defending Ivy champions. The third-place team, Penn, had more than double Yale's 43 points. The Bulldogs posted an impressive showing at their first meet, and showed that they can be competitive within the Ivy League.
Throughout the race, the team stuck together, working with each other to move up in position. Junior Jacque Sahlberg crossed the line in third place overall, just seven seconds after Chapman. Freshman Kira Garry was next in tenth place (18:32.00), followed by the junior tandem of Elizabeth Marvin (17th- 18:47.10) and Caitlin Hudson (18th- 18:47.86). Junior Jennifer Donnelly (40th- 19:28.87) and sophomore Sarah Barry (62nd- 19:59.11) rounded out the Bulldogs' top seven.
Senior Madeline Adams (74th- 20:08.67), freshman Hannah Alpert (20:13.06), freshman Alyssa Laguardia (90th- 20:25.29) and senior Kristin Johnson (93rd- 20:31.98) also competed for the Bulldogs. Overall, 217 athletes competed.
Head coach Amy Gosztyla commented on the team's ability to keep each other's blue jerseys in sight: "The women ran very controlled for the first half of the race working together, and picked up a number of spots throughout the second half of the race."
The women look to be in an exciting position to succeed this fall. They proved that they can compete against powerhouse teams such as Princeton and Penn, and that they can keep in contact with each other, which is an important aspect of cross country races.
"We are in a great starting spot for the season and I'm very pleased with the women's perfomance," said Gosztyla. "It's going to be an exciting fall."
The team will hope to maintain its momentum going into next weekend's race against Harvard. The meet in Boston will start at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sep. 17.
Report by Natalie Villa '13, Yale Sports Publicity


text:
So, again I am here to say Payton and I have another battle. It's probably not as awesome as the last but it has to do until this weekend. Payton's brikwars army is in ruins from one of our battles so he is using one of my factions its the same one as last week. As always I am fielding my ESF forces with a hardsuit, a heavy machine gun squad, a flamer, a hero, and a stealth suit ninja inside the hardsuit. Warhead was just checking on the battlefield but then left before the fight. He is on his way to a bigger battle. Payton was fielding his strange creation, three stealth suit heavies, one hero, and a pilot.
Just as said above setup
Turn one
His three stealth suit heavies move up behind the door of the compound. There they wait.
One structure point of damage is inflicted on my hardsuit by Payton's strange creation.
We also agreed that Payton could have a creeper so it climbs up the wall and waits for a victim.
My hardsuit jumps over the wall and scare the hell out of the commander of the stealth heavies.
My hero tries to kill his hero but does nothing.
Overwatch my machine gun team does nothing.
Turn two
Payton shoots with everything but his hero and manages to take of another two structure points from my hardsuit.
His hero tries to kill my hero and does nothing as well.
My hardsuit takes of the heavy commanders head in a splash of blood.
My hero blows the crap out of Payton's hero finally.
"Hey no running away, where the hell is he going!"
"Oh cover, of course, wimp."
Taking control of a tank he drives it out of the outpost through the wall. It has one rocket launcher, two rocket pods, and one tank cannon. More than enough ordnance, yes?
Turn three
Jumping out of the water one stealth heavy prepares to fire, forgetting the machine gun heavy has a response action.
For that he takes a round through his head.
His body falls back into the water staining it red. The heavy on the wall laughs happy to see his gun not exploding.
He never realized that the other heavy was right behind him on the wall with a katana, and a flamethrower.
The sword slides through his body killing him instantly. Blood now covers the wall.
My other heavy also had a response action so he fires but all the shots just impact on his friends body ripping it to shreds.
The creeper tries to jump across the water but fails.
It failed and ended up in the water. Luckily it is immune to water in its body.
His strange creation fires at my hardsuit that has one structure point.
With the most obvious result, a big explosion.
My tank shoots its first shot at the strange creation.
The tank round flies and...................
Blows Payton's strange creation and its pilot to hell. His armor sucked so much that I took of all four structure points with one shot.
His now minor hero doges an attack from a machine gun heavy.
My ninja chucks his katana at the man on the wall.
The heavy fires at my machine gun heavy.
And kills him. This is still my turn but his minor hero got two response actions.
He feels the sword go into his stomach and looks down to see blood running from a sword.
He falls to the ground impaling himself even more on the katana.
My hero makes a heroic jump towards the creeper.
And kills the creeper. I have won.
Those that lived through the day.
Not my best report but a space filler from me.


text:
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973 / Parral)
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The United Fruit Co.
When the trumpet sounded, it was
all prepared on the earth,
the Jehovah parcelled out the earth
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On Friday, I shot a little scene for my friend's pilot, "Grean Teem" (yes, it's meant to be misspelled).
I played one of two girls who spends the night in a "green" bus (I'll leave the rest of the plot to your wild imaginations...).
Acting is always incredibly exciting and fulfilling, but there's tons of downtime before and during shooting. I, of course, tend to find refuge in the hair and makeup trailer. With all of those amazing products, what beauty whore wouldn't love herself some cosmetic therapy?!
The hair and makeup artist working on this shoot was the lovely and talented, Cheryl Calo. She gave me big, flowing, "bed head" curls and smokey eyes (we were going for a sexy, "just-rolled-out-of-bed" look).
Here are some of my favorite products that were used:
Mac Strobe Cream ($29.50) on the corners of the eyes - Calo says the cream, "makes the eyes pop like a filter." Eyes become brighter and more youthful (I immediately noticed a difference).
Prescriptives Beyond Long Mascara in Black ($19.50)- Lengthens without globbing (I've long been a fan of Prescriptives mascaras... their wands are brilliant!).
Mark Eye Shadow in Wings ($4.00)- It's a gold shimmer that Calo applied on the inner corner of the eye and under the bottom lashes. She loves the Mark shadows because "they are affordable and long-lasting."
Shu Uemura Blush in Red 14 ($21.00)- It's a watermelon pink hue. Calo applied the blush with a fan brush (MAC's 184($22.50)) because, "it is highly pigmented. The fan picks up a bit of color and disperses it evenly on the apples of the cheeks. It naturally blends instead of blobbing." I never understood the importance of a fan brush, until now. It really does make a major difference in application... everyone should own this brush! Regarding the blush, Calo adds, "this color warms up everything." This is my new Summer blush... I love it!
Amazing Cosmetics Concealer ($40.00)- "They're mineral, which means, better for your skin. A little goes a long way. Coverage is like camouflage. Perfect for bags under your eyes or covering tattoos," explains Calo. I am OBSESSED with this concealer... it's full coverage, without being cakey. And it lasts all day long!
As for my hair, Calo used a curling iron to define my already wavy hair. She then rolled the curls up toward my scalp, secured them with a pin (so that the curl wouldn't "drop"... hence, why I look like Princess Leia in the picture below), and sprayed massive amounts of hair spray for added curl and hold.
Right before shooting, she took out the pins, teased the crown of my head, and sprayed some more. The look: full-bodied curls!
Thanks to Cheryl for introducing me to some great new products...


text:
Time to break from politics to put on my other hat - travel writer. I'll be writing some columns for the Washington Times Communities, but here I'll be recording my day-by-day impressions of Belize.
Belize City is just under three hours from DFW. It really is in our back yard, closer to Dallas than Seattle and Boston are. It's also definitely another country.
On stepping out of the airplane I was hit with a hot, humid blast that made me wilt. The terminal building was cooler, but the cooling system definitely felt over-worked. A young woman from the Belize Travel Bureau escorted me through immigration and customs, then took me to the Tropic Air desk to get me squared away for the next leg of my trip, to Punta Gorda in the Toledo district.
The flight from Belize City was on a "puddle jumper," a small aircraft with room for about 15, if they're all slender. I practically had to crawl to my seat, so meager was the head-room and so narrow the aisle. The staff, however, were all pleasant and professional. The flight to Punta Gorda, which included two stops, took an hour.
I was met in Punta Gorda by a driver from the Machaca Hill Rainforest Canopy Lodge - let's just call it the Machaca Lodge. He took me to the lodge in an open canopied vehicle that looked like it was meant for taking tourists on safari, and that's probably not far off from its usual use. We left Punta Gorda and zoomed through the countryside, the wind making my hair look like it had been through a weed whacker. My kids would have had a blast. I enjoyed it myself.
At the lodge I was met by a charming young woman (so far everyone I've dealt with here has been charming and young - I'm really liking the Belizians) holding a tray with a cool damp towel on it. After I wiped my face, she handed me a ginger infusion drink - refreshing and delicious. The standard hotel form filled out, we left the main building to go to my cabin.
The Machaca Lodge is comprised of a main building which houses a lounge and check-in area on the first floor, a restaurant and bar on the second. The building is wide open, and the restaurant serves dinner on the balcony that wraps around the building. There's a swimming pool, a sauna and spa, and then 12 individual cabins set on the side of a hill and overlooking the rainforest canopy.
The cabins are casual, comfortable and welcoming. The bedroom opens to a screened in balcony with a table and chairs. The tile floor gleams like it's been highly polished. The bathroom has a stone pebble shower built so that you can enjoy it with four or five very good friends. It has a large window overlooking the rainforest. The young woman who showed it to me assured me that it's completely private, only the monkeys will look in to see you shower. And they've signed non-disclosure agreements. It's a bit open-to-the-world for my taste, but there's no denying that it's a lovely shower, and it sure felt good after a day of travel.
After my shower I made my way to the restaurant and was reminded by the large, many-legged creature on the path in front of me that I am indeed in the tropics. It was dark enough that I couldn't see it clearly, and I'm really glad I couldn't. I thought of turning back to my cabin to go to bed hungry, then reminded myself that I was a thousand times bigger than my fellow traveler (which would put it at a bit over three ounces). It scuttled to one side and I trotted past it.
I'm glad I did. Dinner was excellent. I had shrimp ceviche, served with a couple of wedges of watermelon and perfectly seasoned. The dish had a fiery sparkle that had me wanting more. Next came grouper with hollandaise, served over rice and fresh vegetables. It didn't sparkle quite the way the ceviche did, but the fish was nicely grilled and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. I think the hollandaise was more unctuous than the dish called for - a beurre blanc might have been better.
Dessert was called "chocolate pate." It was a scoop of something very much like ganache, with some nuts and roasted coconut sprinkled on top. It was chocolate heaven. If other diners hadn't joined me on the balcony by that time, I'd have licked my plate. I'll be attending a chocolate festival this weekend, and if that pate was any indication, I'm going to enjoy it far more than is decent.
I chatted with one of the senior staff during dinner. She told me that almost all the produce used in my dinner was organically grown on the grounds of the lodge. Being from Louisiana, I'm not really that keen on "organic" (I'm just happy when my water doesn't contain benzine), but there was no denying that the lodge's produce is superior. She admitted that there are times when their gardens don't produce enough for every meal (the organic gardening project is still relatively new and will be expanded), but on those occasions they buy from other farmers near the lodge who also grow their produce organically.
At $65 (exclusive of taxes and service), dinner at the Machaca Lodge isn't cheap. But neither is it a bad deal. The dining experience was altogether satisfying, an entirely reasonable splurge.
The couple at the table next to mine told me that they're here for birding. The balcony where we had dinner is apparently an excellent place to watch birds. They told me they watched toucans this morning, and a lodge guide has took them out yesterday on an expedition that she thought was wonderful. I don't know what kinds of birds they saw, but the Machaca Lodge has won highest praise from two Texas birders.
Tomorrow I'll head out for two days with the "Maya home-stay" program, which lodges tourists with Mayan families. Then I'll be back at the Machaca Lodge for three nights to experience the Toledo chocolate festival.


text:
Manufacturer - Emotiv
Home page - emotiv.com/epoc
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4.5 year old boy plays with EPOC Emotive
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Children can learn very quickly.
Brain Wave Emotive Epoc
Use of the Emotiv Epoc Headset
Uploaded on Nov 10, 2011
Instructions on using the Emotiv Epoc headset (consumer and developer). This covers unpackaging, parts, and assembly.
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Pierre Hardy
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text: Find this wine Find this wine Bogle Petite Sirah 2009 One of my favorites. Pin It Tweet 6 years ago by Tammiknapp More posts Bogle Petite Sirah Rosé Strawberry preserves. 3 years ago by MountainElite Bogle Petite Sirah Smooth 3 years ago by Rebecca C. Vintage 2012 Bogle Vineyards Petite Sirah California Good 4 years ago by Kate W. Old Vine Bogle Vineyards 2012 Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and petite Sirah. Smooth with a slight oak taste at the end. 4 years ago by Graysquirrel09 Bogle Vineyards Petite Sirah Bottle Petite Sirah 13.5 4 years ago by Chrystal C 2001


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President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to relatives of Father Emil Kapaun on Thursday, calling the priest from Pilsen "an American soldier who didn't fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all a love for his brothers so pure that he was willing to die so they might live."
More than 60 people – among them nine former POWs, Kansas bishops and high-ranking officials in the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, relatives of Kapaun and members of the state's congressional delegation – attended the White House ceremony. Obama gave the medal to Ray Kapaun, one of Emil Kapaun's nephews.
Emil Kapaun – who died in May 1951 in a North Korean prisoner of war camp – was honored for his actions Nov. 1 and 2, 1950, at the battle of Unsan, where his 8th Cavalry regiment was overrun by Chinese forces. He helped aid those wounded in battle with no regard for his own safety. Witnesses said Kapaun ran 200 to 300 yards outside a shrinking defensive perimeter to rescue wounded American soldiers despite fierce enemy fire.
Kapaun also stayed behind and let himself be captured by Chinese forces in order to care for wounded American soldiers. He was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, the Army's second-highest military honor. That was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Some of those present for the ceremony served with Kapaun in combat or suffered with him in the prison camp, where the only things keeping them alive were handfuls of birdseed or stolen food, and the spiritual and emotional nourishment offered by the calm, humble chaplain from Kansas who openly defied their Communist captors.
"That faith – that they might be delivered from evil – was perhaps his greatest gift to those men," Obama said Thursday. "That even amidst such despair, there could be hope; amid their misery in the temporal they could see truths that are eternal; that even in such hell, there could be a touch of the divine.
"Looking back, one of them said, that is what 'kept a lot of us alive.' "
The Secretary of the Army and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended Kapaun for the Medal of Honor in 2009. But special legislation had to pass Congress because of statute of limitation issues and the White House had to agree with the recommendation before the medal could be awarded.
Obama phoned Helen Kapaun, Emil Kapaun's sister-in-law who lives in the Wichita area, in December to tell her he would honor Emil Kapaun. Helen Kapaun did not travel to Washington, D.C., instead watching the ceremony in Wichita.
Emil Kapaun was born in 1916 on a farm near the tiny town of Pilsen, in Marion County, and was ordained a priest in Wichita in 1940. He served his church in Pilsen until 1944 when he joined the Army as chaplain; he served in India and Burma, then returned to Kansas and parish churches.
Obama talked about his own Kansas roots when describing the type of man Kapaun was.
"Now, I obviously never met Father Kapaun. But I have a sense of the man he was," the president said.
"Emil and my grandfather were both born in Kansas, about the same time; both raised in small towns outside Wichita. They were part of that Greatest Generation – surviving the Depression, joining the Army, serving in World War II. They embodied those heartland values of honesty and hard work, decency and humility – quiet heroes determined to do their part."
In 1948 Kapaun rejoined the Army as a chaplain and was stationed in 1950 in Japan with the 8th Cavalry regiment. That unit went to Korea only weeks after the North invaded the South on June 25.
After his capture at Unsan, Kapaun kept rescuing soldiers on the march to prison, persuading able-bodied soldiers to help carry their wounded comrades. In prison, he defied brainwashing attempts by the camp guards, picked lice off the sick, washed the clothes of wounded soldiers and with others stole bags of food while other POWs deliberately started fights to distract guards.
Kapaun has been declared a Servant of God by the Roman Catholic Church, and the Vatican is investigating his case for sainthood. Church officials from Wichita said winning the Medal of Honor will help those efforts.
Obama talked about Kapaun's strong faith, even as he was mocked and punished by the Communist prison guards for holding secret religious services.
"They took his clothes and made him stand in the freezing cold – for hours," Obama said. "Yet he never lost his faith. If anything, it only grew stronger.
"At night he slipped into huts to lead prisoners in prayer, say the Rosary, administer the sacraments, or offer three simple words: God bless you."
After Thursday's ceremony, those in attendance were invited to a White House reception. The Diocese of Wichita planned to host another reception on Thursday night.
On Friday, Kapaun will be honored again. He will be inducted into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon, which honors all Medal of Honor recipients.


text:
August 10, 2000 (idea)
See all of August 10, 2000, there are 25 more in this node.
|August 11, 2000
|August 9, 2000
|Thoughts that randomly pop into your mind when masturbating
|August 6, 2000
|Everything Snapshot
|August 18, 2000
|Just because Linux is Free doesn't mean Linux Software has to be Free
|Vixen Controlled Library
|A lap dance is so much better when the stripper is crying
|Windows 98 manual
|Friedrich Nietzsche
|September 13, 2001
|August 10, 2001
|Choose your words carefully; now throw them away
|Verizon Commercial Madness
|Mojo Nation
|August 12, 2000
|I like plastics.
|Albert Camus and the Minister
|GD Image Library


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|(Choice of image by Editor of "Towards Better Health")
newswire.ca, 29 February 2016
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Students in Peel District School Board will appeal to the new Liberal Government in Ottawa tonight to step in and protect students - especially females - from infertility and breast cancer.
"I did not consent to this level of risk," said Apurva Dixit a high school student in Mississauga. "The School Board has been informed that our WiFi system puts us at risk of infertility and breast cancer but it's choosing not to protect us," she said.
Dixit is part of a group of female high school students lobbying for safety standards to be tightened since microwave radiation from WiFi and cell phones is now considered a Class 2B Possible Carcinogen on the World Health Organization's Cancer watch list, and children are exposed to it daily at school.


text: Korean Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Delete Speak Korean Now! Korean Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Delete Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Buy/Sell/Trade Forum View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message shortskirt_longjacketJoined: 06 Jun 2004Location: fitz and ernie are my raison d'etre Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:29 pm Post subject: Delete Delete...found a hand phone. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Buy/Sell/Trade Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Forums:----------------FAQJob-related Discussion ForumGeneral Discussion ForumOff-Topic ForumTravel ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumBuy/Sell/Trade Forum You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe


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What is a graviton? Where can it be found?
The graviton is a hypothetical particle which is thought to be responsible for transferring the force of gravity. Like a photon it is a massless particle, however it is a spin 2 particle rather than a spin 1 particle (what is spin?). The photon is responsible for communicating all electromagnetic forces, and it has been shown mathematically that a massless spin 2 particle would produce a force exactly equivalent to gravity.
Despite being widely accepted to exist by physicists and astronomers, direct detection of a graviton is unlikely to ever happen. Gravity is an incredibly weak force (compared to the other fundamental forces) which means that the particles that transfer it only interact very weakly with matter. As all experiments ultimately rely on interactions with matter, this means that an experiment sensitive enough to directly detect gravitons is practically impossible. However, we may be able to infer information about gravitons by measuring gravitational waves. There are a number of ongoing experiments hoping to detect both gravitational waves created in the recent past by merging black holes or neutron stars, and experiments aiming to detect the imprint on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation of gravitational waves formed the instant after the Big Bang.
This page was last updated on January 31, 2016.


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The awesome audio Robot Refill composed by Drumndizt can be downloaded here.
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toriidick on Family Tree Circles
sort: Date Alphabetical
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Journals and Posts
Dick family from OHIO
my name is Victoria Dick. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in '92.
My Father Christopher John Dick Married my Mother Roswitha Heine.
I have been researching where my fathers side and also my mothers side of the family is from for a while now but can't seem to find a strong lead.
Can anyone help?
- Displaying 1-1 of 1 Journals
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One life down, eight to go
This time, curiosity didn't kill the cat.
On Wednesday, an Embro couple's kitten went on the ride of his young life.
Four-month-old Molson had adapted well to his new family, the Jasinskis, and even got along with the family's two dogs.
But over the past few weeks, Molson developed a habit of running outside when the dogs went out.
"Usually we just call his name and he comes running back in the house, but not yesterday," Betsy Jasinski said.
For hours, Jasinski searched the outside of her home just outside Embro. She called Molson's name. She looked under bushes and up into the trees. She left no stone unturned.
And when she still couldn't find him, she started calling people who had been at her home that morning.
"We'd had a lot of car traffic that morning. I felt like a complete idiot when I asked people to go check their back seats for our cat," she said.
She even called her husband, Chris Jasinski, who had left that morning for a meeting at his sister's in Woodstock.
He'd been in the meeting for about 90 minutes when he received the call. He checked the backseat and found nothing. Then he and his sister headed to Toronto and Brampton for business.
It wasn't until the brother-sister duo finished both meetings and was about to head back to Woodstock that a tiny meow could be heard coming from under the hood of the Honda SUV.
"He crawled from the ground up into the engine compartment. He could have come out of the compartment in Woodstock. He could have come out while they went through the Tim Hortons drive-thru or while whizzing along on the highway. But he didn't. He hung on for dear life in there," Betsy Jasinski said.
Miraculously, Molson emerged from the engine compartment still intact and, for the most part, unscathed.
"Molson was a little bit rattled at first, but after that, he hasn't missed a beat. He's playing with the dogs just like normal," she said.
Liz Dennis, a veterinarian from the Wellington Animal Hospital, said it's common for animals to find their way into cars during colder months.
"I'm not sure if it was the case in this instance, but small animals will go in there because of the warmth. It's a warm cosy place for them to sleep.
"This story ended nicely, but there are sad stories about engines being started up and the animal receiving bad burns or worse," she said.
Dennis was amazed to hear about the distance Molson travelled while under the hood.
"I've never heard of one travelling so far or stopping that much. It's another good reason for micro-chipping your pets. At any time, the kitten could have gotten out and there would have been no reason for the owner to look in Toronto for the animal."
Dennis suggested while walking to your vehicle smack the hood with your hand or honk the horn the before starting the engine. The noise should scare any animal that has tucked themselves under the hood looking for a warm spot.
Duke - Shepherd/Collie 2003-2013
Jasper - Shepherd/Collie 2005-2013
Zoey - Brown Tabby 2003-2018
Patches - Diluted Torti
My cat rode in the engine of my car once and survived. We had just gotten back from vacation and had finished emptying the car, then I hopped in the car to go visit a girlfriend. When I got out of the car I heard a meow and it was my cat , I have NO idea how she ended up in the car she was an indoor only kitty and was suppose to be in the house .
Cat maid to:
Jasper, male Ragdoll ?? (approx 10 yrs)
Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 7 yrs)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)
In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb
While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. Stephen R. Covey
Last edited by Love4himies; December 9th, 2011 at 03:13 PM.
My neighbors cat climb under the hood of their vehicle but did not have a good ending. I always bang on my car and honk the horn and sometimes I will lift the hood and have a look to make sure there are no kitties.
Duke - Shepherd/Collie 2003-2013
Jasper - Shepherd/Collie 2005-2013
Zoey - Brown Tabby 2003-2018
Patches - Diluted Torti
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A potting bench provides a useful workspace for gardeners of all levels. Besides keeping garden supplies in one place, garden potting benches provide a level and spacious work area for planting in pots, repotting, dividing plants and other messy garden tasks.
A good potting bench should be made out of a durable material; wood potting benches are probably the most common. Cedar is a popular wood that is often used for potting benches because it is weather- and rot-resistant, and it ages beautifully, as well. In recent years, potting benches have become available that are made out of recycled plastic or recycled vinyl, which makes for a green option.
The work area of the potting bench needs to be at the right height and sufficiently large to hold several plant pots, garden tools and a watering can, at a minimum. A built-in basin for storing potting soil is a handy feature to have. A shelf above the work surface is a great place to store tools, and shelves or cupboards below provide even more storage space.
If a potting bench is attractive enough, it can also be used for outdoor entertaining. Some people like to store other outdoor tools, such as barbecue utensils, in or on their potting bench. Some potting benches are painted and have stenciled designs along the shelves or the frame, rendering them a charming addition to the garden.
Wheeled garden potting benches are an excellent choice if the potting bench must be moved from one area to another. In this case, there should also be a brake or a way to deactivate the wheels so that the potting bench stays in one place when needed.
Local plant nurseries, outdoor furniture stores and home improvement stores such as the Home Depot and Lowes are good places to shop for a potting bench. In addition, potting benches are quite simple to build; many websites have home projects for potting benches. An online search for plans and potting benches turns up a large number of resource sites; most of the potting bench plans online are free.


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TAMPA, Fla. Greg Schiano didnt have to follow the NFL closely over the last decade-plus to keep up with the exploits of Peyton Manning.
Tampa Bays first-year head coach was an assistant with the Chicago Bears when Manning began his NFL career in 1998. But while Manning was collecting MVP awards, Schiano was toiling in the college ranks; he spent two years as an assistant at the University of Miami and the next 11 transforming Rutgers into a Big East contender.
Still, even for Schiano who never paid much attention to the pro game until he returned to the NFL Mannings accomplishments with the Indianapolis Colts virtually were impossible not to notice.
Now Manning has his full attention.
The four-time league MVP and the Denver Broncos will face the Buccaneers porous pass defense this week. Schiano is doing everything he can to make sure his young, inexperienced secondary is prepared for the challenge.
The Bucs are first in the NFL in run defense but are 32nd against the pass.
You have to be careful because you cant try to in four days create a whole new defense so you can confuse him. That wont work. And probably the fact of the matter is, what you think could be this great idea to confuse him, he saw it about six years ago and then again three years ago, Schiano said Wednesday.
Weve just got to go out and play our defense and play the best we can and know theyre going to make some plays. Theres not anybody in this league whos kept them from making plays in the passing game. We have to make sure we dont let them go off in the run game. ... If they can run the ball, its going to be a struggle.
Manning has completed nearly 68 percent of his passes for 3,260 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions while getting acclimated to a new system and teammates. The Broncos (8-3) have won six in a row after a 2-3 start, and last weeks 17-9 victory at Kansas City moved him ahead of Hall of Famer John Elway for the second-most wins by a starting quarterback in league history.
The Bucs, meanwhile, are trying to remain in playoff contention, despite having a secondary thats without the starting cornerback Schiano began the season with.
Aqib Talib was suspended four games last month for violating the leagues policy on performance-enhancing substances and subsequently traded to the New England Patriots while serving the ban. The NFL took the same action this week against Eric Wright, also for using Adderall without a prescription.
With Talib no longer with the team and Wright who signed a five-year, $37.5-million contract as a free agent last March sitting out with an Achilles tendon injury, Tampa Bay started former seventh-round draft pick E.J. Biggers and undrafted rookie free agent Leonard Johnson at cornerback in a 24-23 loss to Atlanta.
Johnson has missed tackles this season on a pair of 80-yard touchdown plays, including Julio Jones long catch-and-run for the Falcons.
Biggers has 19 career starts in four seasons, but the departure of Talib and the loss of Wright have stripped the team of much of its depth at cornerback. Recent additions LeQuan Lewis and Danny Gorrer also saw action against Atlanta and figure to get plenty of playing time again Sunday.
We have some young guys who dont have much experience, so were kind of just playing our hand as we feel best, Schiano said. Its going to be a challenge. But theyre 8-3, so three teams figured out a way to do it. Thats our goal. Were trying to be the fourth.
Schiano reiterated that to have any chance of minimizing the damage Manning can inflict through the air, the Bucs have to contain Denvers running games.
Tampa Bay has allowed a league-low 81.5 yards rushing.
Weve got to make sure we stop the run. We know hes going to make some throws. Youd like them not to be big plays, Schiano said.
If you can limit the big plays, theyre going to catch the ball underneath, and were going to have to tackle well. When we play man-to-man coverage were going to have to be on our guy and try to deny him the ball, and when we have deep safety help were going to have to use that help.
The Bucs are yielding 315.5 yards through the air, yet have managed to win five of seven after a 1-3 start to climb back into playoff contention.
One of the keys to the turnaround has been the defenses knack for forcing timely turnovers, and the Josh Freeman-led offenses ability to convert opponents mistakes into points.
Thats why Manning said hes not licking his chops in anticipation of facing what at least on paper appears to be an overmatched defensive backfield that also includes rookie Mark Barron and 16-year veteran Ronde Barber at safety.
Look at the film. Statistics can be very misleading, Manning said. I tell you what I see. I see a defense thats dominant against the run; it has created a lot of turnovers. I think theyre No. 1 in interceptions caused the last four weeks. And what you also see by watching the game film is how their offense is taking those turnovers and turning them into touchdowns.
Bucs tight end Dallas Clark, a close friend and one of Mannings favorite targets while they were playing for the Indianapolis Colts, said hes not surprised by the way the 36-year-old quarterback has played since returning from a neck injury that sidelined Manning all of 2011.
I would never bet against him on his determination. ... Just being around and seeing all the hard work hes put in, you knew he was going to surprise a lot of people, Clark said. He gave great commitment and dedication to getting back and everything that you have to do to overcome an injury as an athlete.


text:
Star Trek Into DarknessWatch Star Trek Into Darkness Full Movie Streaming Online Duration 132 minutes and broadcast on 2013-05-16 MPAA rating is 1720.
- Status : Released
- Release Date of film : 2013-05-16
- Original title : Star Trek Into Darkness
- Tagline : Earth Will Fall
- Movie Genre : Action, Adventure, Science Fiction,
- Languages spoken : English
- Film Note : -movie_rating-
- Societies of production : Bad Robot
- Vote Count : 1720
- Duration of movie : 132
- Average rate : 7.4
- Youtube Id : -youtube_id-
- Chris Pine Character (Captain James T. Kirk)
- Zachary Quinto Character (Spock)
- Zoe Saldana Character (Uhura)
- Karl Urban Character (Bones)
- Simon Pegg Character (Scotty)
- John Cho Character (Sulu)
- Benedict Cumberbatch Character (Khan)
- Anton Yelchin Character (Chekov)
- Bruce Greenwood Character (Christopher Pike)
- Alice Eve Character (Carol)
- Britanni Johnson Character (NYU Nurse)
- Tom Archdeacon Character (Ensign Spyke)
- Jon Lee Brody Character (Enterprise Crew Security)
- Hiram A. Murray Character (Bar Patron)
- Peter Weller Character (Admiral Alexander Marcus)
- Heather Langenkamp Character (Moto)
- Aisha Hinds Character (Navigation Officer Darwin)
- Kimberly Arland Character (Madeline)
- Leonard Nimoy Character (Spock Prime)
- Usman Ally Character (U.S.S. Vengeance Officer)
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A fiber-crafts fanatic who lives to create. I'm also "Wovenflame" on Ravelry, Flickr, ETSY, DoA and yahoogroups.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Amber Revontuli
Admittedly I knit most projects for my own use. After all, I'm the only person who truly understands and appreciates how much work has gone into the creation. This is particularly true when the article was not only hand knit, but also hand spun. The yarn for this particular shawl was all spun on a drop spindle too, which is more labour intensive than spinning it on a spinning wheel.
To add to the labour involved, I beaded a row in each repeat. My oldest daughter patiently sat by my side loading a crochet hook with a bead and handing it to me....every other stitch all across these long rows. Thanks Lisa!
All that work and I did it knowing that this colourway does not suit me at all. I LIKE the colours, in fact my home is decorated in beige and brown, but the shawl is too small to be an afghan.
How odd that I felt so compelled to knit this and worked on it obsessively until it was complete, yet have no recipient in mind for the finished object.
Maybe I will sell it. Maybe I will be inspired to give it away to someone who needs a warm hug. We'll see.
8 comments:
- Michelle said...
It's just lovely, Marlene. I can see why you were compelled to knit and spin it, even though you knew it wasn't "you".
After buying a ton of beads for some Mystery Stole Along's, I've learned to appreciate the work involved in applying it into your knitting. It does lend a lovely added touch, though, so it's worth the work!
I'm sure this shawl will end up in caring hands, no matter what you decide.
- November 16, 2008 9:33 am
- CTJen said...
It certainly is pretty. :-)
- November 16, 2008 9:49 am
- PJ said...
Awesome shawl and I like the colors very much..that is such a special picture about the 30 yr old sweater!!!
- November 16, 2008 11:07 am
- Dave said...
It's gorgeous, and wow, that's a lot of time invested. With Christmas just around the corner, someone is bound to come to mind.
- November 16, 2008 12:56 pm
There is such a thing as a lap robe, which is smaller than an afghan.
- November 18, 2008 7:31 pm
- Marlene said...
It's only a half circle Tamar, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.
- November 18, 2008 9:12 pm
- AlisonH said...
You will know. You will be so glad in that moment. You will know.
- November 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Maggie Ann said...
Its a beauty for sure! Maybe you'll start an Etsy store?
- December 01, 2008 4:22 pm


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Supercomputer Opening Caps Years of Effort
It began with laying hundreds of miles of fiber-optic cable, much of it buried under the ground along stretches of interstate that traverse the mountains and plains of Wyoming. Next week, the state's evolution from primarily pulling minerals out of the ground to a sky's-the-limit outlook for supercomputing will be complete.
The $74 million NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC), with a primary focus of atmospheric research, is slated to open Monday, Oct. 15, with a ceremonial dedication. Located at the North Range Business Park in Cheyenne, the $30 million supercomputer, dubbed "Yellowstone," will be used by multiple University of Wyoming researchers and their students to model detailed simulations of hydrology, carbon sequestration, planet formation, efficiency of wind turbines, and much more.
"This is a direct result of careful planning over 15 years. We were prepared for this opportunity," says Bill Gern, UW's vice president for research and economic development. "We have the ability, in time, to be the model for the world in measuring the subsurface flow of water. That's what NCAR can bring to us. This is fundamentally transformative for the university."
"This will be an attractive place for researchers. And, if you're doing computational research, it will be very attractive," says Bryan Shader, UW's special assistant to the vice president of research and economic development, and a mathematics professor. "Even if you're not in computational research and you want to be at the forefront of research, it's good to be at a university where there is significant computational infrastructure. One need not be in the sciences or computer sciences to benefit from the NWSC."
But a lot has transpired in 15 years for technology in southeastern Wyoming to go from subpar to the verge of super.
Getting connected
For years, UW, located in a city with a population of just over 30,000, struggled to obtain economical, basic telecommunications services for delivering advanced networking to campus researchers.
In the 1980s, UW began leasing circuits from US West (now Century Link), AT&T, Global Crossing and other telecommunications companies. This hodge-podge of various circuits allowed for a cobbled network from Laramie to Denver, recalls Robert Morrison, UW's director, telecommunications & system services, and chief technologist.
"Because Wyoming didn't have a huge population and economy, we didn't have access to high-speed Internet. We had to lease private lines and even built a private microwave between Laramie and Fort Collins," Morrison says.
But such a basic system was susceptible to interruption and cost prohibitive to develop to the necessary level UW, as a research university, needed.
"Our Internet would go down and the telephone companies were all pointing fingers at each other," Morrison says. "All we know is it didn't work."
In 1997, UW, with support from its Office of Research and Economic Development, joined Internet2, which was a consortium of universities committed to the development of high-speed research networks. In order to connect to Internet2, UW led the charge to create the Front Range GigaPOP (FRGP), which is a peering point in Denver to connect to the commodity Internet, as well as high-speed research networks such as Internet2 and the National Lambda Rail (NLR).
The FRGP was established using funds UW received from a National Science Foundation grant to be used for networking, Morrison says.
The original partners in the FRGP included UW, Colorado State University and Colorado University-Denver. The group was later joined by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), most universities located in the Front Range, and government agencies.
The establishment of the FRGP was a great step forward, Morrison says. However, connectivity between Laramie and Denver was problematic. It was an incident in 1999 that broke the bronco's back, so to speak. At that time, Laramie suffered its own mini-Y2K, when Internet access was down more than 24 hours -- the longest it had ever been out of service.
"After that, we were highly motivated to create a better, faster connection that we could manage," Morrison says.
In order to address the problem of connectivity and reliability to the FRGP, UW spearheaded another initiative, creating a high-speed, high-bandwidth, flexible, fiber-optic network loop -- the BiSON ring (Bi-State Optical Network), which was completed in 2004. The BiSON ring connects UW and the new NWSC through Cheyenne, to Denver, to Boulder, Fort Collins and then back to UW. This high-bandwidth, flexible, self-managed network is a critical component for any research university, but especially a rural university like UW.
"With the BiSON ring, there is no single point of failure, no single fiber cut that can bring us down, and it provides very high performance. This gives us the connectivity that every major research university in the region had," Morrison says. "It put us on a par with well-known universities such as Carnegie Mellon and Stanford (in terms of Internet capabilities)."
As a result, UW now benefits from the same level of access to advanced networks, such as Abilene (Internet2) and NLR, as do its collaborating institutions located in the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area, as well as major research universities in the U.S., Morrison says.
"My contention is this laid the groundwork and thinking of people at NCAR and elsewhere. You need high-speed Internet access to get to a supercomputer," Morrison says. "Without the FRGP and the BiSON ring, you couldn't have the supercomputer."
"Because of the university's leadership and foresight, they've put us in a position to use this resource," Shader says. "For the last decade, we've strived for national distinction in computational sciences. We have hired 25 faculty members who heavily use computational sciences in their research. We have faculty who can use the NWSC. Our graduate students are plugged in. It's an exciting time."
Bouncing off Boulder
Right after Christmas 2006, UW received its first email on the subject of a supercomputer. It came from Randy Bruns, president and CEO of Cheyenne LEADS. As a result, then-governor Dave Freudenthal met with UW President Tom Buchanan and urged the university to become involved in efforts to lure such a facility to Wyoming.
"We were in a bidding war with Colorado on this," Gern recalls. "NCAR was looking for property near their Mesa campus in Boulder."
The drawback in Boulder was the city's inability to guarantee the price of power as the Mesa Laboratory was built out. Once built out, the facility was expected to need 25 megawatts of power, about one-fifth the power the city of Cheyenne needs every day to run. The Mesa facility only had capabilities for 16 megawatts, Gern says.
"That's why power was such an element. The Mesa lab didn't have it," Gern says.
"The need for this facility was pretty great," agreed Chet Lockard, UW's associate director of facilities planning. "They (NCAR) outgrew their space at the Mesa facility. The design (of the NWSC facility in Cheyenne) was based on the frustration at the Mesa facility."
To secure the supercomputing center, the state of Wyoming made a $20 million investment. The Wyoming Business Council became involved, providing $4.5 million to Cheyenne LEADS to create infrastructure for the site. Cheyenne Fuel, Light & Power became another important business partner.
And UW stepped up, agreeing to provide $1 million annually for 20 years to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to help pay for the next supercomputer at the site. In exchange, UW received access to 20 percent of the NSF-base-funded computer's computational system annually.
The 75 million core hours UW faculty members will have at their disposal represents one of the largest pools overseen by any university in the United States, Shader says.
This past summer, NSF approved seven UW research projects – ranging from hydrology of the Colorado River Basin to planet formation from star debris to fluid dynamics of wind turbines -- that will use the NWSC this fall. These initial computational science research projects will use approximately 27 million core hours and involve close to 40 researchers, faculty, post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students.
"It's an impressive building. But even more impressive is the science that will take place there," Shader says. "We can use it as a carrot to foster and support collaborations with other universities. We already have collaborations with three universities in Utah, and are developing collaborations with the University of Vermont and Idaho National Laboratory. We're forging connections with scientists at NCAR."
The NWSC is the result of a partnership among UCAR; UW; the state of Wyoming; Cheyenne LEADS; the Wyoming Business Council; Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power; and NCAR. The NWSC is operated by NCAR under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Look, up in Cheyenne! It's a supercomputer!
How fast is the supercomputer? Well, certainly faster than a speeding bullet and maybe more powerful than a locomotive. Just in a different way.
Imagine 7 billion people conducting a calculation 200,000 times a second, and you have the capability of the machine in Cheyenne, Gern says.
"It can provide very accurate models of the real world and visualize it. That's the power this thing is going to give us," he says.
The 153,000-square-foot NWSC will contain some of the world's most powerful supercomputers (1.5 petaflops, which is equal to 1.5 quadrillion computer operations per second) dedicated to improving scientific understanding of climate, severe weather, air quality and other vital atmospheric science and geoscience topics. The center also will house a premier data storage (11 petabytes) and archival facility that holds irreplaceable historical climate records and other information.
Dimitri Mavriplis, a UW professor of mechanical engineering, works with computational fluid dynamics, a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to analyze and solve fluid flow challenges. He will use the supercomputer to simulate the aerodynamics of aircraft wings, helicopter propellers and wind turbines.
"One thing more powerful computers can do is to resolve more details of the turbulent flow that occurs over aircraft configurations, thus, providing more realistic simulations of the aerodynamics which, in turn, lead to more effective and efficient designs," says Mavriplis, who has grant funding from the Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA for his research. "If we do our job well, we can get at least a factor of 100 more from the NWSC than we can with currently available hardware."
IBM, which received the contract for the supercomputer, delivered the machine in parts during June. It took 18 semitrailers to move all of the components to Cheyenne, with some of the initial assembly captured on video by local and regional media.
Build it and they will come
The NWSC opened the door for Wyoming to be considered an ideal spot for high-performance computing, something Gern mentioned during a university-sponsored field trip to the NWSC in April.
"When Cheyenne LEADS brings in another big computing company, we can declare victory," Gern says. "Who (is there) better than NCAR to say that Wyoming has a great climate for major computing centers?"
Shortly thereafter, Microsoft publicly announced plans to build a $120 million data center in Cheyenne. The company plans to create 17 new jobs initially (with a plan to eventually hire 40 people) with median wages that are 150 percent above the county's average wage. The facility, expected to be operational in spring 2013, will serve the Mountain West region for the company.
To encourage Microsoft to choose Wyoming, the state provided $10 million in economic incentives.
"I believe Wyoming is positioned to be a leader in the technology sector, and data centers will be a catalyst for growth," Gov. Matt Mead said at an April 9 press conference. "Wyoming is a perfect fit for data centers. We have abundant, affordable energy. Our naturally cool climate decreases costs for data centers, and we have redundant fiber optics. Microsoft's decision recognizes that Wyoming is a hand-and-glove fit as a leading site for data centers and technology-related companies."
In recent months, Laramie city and economic development officials have laid the groundwork to lure data centers of their own and allow for expansion of existing technology businesses. Officials from the Laramie Economic Development Corporation have targeted land on the north edge of Laramie for the Cirrus Sky Technology Park and applied for a $5 million grant to make the site "shovel-ready." The funding would be used to construct water, sewer and street infrastructure on approximately 162 acres between 15th and 30th streets in Laramie.
In the latest development, the Laramie City Council, on Oct. 3, passed agreements with the LEDC relative to the property and funding mechanisms. Contingent upon the city and LEDC receiving the grant, UW has signed an agreement to purchase approximately 23 acres of the technology park. The property would serve as a base for high-tech business start-ups that are ready to move from the Wyoming Technology Business Center incubator.
And, in June, UW announced that IBM has been chosen to build UW's campus cluster, which may have as many as 100 UW faculty members using it for their computational science research starting this fall.
The Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC), nicknamed "Mount Moran" after a mountain in western Wyoming's Tetons, will enable atmospheric and earth sciences faculty members -- who will be able to use the NWSC -- to learn what to expect with the software. The cluster provides the opportunity for that group of faculty members to work out issues caused by scaling up parallel algorithms from tens or hundreds of processors to thousands of processors, before moving up to tens of thousands of processors on the NWSC supercomputer.
Mount Moran, which arrived on campus in late September, also will provide a research resource for UW research faculty members -- such as bioinformaticists, ecologists, social scientists, pure mathematicians and theoretical physicists -- whose research doesn't fall within the scope of the NWSC. For more information, go here.
"This (NWSC) is a facility that is going to be used for Wyoming and universities around the world for some time to come," Gern says.


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Drift, and drift control, have always been a concern. But now, due to a number of factors - including the new herbicide tolerant soybeans, increased use of postemergence products, focus on accuracy and environmental concern - drift control is driving research and product development at both university and company levels.
Don't think you have to accept spray drift anymore. Especially if you're planning on precise chemical application of new postemerge herbicides. "Drift has driven spraying technology more than anything else in the last few years," says University of Illinois ag engineer Bob Wolf.
Controlling droplet size is the major focus to improve spraying technology, he says. With smaller droplets, more "fines" will be present in the spray volume. Eliminating those smaller droplets means fewer fines and, potentially, less drift.
Advances in spraying technology range from relatively simple nozzle improvements and spray tank additives to electronically controlled sprayers and nozzles and high volume air-assisted sprayer systems aimed at putting the spray where it belongs. The bottom line is better control over your crop-protection products.
Even the best spraying technology, however, can be foiled by humans and nature. Current drift research focuses on reducing the number of droplets of 200 microns or less in size (a human hair is 100 microns). "The tendency for drift also depends on wind strength, along with temperature and humidity. Higher temperatures and lower humidity cause smaller droplets. And increased application pressure has the same shrinking effect," Wolf says.
At the same time, flow rates, pressure and ground speed can contribute to droplet size changes. The key to droplets is in the spray nozzle, Wolf believes. "The emphasis in nozzle design is creating a more uniform droplet spectrum with fewer fines and fewer bigger droplets, which means we're narrowing the spectrum closer to the desired droplet size," Wolf says.
For example, one comparison of two same-sized nozzles from Spraying Systems indicates a significant reduction in fines between older and new technology. Wolf reports that when a XR 110 flat-fan tip at 40 psi was compared with the new Turbo TeeJet 110 05 tip at 40 psi, "the new technology was responsible for a 12 to 15% reduction of droplets below 200 microns."
News is in the nozzles. Several new nozzles featuring precise control of droplet size through various forms of air-injection are hitting the market this season. Building on the strengths of its Turbo TeeJet nozzle, Spraying Systems introduces the AI - which stands for air-induction - TeeJet. Depending upon which chemical is sprayed, the nozzle produces large air-filled droplets through the use of a venturi air aspirator. The company says that larger droplets burst on the target area, or plant, forming smaller droplets for improved penetration and coverage. A stainless steel insert produces a tapered-edged flat spray pattern for uniform coverage in broadcast spraying. The nozzle works across a range of applications, the company says, from preemergence surface-applied herbicides with a minimum spray pressure of 40 psi or for postemergence contact herbicides at 80 psi and higher. Price of the AI TeeJet nozzle is $8 to $9. Circle 207.
Along the same lines, Delavan Spray Technologies developed The Ultra Low-Drift nozzle, introduced under John Deere's SprayMaster brand. It is a flat-fan nozzle with an air mixture chamber. According to Deere, the nozzle not only helps reduce fines but provides a uniformly sized, larger droplet for better coverage on target. Tests at the University of Tennessee produced a 600 micron droplet at 40 psi using a 2% Roundup and water formula. Only 4.4% of the droplets in that formulation are fines less than 191 microns at 40 psi.
Made of polypropylene with a stainless steel insert, the basic Ultra is an air-induction nozzle that fits most current equipment, including standard, combo or Hardi systems. The complete nozzle assembly lists for $8.24 and the tip alone lists for $6.09. Circle 208. Another approach to nozzle control comes from Spray Air USA. The nozzle is called Shear Guard Plus. It uses a control system in the tractor cab to adjust the force of the air and droplet size through atomization.
Called "Dial-a-Drop," technology, an orifice disc is used to control the amount of flow to each nozzle. The air passes over and around a liquid delivery tube in each nozzle, and the liquid is introduced in the center of the airflow. When the air and liquid meet, the liquid atomizes, resulting in better coverage with less carrier volume. Two cross-flow shaping jets in the nozzle form the spray pattern. The nozzle replicates the pattern of a hydraulic flat-fan nozzle, with the added advantage of variable droplet sizes and velocities. According to the company, the air physically moves the plant canopy and carries the spray droplets to their target.
The orifice disc regulates flow from 5 to 60 psi and flow rates from 0.017 gpm to 0.37 gpm, or 11/2 gal./acre to 34 gal./acre at 8 mph. The Shear Guard Plus is used on Willmar Manufacturing's TriMizer boom and also is available as a replacement part on that boom for $7.65/nozzle. Circle 209. Spray-Air uses the nozzle on its own spraying equipment as well. Circle 210.
TurboDrop nozzles by Greenleaf Technologies generally deliver droplets that average 400+ microns within 30 to 90 psi. Adaptable to all types of sprayers, the TurboDrop's total pressure range is 30 to 150 psi. But between the drift-control range of 30 to 90 psi, they allow greater speed and application ranges, the company claims. The assembly's stabilization air/liquid mixing chamber results in a narrower droplet spectrum for precise control of droplet size. Price for a complete nozzle is $14 to $15. Circle 211. Electronically controlled hybrid. "A single, larger tip can be used to do the work of several tips," says Steve Willey of Tyler Enterprises. As long as you have control. The ability to control flow rates and pressure independently of each other is the key to Tyler's new electronically controlled, pulse-modulated system.
The system was developed through research at the University of California - Davis, and licensed to a company called Capstan Ag Systems (see Farm Industry News, page, 40, February 1996). It has the potential to be retrofitted to any sprayer, large or small. The pressure and droplet system's first commercial use will be in Tyler's Patriot-based AIM Command Spray System for commercial applicators. "If you can't control droplet size, or percentage of driftable fines in a particular spray pattern from a nozzle, you really do not have drift control," Willey claims.
For example, flow rates can vary over a 8 to 1 range in a fraction of a second without affecting the pressure, which means that droplet size doesn't change. Or, that independent control also means the operator could change droplet size on-the-go, to reduce drift, by changing the pressure without changing the flow rate.
Available from Tyler or Capstan dealers, the suggested list price on a system for a 50- to 90-ft. boom, depending upon number of nozzles, ranges from $10,000 to $14,500. Circle 212.
The air-assist approach. At the more sophisticated, higher end spectrum of drift control are spray technology systems using air-assist booms and air-assist nozzles. These air-assist systems operate with high-velocity fans that drive air through a tube located along the boom where the air is directed into or alongside the boom spray, primarily to force the spray downward. A summary:
Hardi was one of the first to introduce air-assist technology on its farmer-operated rigs in North America several years ago, based on technology used widely in Europe. Specifically designed for farmer-operators, the trailer-mounted Twin Systems air sprayers by Hardi feature booms ranging from 60 to 66 ft. that can be used as a conventional or air-assist spraying system. The fan can be set in variables from 0 to 70 mph to adjust for drift depending upon wind and crop conditions.
The nozzle assembly rotates, and the air slot can be adjusted 30 degrees forward or backward, allowing the spray to hit its target at a variety of angles. Cost for the complete sprayer system begins at $43,000. Circle 213.
Ag-Chem's commercial RoGator 854 postemergence liquid system applicator with an Airtec boom uses a high-capacity centrifugal fan to displace a high volume of air from 0 to 152 mph through an aluminum boom tube. The company says this air displacement at high velocities enables the spray solution to penetrate the crop canopy. The 80-ft. boom is fitted with cone venturi-type nozzles to optimize atomization of the solution. Circle 214.
Willmar Manufacturing offers its TriMizer boom on several of its self-propelled commercial sprayers. The boom offers three spray options fitted with conventional and Shear Guard nozzles: DynaJet, conventional hydraulic or air assist. DynaJet atomizes the spray mixture with air that, according to the company, can create 64 times more droplets than standard hydraulic systems. Powered by a centrifugal fan, the blast of air can be adjusted from 60 to 120 mph which allows control of droplet size to reduce drift. Where drift concerns are minimal, and DynaJet is not necessary, the sprayer can switch to its conventional hydraulic system or the air-assist system, which combines features from each of the other two systems. Circle 215.
Which pick for drift? Midwest farmers, however, deserve a word of caution on air-assist systems, according to Wolf. Those systems, traditionally, were developed to penetrate thick crop canopies and for windy conditions - not for drift control specifically. Although the air-assisted systems can cover their targets, the jury is still out as to their effectiveness in handling drift control, Wolf points out. "I'm a little hesitant to be a proponent of it for drift control unless you're using it with crops that have a dense canopy where that additional air is absorbed," he says.
"You have the potential to put out a 100-mph airstream and, if you're looking at bare soil beneath the boom, that is a serious concern. If you're pulling it over a wheat crop like they do in Europe, Canada or the Dakotas, or a solid crop of soybeans or potatoes, or you're putting an insecticide or fungicide down into that canopy, there are some advantages. "My major point with corn and soybeans is that we want to think twice about it as a drift control device when we're still looking at some bare ground. A canopy absorbs extra air energy," Wolf says.
Drift-control additives. If you're not ready to climb onto the high-tech bandwagon, Wolf says you can use spray tank additives to initiate drift control economically with your existing system. University of Illinois data show that additives have reduced the amount of off-target movement by as much as 50 to 80% and they're cheap, at less than $1/acre. One of the concerns with the products is that they are not regulated by EPA. "I caution most people to purchase any product on a trial basis and test it on their systems before they go hog-wild on it," he adds.
"You really need to follow the directions carefully," Wolf says. "In some cases, with the higher active ingredients, say 30 or 40% active, they'll have a use-rate of maybe 2 to 8 oz./100 gal. of water. I caution them to work around the 1- to 2-oz. level. If you put too much into a tank mix, it could turn into a gelatin-type mixture that can plug up the system, making it impossible to spray uniformly."
Some additives are susceptible to pump shear when they're going through the recycle process in the tank during application. That means the pump grinds down the good, drift-reduction molecules and they become more like water molecules and eliminate the original protection.
One company, Rhone-Poulenc, has developed DR2000, a water-soluble powder additive that reduces susceptibility to pump shear. Precision Labs sells this additive, called Border EG250, as doesRosen's, which is called Array.
Start with the basics. If you're interested in taking the jump to drift control through new technology, Wolf advises you look first at nozzles, specifically turbo flood nozzles for soil applications and turbo flat-fan nozzles for postemergence applications. "If a grower wants to look further ahead, he might want to start investigating and locate some of the air-inject technology like turbo drop or other air-injection nozzles," he says. "Changing nozzles is easy, not expensive, and you'll be ahead of the drift control game.
"Then consider increasing volume, lowering pressure and driving slower." That's not because fast ground speeds, in and of themselves, cause drift, but speed relates to rates and pressures on the new electronic systems.
Also, speed affects boom height as you bounce across the field. The higher the boom is above the canopy, the more susceptible those droplets are to drift."
Even if you want to use flat-fan nozzles, you can lower the pressure and go to a larger-size nozzle and make some dramatic changes, Wolf adds.
The whole idea, says Wolf, is to make bigger droplets by lowering the pressure and then put out more volume per acre. To accomplish that, you need to use a bigger tip and lower the pressure.
Finally, whether you depend on a custom applicator or apply herbicides yourself, it's the producer's responsibility to make rational application decisions during that frantic narrow window of opportunity. "Farmers put pressure on the commercial outfits to get the job done, and the commercial people want to get the acres covered," Wolf says. That causes some high-stress situations and chemical application in less than ideal environments. No matter what, "if it's too windy, you've got to stop."
The four factors that determine spray application rates are sprayer pressure, the nozzle orifice, ground speed and the spacing of nozzles. As manufacturers and applicators tackle the drift issue with technological changes, they are particularly interested in fine-tuning pressure and flow rates and choosing the correct air-assisted nozzle as prescribed by each particular spraying situation.
Here's how these four factors interact. Pressure: Increasing pressure also increases the nozzle output proportional to the square root of the pressure increase. In other words, the pressure would have to be increased four times to double the output of the nozzle. Low pressures are recommended to reduce the drift potential of herbicides.
Nozzle orifice: The capacity of nozzles is rated in gal./min. at a certain pressure. Manufacturers' data outline proper nozzle selection for the desired rate of chemical at a selected speed and pressure.
Sprayer ground speed: Proper nozzles need be used to get the desired application rate at the speed best suited to the particular operation or field conditions.
Nozzle spacing: The amount of spray depends upon the number of nozzles on the boom. The application rate in a band-treated area decreases with a given nozzle as the band width increases.


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Defense Logistical Support Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Issues for Congress
Description: This report examines logistical support contracts for troop support services in Iraq and Afghanistan (for Afghanistan, beginning with LOGCAP IV) administered through the U.S. Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). LOGCAP is an initiative designed to manage the use of civilian contractors that perform services during times of war and other military mobilizations.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Bailey Grasso, Valerie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department