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Undergraduate Program Curriculum
The Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) curriculum builds upon the base provided by the Watson School's freshman-year engineering program. This first-year core provides students with a broad foundation in engineering fundamentals, natural sciences and mathematics. Depth in Industrial and Systems Engineering is obtained through a series of required courses. Technical and free electives may then be used by students to customize their undergraduate experience to obtain greater breadth in engineering or specialization within Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Curriculum Structure
The curriculum begins with the common first-year curriculum of mathematics and the natural sciences required of all Watson School students and includes an introduction to the various fields of engineering in WTSN 111-112, including Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Elective courses provide you, the student, with the opportunity to customize your education to include additional exposure to other fields of engineering or to pursue specific Industrial and Systems Engineering topics in greater depth.
A two-semester, senior-level design course sequence provides a capstone experience in which you are given the opportunity to apply the knowledge and techniques acquired in the program to the solution of a real-world problem.
Your specific curriculum toward a baccalaureate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering is tied to your year of admission and is referenced as your "catalog year".
If you are interested in learning more about the curriculum for a specific bulletin year, please contact the SSIE Department or Watson Advising. If you do not see your start year on the list, contact your SSIE Undergraduate Advisor or the Watson School Advising Office to stay on track.
The curriculum has been designed to provide strong technical preparation in ISE. You enter the BS ISE program either as a sophomore, as a transfer from another school such as community colleges or other SUNY school, or as an internal transfer.
Entering students to the program (as freshmen) are part of the Engineering Design Division. After the fundamental concepts are studied, students advance to more specialized and
robust ISE topics in our upper division courses. Beginning in the sophomore year,
exploration of individual interests is encouraged through the use of technical and
free electives.
The ISE curriculum is available here. Please note that prerequisites of core courses in the curriculum are strictly enforced. Please consult with your SSIE Undergraduate Advisor or the Watson School Advising Office if you have any questions.
Minors in Computer Science and Sustainability Engineering are also available.
Health Systems Engineering
You can get a glimpse into the SSIE Department's pioneering efforts in health systems engineering by taking the related course offerings or conducting research in health care.
More information on the ISE Undergraduate Program can be obtained from the University Bulletin.
Suggested Electives for Industrial and Systems Engineering Majors
Please work directly with your assigned SSIE Advisor regarding any questions related to technical electives.
Student Advising
After the declaration of major in industrial and systems engineering, each student is assigned a faculty advisor who provides guidance throughout the student's stay at Binghamton. Students are assigned to faculty advisors as follows:
- Sophomores - Professor Tom Koon
- Juniors - Professor Peter Borgesen
- Seniors - Professor Susan Lu
If you have any questions regarding faculty advisors, contact Tracy Signs in the Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering.
Additional support is also available from the Watson School Advising Office.


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by Rita Charleston
She knew she could sing. In fact, growing up she did a lot of singing in various choirs and in high school musicals. But Mt. Airy's Grace Gonglewski never thought of herself as a singer. Her professional credits showed her to be much more of a straight actress than a singer. So imagine her hesitation, even fear, when a possible role for her came up in Stephen Sondheim's classic "A Little Night Music." The Arden Theatre Company was planning to present the Tony Award-wining show as its 11th production of a Sondheim work, and proposed the role of Desiree to Gonglewski.
Well, it finally all turned out just fine, and the show is now being presented at the Arden through June 30. But Gonglewski, 49, said it took a great deal of work on everyone's part to make it happen for her. "The hardest part of all for me was getting over the fact that I'm not a singer. When I heard the other cast members sing, it dawned on me that I was definitely not a singer."
So in order to get Gonglewski over her fear, the Arden paid for her voice lessons. "I feel honored that they wanted me and went to all that trouble. But after studying the script, I realized the role was very much written for an actress. If she could sing, fine. But first and foremost Desiree is an actress."
And there's no denying Gonglewski is definitely that. Over the years she's appeared in several dozen productions at the Arden. She's also appeared in many other local and regional productions. She's also amassed four Barrymore Awards, the F. Otto Haas Award, the Dorothy Haas Fellowship and more.
With her many roles, she admittedly has favorites. "And Desiree is one of them. She is a self-absorbed, once-successful actress who is now touring the country in what is clearly not the glamorous life. She is the daughter of a wealthy courtesan who raised her to think of sex to be used in order to be taken care of in life. But because she has fallen in love, she fails at that."
Written by Sondheim in 1973, the score of "A Little Night Music" is set entirely as a waltz in ¾ time. It features one of Sondheim's most well-known songs, "Send in the Clowns," and Gonglewski is lucky enough to get to sing it, making it another reason for this to be one of her favorite roles in a favorite show.
But today, she admits she loves all the roles she's done, and hopefully will be doing in the future. She said, "Growing up I had a dream, and that was to become an actress. I used to tell my mother that when I grew up I wanted to be a star, although I didn't fully understand how to make that happen — until the day I visited my sister, who was attending Penn State."
With time on her hands, Gonglewski decided to visit a small theater on campus and watched a production of "The Good Doctor" by Neil Simon. She remembers that the girl in the play spoke about wanting to be an actress, those words really hit home.
"I remember I cried," she recalled, "and vowed from that point on that acting was exactly what I wanted to do, too. That was my moment of truth, and I eventually headed off to North Carolina School of the Arts to get my basic training and my degree."
And it's obviously all paid off for Gonglewski who, when not appearing on stage, can be heard doing voice-over work or teaching audition technique classes at Arcadia University. "I tell my students to question authority and trust yourself. After all, you are doing this for yourself because you must. I think it's also important to realize that you don't choose acting. It chooses you. But if you don't have the tenacity, talent, hard work and perseverance that is necessary to compete in this business, then look for something else."
For times and ticket information to "A Little Night Music," call 215-922-1122.

subset: commoncrawl


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SOUTH GLENS FALLS >> Two young boys have been hospitalized and a girl was treated Monday after falling from an inflatable "bounce house" that was blown 100 into the air by a gust of wind.
The boys, ages 5 and 6, were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where they have been admitted for serious injuries, officials said.
One suffered a traumatic head injury, police said.
A girl, age 10, also suffered minor scrapes when she fell, according to published reports.
Identities and updated conditions weren't available Tuesday morning.
South Glens Falls Police Patrolman David Gifford said the inflatable structure was blown several hundred yards from a small Ferry Boulevard apartment to fields behind Oliver W. Winch Middle School at about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The boys fell out as the structure was taking off, at a height of about 15 to 20 feet, witnesses told police.
Gifford said witnesses and photographs of the bounce house estimate that the structure eventually reached heights of approximately 100 feet.
"Luckily, they were tossed before it reached that height," Gifford said. "It was found hundreds of yards away. It came very close to power lines."
One of the boys fell onto a parked car after he was tossed from the inflatable, while the other landed on asphalt, police said. The one who landed on asphalt was conscious and talking at the scene, police said.
Gifford said the inflatable was a Little Tikes brand toy that is about 10-foot-by-10-foot, not a commercial-size bounce house, and was recovered by police on middle school property.
He said the bounce house was set up as a back yard activity for kids, not a birthday party or other special event.
The structure was staked to the ground, Gifford said. He said he doesn't know if the toy comes with instructions or if instructions were followed prior to its use.
The Little Tikes Company website says the toy has an enclosed bounce area that lets kids jump around "without worry of falling off." Also, inflatable walls and netting keep kids from bouncing out of the play area, the website says.
Moreau Emergency Squad and South Glens Falls Fire Department responded to the scene.
The Little Tikes Company is based in Hudson, Ohio and makes a variety of children's toys and productions. The company was purchased by Van Nuys, Ca.-based MGA Entertainment in September 2006.
A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.


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Join the weekly Classic Castle set review discussion. Please post your opinions on the set play ability, piece selection, design, etc. Which sets stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!
This week's set is 6027 Bat Lord's Catapult.
Bat Lord's Catapult, released in 1997, was a catapult attached to a horse drawn cart for the Fright Knights. It came with a driver, a fright knight, and various accessories.


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Endource is a unique new shopping concept, designed to fit around you. Choose from our carefully selected brands and receive everything in one delivery to try at home. Only pay when you've decided what to keep and return the rest free of charge.


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The following crimes are from the week of Dec. 16 to Dec. 22, 2012.
Dec. 16. 8600 block Seminole Street. Complainant states that between 2 and 5:30 p.m., an unknown person forced a bedroom window open and stole a silverware set, jewelry box, gold bracelets, necklace, earrings, diamonds, gold, silver and a gold pocket watch.
Dec. 16. 7900 block Germantown Ave. Complainant states that an unknown person stole a black wallet containing a Freedom Credit Union debit card, Pa. driver's license, medical insurance card and two credit cards.
Dec. 17. Unit block Station Lane. Complainant states that an unknown person entered a vehicle and stole money, insurance and registration cards.
Dec. 22. 7 Valley Green Road. Complainant states that between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., an unknown person damaged the passenger side door frame of a blue 2010 Honda CR-V attempting to pry open. Nothing appears to have been taken.
Summary – Four crimes for week: one burglary, one theft and two thefts from vehicles.
Town Watch.
If you have been the victim of a crime and would like information, service or support, call Northwest Victim Services, 6301 Germantown Ave., Second Floor, Suite One, 215-438-4410. The service is free.


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by Hugh Gilmore
Yet another nomination for "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese has trickled in, making it the most nominated "most-enjoyed" book from our readership. And yet I still have not read it. I have no excuse. I'm convinced by the passionate responses this book has evoked that I'll probably enjoy it, someday.
Nor have I read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," "The Paris Wife" or "Room: A Novel," all popular book club reading choices this year. They all sound like books I'd enjoy if they came on my radar, but I don't belong to any reading clubs, forget to look at the best-seller lists, and don't usually drink coffee, beer, or wine with people who like to talk about books. The usual topics wherever I go are movies and restaurants (and lately, what folks are calling "The Republican Show" on TV).
My wife, Janet, reads a lot, and fascinates me when she talks of what she's reading (her favorite this year: Charles C. Mann's "1493"), but we have quite different tastes and seldom read the same book. We once tried to form a pact based on the notion that each of us would promise to read one book a year that the other seriously, heart-rendingly pleaded with the other to read. But after a while that seemed like emotional bullying and we gradually let go of the notion. We've settled into a detente based on quiet mutual respect. What child psychologists call "parallel play."
I sometimes wonder if the reason I offer "Reading Roundups" in this column is to apologize for not having anything useful to recommend that other people read. Like everyone else, when I read something beautiful, moving, or genuinely intriguing, I want to grab people by the arm and tell them they should read it.
But more often than not, I choose what I read for quirky reasons, and I don't want to be responsible for someone else's enjoyment. This applies to movies too: I often go to the movies alone, if something like "Tree of Life" (loved it) or "Melancholia" (did not) is playing.
In reviewing my reading list for 2011 I was surprised to see how focused I was on a few areas. Two major and several minor themes emerged this year
The first: I like large, challenging tasks, so I decided to finish reading the entire Europa Editions catalog of fiction by New Year's Eve. (I'd read 15 of their titles in 2010.) Their complete catalog grew to 100 books last May. The Europa Editions books are all quality books meant to introduce "European" writers (in a very broad sense) to American readers, in translation where needed (about 80 percent of their books were not originally written in English).
By February I realized that I couldn't read the entire catalog by year's end and would have to be selective. I chose to read only translated works (mostly French, German, Greek or Italian) but omitted the thrillers because I found them worthless – the European noir books are too violent for my taste.
In total I read 22 Europa titles before my interest trailed off. Some of these books were quite moving and wise in ways you seldom find in American fiction. After a while, however, a certain European cuteness (found, for example, in Anna Gavalda's "French Leave") began annoying me. I lost my ardor. I'll try again this year, but they've published more titles since last May. So much for being a "completist."
Best of the Europa litter, liked enough to recommend them: "Broken Glass Park" by Alina Bronsky; "Between Two Seas" by Carmine Abate; "In a Strange Room" by Damon Galgut; "From the Land of the Moon" by Milena Agus and "The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine," also by Alina Bronsky (with a thoroughly annoying main character whom I have not stopped thinking about since July, so I guess I liked it more than I knew).
My second major reading trend last year evolved when I started writing a novel based on Escamillo, the "toreador" from Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen." I needed to know as much as I could learn about the mental and moral lives of matadors, so I started reading books on "tauromachy," the science and art of bullfighting. I read every English-translated matador memoir I could find.
All told, I read 28 complete books about "la fiesta brava," as it's called. Reading highlights included Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon," "Vicente Blasco Ibáñez' classic novel, "Blood and Sand" and about a half-dozen books by Barnaby Conrad.
The best by far, however, was the matador Juan Belmonte's autobiography, "Killer of Bulls."
I was so moved by this confessional book I spent a month last summer rereading it slowly, taking notes. I wrote up what I learned for the international bullfighting journal, La Divisa, published by the Club Taurino of London, calling the piece, "The World-Weariness of Juan Belmonte as Expressed in his Autobiography, 'Killer of Bulls.'"
In October I expanded that article and published "'Killer of Bulls' as an existential memoir" for the Taurine Bibliophiles of America journal, La Busca. I enjoyed going from being a know-nothing to being published in two respectable journals in the space of less than a year. (Fifty thousand monkeys on fifty thousand typewriters, etc.)
Those two areas, Europa editions and bullfighting, represented 50 of the items on my 2011 reading list. Of the other 39, six were crime-related, 10 were history, 17 were fiction and the rest – miscellaneous. I did read one best seller, Jennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad," largely because I couldn't resist the expression, "goon squad." That book was my vacation read in Maine this summer.
I'm just doing poke-around reading this week. I'll get to 90 books for the year, shy of my intended 100, but once again, I'll blame my falling short on the Phillies. Pitchers and catchers report in mid-February.
Hugh's newly published novel, "Malcolm's Wine: A Noir Crime Novel of Vintage Wine, Rare Books and Sneaky People," is now available at Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle formats.


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Men's Business Casual Blazers, Sport Coats and Vests
With so many events coming up, there's no reason for you to not be one of the best-dressed. With our selection of casual blazers for men and men's vests, you will be able to find the perfect look, for any day. Our business casual blazers are available in a variety of colors, including blue, black and grey. With so many colors, you can easily throw one over a white t-shirt or over one of our button down shirts. Adding a men's business casual blazer is an easy way to take an outfit up to the next level, whether it's for a presentation, or date night. Our men's suit vests are perfect for any day at the office, if you prefer to just have a vest rather than the full jacket. It is an easy way to add a bit of elegance to an outfit. Pair one over one of our dress shirts, or over a sweater for an added professional look. Whether you're dressing for a day at the office, or need a new men's vest for a wedding, we have the options for you. With many styles and options available to choose from, you're sure to find something you love. Pair with one of our pocket squares, or a men's dress shirt. If you need a little more elegance, try one of our men's suits with a men's vest.
Here are a few tips of finding the best fitting blazer. 1. Ensure the sleeves do not pull or bunch, and instead lie flat and allow for comfortable arm movement. 2. The jacket should fit comfortably around your torso without any pulling or stretching. 3. The back vents should hang without any pulling. For more guidance in finding a great fitting suit that will make you a well-dressed man, check out our Men's Suits Buying Guide.


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The combination of strawberry and rhubarb is a classic for good reason: the sweet, juicy strawberries are perfectly balanced by the tart rhubarb. Our version features a crumb crust on top, which works well with a very juicy fruit filling such as this one, as a traditional pie crust topping would get soggy. The crumb also provides crunchy textural contrast to the soft fruit inside. Originally published May 24, 2012.–Sam Mogannam
LC Penchants & Proclivities Note
We like the notion of pie. Quite a lot, actually. That said, this recipe also turns out quite a nice crumble when you omit the pie crust–perfect for those days when you thrill to the notion of pie but just don't have the time—nor the inclination—to roll out the requisite pastry. While we're on the topic of penchants and proclivities, if you're the type who doesn't prefer a thick filling, use a little less than the amount of flour called for in the recipe.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Ginger Crumb Topping
- Quick Glance
- Makes one 9-inch pie
- For the crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the surface
- 7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3 1/2 oz), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water, more as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- For the filling
- 2 1/2 cups (4 to 5 large stalks) rhubarb, sliced on the diagonal 1/4-inch thick
- 2 1/2 cups hulled and halved strawberries (if the berries are quite large, quarter them)
- 2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- For the crumb topping
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 1/2 oz), cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons packed dark or light brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- Make the crust
- 1. Place the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- 2. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix the chilled ingredients on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 2 minutes. Combine the ice water and vinegar in a small measuring cup. With the mixer running, slowly add the vinegar mixture to the flour mixture, adding just enough for the mixture to come together into shaggy clumps. (If you've added all the liquid and the dough is still not holding together, add enough cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does cling together.) Be careful not to overmix the dough, or it will become tough.
- 3. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a 5-inch disk, and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few days. (If the dough has been in the fridge overnight or longer, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to rolling, as it needs to have a bit of give. If it has been refrigerated for only a couple of hours, you can roll it out immediately.)
- 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12 1/2-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer it to a 9-inch pie dish, preferably deep-dish, by either folding the dough into quarters and unfolding it in the dish or rolling the dough around a rolling pin and unrolling it into the dish. Tuck the excess dough under the edges to create a double thickness and a smooth edge. Then pinch the dough every 2-inches to form a decorative border. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling and crumb topping.
- Make the filling
- 5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- 6. In a medium bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon and toss gently but thoroughly to combine.
- Make the crumb topping
- 7. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, butter, sugars, ginger, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two table knives, cut the mixture until the biggest pieces of butter are something like the size of small peas. The crumb topping will still seem very dry and floury looking. That's okay.
- Assemble the pie
- 8. Spoon the filling into the pie crust, then top with the crumb mixture. Place the pie on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and bake until the crust is dark golden brown, the filling is bubbling, and some juices are spilling over the edge, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack, if you can stand the wait, before slicing and serving.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.


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- Starter Kits
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Jefe is a true tobacco flavor with a sweet twist. Reminiscent of the bold smoothness of traditional tobacco.
15 ml bottle
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For a few years now I've been the self-proclaimed Fedora Mirror Wrangler. As part of the Fedora Infrastructure team,I try to keep several hundred volunteer mirror administrators worldwide happy. Especially around release time, want to be sure that we have as many mirrors online and synced up as possible.
I was excited to see this post on the openSUSE Planet, describing a new mirror set up in Indonesia for their content. As it happens, at least four of the mirrors noted there also carry Fedora content – four which were previously unknown to me. I've added dl2.foss-id.web.id, kambing.ui.edu, mirror.unej.ac.id, and fedora.cbn.net.id to Fedora's list now. That should add significantly faster service for Fedora users in Indonesia.
I suspect there are many more public Fedora mirror servers, just like these, which aren't currently registered in MirrorManager. If you use a mirror that isn't listed, please let me know. If you're a mirror administrator that would like to be listed, please see our instructions. And thank you!


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Giles needed a new button or icon design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 61 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
Dirigible is an online spreadsheet for programmers at http://projectdirigible.com.
Programmers and other analytical professions that need to perform calculations online.
We need 6 icons that match and complement the current site design:
* Cut
* Copy
* Paste
* Upload/import (for example load an Excel file into Dirigible)
* Download/export (for example save an Excel file from Dirigible)
* Security/Privacy Settings
We have a set of icons that we like the look of (attached). We like them because they are simple, flat (no shading or gradients), monochrome and they fit well with the rest of the site design.
We have also attached a screenshot of the page as it is now. The icons from the competition will replace the ones (CSV and key) that are currently above the text editor on the right.
The icons:
* Need to be 32x32 pixels and preference will be given to those that also look good at 16x16
* On a transparent background
* In png format


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UAB Fines Athletes to Improve Academic Standards; Slippery Slope?Posted by Chris Johnson on August 21st, 2012
Christopher Johnson is an RTC columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
Earlier this year, Connecticut was one of 10 college basketball teams to receive a one-year postseason ban for not meeting the NCAA's minimum four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) threshold of 900. The Huskies filed an appeal, arguing that recent reforms had produced increased scores over the past two years. In the end, though, the NCAA stuck to its guns and reaffirmed its initial ruling. And so it was that UConn – a program that has experienced a rapid rise into the college hoops elite under coach Jim Calhoun – just one and a half years removed from winning a national championship, was banned from the sport's pre-eminent postseason tournament. The Huskies probably won't feel any measurable downturn in recruiting success or national cachet as a result, but the sentencing proved that even the sport's marquee brands are vulnerable to the NCAA's increased academic standards.
A one-year postseason ban in men's basketball doesn't come close to the sort of multi-faceted, crippling atom bomb the NCAA dropped on Penn State. Alabama-Birmingham is nonetheless determined to avoid a UConn-esque fate, and it's adopting a unique approach to work toward that end. The program has endured a rough history of keeping up with the NCAA's academic reforms. During the last measured four-year APR period (2003-07), UAB had six teams fail to meet the minimum mark and was the second-most penalized program in the nation for its academic shortcomings. With that spotty track record, it comes as no surprise that the Blazers are seeking new ways to enforce academic responsibility. In a formal Q & A with the Birmingham News, athletic director Brian Mackin outlined his plan to keep UAB's various teams above the APR cutline. Along with increased academic support, study time and access to student-athlete advisors, UAB has laced its academic compliance code with monetary disincentives.


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The Fan Letter
Dear Julio:
I just felt I had to write you this letter to illustrate that I am truly your biggest fan. I know you hear it from others, but when you hear my story, I am sure you will agree that few will risk as much as I just have to see you perform.
You see, I have been having difficulty breathing, so bad in fact that I made an appointment with my doctor. Generally, I avoid talking to my doctor about any breathing difficulty. You see, I have smoked a pack and a half per day for over 40 years, and I know if I complain of breathing I will just get one of those stern doctor lectures. But this time it was bad enough that I thought I had better bring it to his attention.
I found out that I am in the early stages of emphysema. I never thought this would happen to me. This time when he said I have to quit smoking, I finally took it seriously. He was not talking about what might happen in the future, but what has happened and what would eventually cripple and kill me if I didn't take action. You see, every puff I take now destroys a little more lung and permanently takes away a little more of my ability to breathe.
I can tell you, I have never been so scared in my life. He suggested a clinic, and I signed up immediately. I went the first day, but I was really skeptical as to whether I could get off for even 24 hours. But, to my surprise, I actually stopped for the whole day. It was tough, though, and I was really shaky about making it for the next 24 hours, but I knew I was fighting for my ability to breathe.
When I went to the clinic the next night, I joined 11 other people - all who went 24 hours without smoking. They were all nervous--some were even physically ill from not smoking, but we were all off the full day and were proud of it. It was good to be with others sharing such a common bond.
The clinic meets every night the first week. Our instructor said that since it can be very difficult getting through the first 72 hours, focusing on just making it to the meeting the next day makes it seem a little more tolerable than thinking about making it for the rest of our lives.
He said it was extremely important to attend those early meetings, not only for the information but for the support and motivation over such a crucial time period. Everyone in the meeting seemed to agree that being there each evening really helped motivate him or her to get through the next day.
The instructor reemphasized that we should arrange our schedules so we could attend every session. In fact, there was nothing else going on in our lives that week that was as important as quitting smoking. Anything we had to postpone at work or at home could be made up the next week and during the rest of our lives, but failing to quit smoking could permanently cost us our health and our lives.
When the instructor made the comment that there was nothing going on in our lives as important as quitting smoking he didn't know that I had tickets for your concert that next evening. I thought surely that would be an exception to the rule. After all, you would be gone next week.
But, Julio, to my shock, when I told him the reason that I couldn't make it to the clinic, instead of agreeing he instructed me that seeing how shaky I was, I should forego the concert and attend the session. He acted as if missing the clinic for your concert was a lame excuse. But as important as my breathing is, I knew it was more important to see you.
So, Julio, I went to your concert. It was great too--everything I expected. I knew I made the right choice. The next day though, I went back to smoking. Funny, everyone else who went to the clinic that night made it through the next day and even through the weekend. In fact, they all are still off smoking. But they didn't get to see you that night. So who really got the best deal that day?
Anyway, my breathing is getting worse, and I am not sure now that I will be quitting again soon. If my instructor and my doctors are right, smoking the way I do, I may eventually become so impaired that getting to your future concerts may become difficult or maybe even impossible. I think you will agree I sacrificed a lot to see you, maybe even my life. But I am sure you would agree it was the right thing to do, wouldn't you Julio?
The next time you are in my area I may not be physically able to get to see you. Maybe as a reward for my sacrifice you can come do a private performance for me. But, I know you are a busy man, and even if you can't make it to my home or hospital bed, I will think no less of you. After all, I am your biggest fan and you have my unshakable devotion.
An Undying Fan?
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Watch these related videos by Joel
How it feels to breathe with emphysema
How smoking destroys the lungs
Quitting is more doable than most people think


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Had some errands Saturday that put me near Zachys, stopped in and tasted a few things while there. Usual disclaimers re store tastings apply, though all of the pourers were giving decent pours::
2004 Domaine des Vercheres Macon-Villages
Crisp apple fruit, light chalky notes, pleasant simple white. Decent value at $9. B/B-
2002 Bouchard "Beaune du Chateau" Blanc
Nice medium-bodied Burg, rich Chardonnay fruit with lots of minerally notes, best buy of the day at $25. B+/A-
2002 Raphet Gevrey Chambertin
Not a familiar producer to me, and this one doesn't particularly want to change that. Warm dark fruit, but a bit rough around the edges. B-
2003 Alex Gambal Volnay-Santenots
This is much better than I expect, with rather deep black cherry fruit and long finish. Some oaky notes, but not enough it shouldn't integrate. B+
2003 Giroud Vosne Romanee Some spicy notes over very round red fruit. Sweet and forward, not bad for early drinking methinks. B
2003 Chevillon Nuits St Georges
Slightly strange with citrus peel and strawberries on the nose, round red fruit on palate. Not especially Chevillon nor NSG to my palate. B/B-
2003 Chevillon "Les Pruliers" Nuits St Georges
The black fruit here seems more NSG than the village Chevillon, but I can't say I regret not buying my favorite Nuits producer in 2003. Nice black fruit, some earth, but tannins seem too prominent. B
2003 Raphet Clos de Vougeot
Sweet -nay, overripe- red fruit, hard tannins, low-acidity. No doubt what vintage this one comes from.C+/B-
2003 Perrot-Minot Mazoyeres Chambertin VV
John calls this the "Pamela Anderson" of the tasting. I can see why. Lush dark fruit, big but ripe tannins, very prominent sweet toasted oak notes. This isn't my style of Burgundy, but this would be a knockout for a lot of people. For me, B. But much better than that if this is your style.
2002 Girardin Chambertin Clos de Beze
Good fruit, lots of body, meaty earthy nose, long finish. A little heavy with the oak, but very good in a modern style. B+/A-
1999 Grivot Clos de Vougeot
Medium body, sweet dark fruit, earth, and mineral notes. B+
2005 Modoree Tavel Rose
Pleasant if unexciting rose. B-
2003 Perrin "Cuvee Prestige Vieilles Vignes" Cotes du Rhone
Too ripe for me, jammy and short. C+/B-
2003 St. Cosme Gigondas
Unlike the Valbelle, there's no apparent oak here. Mineral and woodsmoke over a body of dark berry fruit. Ripe but structured, needs time but nice. My only hestitation is the $30 pricetag, I remember not long ago buying very fine Gigondas for $10-15. B+
2003 Fombrauge
Modern but with some structure, crushed ripe blackberries and vanilla. A bit too sweet/ripe, but attractive as a drink-alone young. B
2003 De Fieuzal Rouge
Lots of fruit, but a little short on the finish. B-
2003 Langoa Barton
Ripe but not over the top, sweet dark fruit with slightly rough tannins. Long finish. Needs time,but better than I expected. B+/B
Skipped a couple of CdPs and other wines I had tried before
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.


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Insurance: Background
Health, life, property and car insurance companies, agents and brokers are all included in the insurance industry, which is a major contributor to federal campaigns. (HMOs, which are not included in this industry, are profiled separately in the health sector.)
In the 2012 election cycle, the insurance industry contributed a record $58.7 million to federal parties and candidates as well as outside spending groups. Of the nearly $55 million that went to parties and candidates, 68 percent went to Republicans, who have long been the recipients of most of this category's giving.
Passage of the Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010, brought significant change to the health insurance industry. While the legislation was pending, major health insurers said they supported the law while actually working against it. But they have been heavily involved in trying to shape resulting regulations, and -- after the new law's difficult initial rollout -- many insurers have indicated they want to participate in the state-by-state marketplaces.
The industry spent more than $154 million on federal lobbying efforts in 2013. Flood insurance, terrorism risk insurance and data security were among the issues that concerned the non-health insurer members of this grouping.
-- Viveca Novak
Updated August 2014
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.


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A THRILLING read:
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whatcha looking for?
stalk my posting habits
favorited babblings
recent babblings:
mad skillz
watch the dancing!
A THRILLING read:
She's a capability development specialist, someone who believes in the ability of people to perform beyond their perceived limitations. She's a digital coach who teaches people to use technology to enhance their life, sans drama. She's a dance entrepreneur who owns a boutique latin dance school in melbourne, australia, that teaches, coaches and nurtures people who love to move. She's also a dancer, dance teacher, performer, choreographer, and is prone to moments of passion when flying across the dance floor. She's interested in all things learning-related, all things pretty, all things that celebrate humanity, all things that empower women. She adores a firm commitment to lifestyle, and will stop at nothing to continually improve its stakes in the journey along. This is the chronicle of her life - its vagaries, potentials, inspirations, and horn grabbing moments.
read it | dream it | do it | dance it | live it.
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A consumer last week filed a lawsuit against Boston-based Rue La La that alleges the expiration dates on discounted vouchers sold on the flash-sale retailer's web site are "deceptive and illegal" under both federal and Massachusetts law.
Rue La La is No. 76 in the Internet Retailer 2013 Top 500 Guide.
The plaintiff, Leah Mirabella, filed the suit in such a way that it could be certified as a class action, which could open it up to the retailer's more than 7.5 million members.
In addition to selling physical goods, Rue La La also sells Groupon-like discounted vouchers under the "Rue Local Picks" section of its site. The vouchers are available for a limited time, typically one or two days, which the suit says causes consumers to "feel pressured" and "rushed" into making a purchase.
The case focuses on whether Rue La La is violating a federal law that says that gift certificates cannot expire within five years from the date they were activated, and a Massachusetts law that requires they cannot expire for seven years.
Mirabella bases her claims on her July 5, 2012, purchase of a $59 voucher for private training services at Fitness Together, a personal fitness training center in Boston. The voucher expired Oct. 31, 2012, before she could use it, she says. Mirabella wants unspecified financial damages in the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which is located in Rue La La's home base of Boston.
The suit acknowledges that Rue La La changed its expiration date policy sometime after Mirabella bought her voucher, presumably to comply with state and federal laws. While the suit is vague about the changes, the retailer's site says that a voucher's promotional value—such as $40 for $80 worth of personal training services—is subject to an expiration date that appears on the certificate. However, consumers can apply the amount they paid for the voucher to goods or services from the merchant whose voucher they bought via Rue La La for up to five years—or longer if the consumer is in a state like Massachusetts that require gift certificates and vouchers to have longer expiration windows. That's a similar policy to those offered by Groupon Inc. and LivingSocial Inc. Groupon is No. 65 in the Top 500 Guide, while LivingSocial in No. 119.
Washington law firm Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca is representing Mirabella. The firm has previously obtained settlements from Groupon and LivingSocial over their vouchers' expiration dates.
A Rue La La spokesman says the retailer does not comment on pending litigation. A spokesman for Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca could not be reached for immediate comment.


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For those of you who are sick of all those sweet, adorable engagement announcement videos and wedding flash mob videos, I've got a special treat for you. Introducing: The We've Got to Break Up Video. Yay! Jonathan and Ivory have been dating for five years. But it's time to call it quits. Sad but necessary. To take the sting out of their announcement they decided to sing us a nice song.
They're such a charming couple it's hard to believe they'd want to split up, but the have a darn good reason. Jonathan wants babies. Ivory does NOT.
Aww, who wouldn't want to make babies with the Song a Day Man? Ivory, that's who. There will be no babies for her. She will not be a mother. And she's willing to sacrifice her relationship over it.
More from The Stir: How to Get Over Your Anger After a Breakup
Well... at least she's been clear about it with Jonathan. I mean, she told him from the beginning she didn't want kids. And he got together with her anyway, kind of hoping she'd change her mind. Oh Jonathan! Women don't their mind about that sort of thing. SIGH.
Good for Ivory for knowing herself well enough that she's not just having a baby to make her boyfriend happy. And hey, these two are still young. Jonathan can find a new girlfriend who does want to make little singing babies with him. And Ivory, well the world is her oyster now.
Announcing a break-up is just awkward. And that little dance they do in the middle of the song is REALLY awkward. (WTF is that?) Yes they look dour and depressed, but shouldn't they? They just broke up! Still, I love how these two put it -- it's messy, but we love you all and keep inviting us both to your parties. If you think about it, in some ways this is a happy video. That's how I'm seeing it.
Are there any deal-breakers that would cause you to split with your SO?
Image via Jonathan Mann/YouTube


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Unlike others, UppTalk allows you to call and text people that don't have UppTalk.
There are no barriers. You can use UppTalk anywhere in the world and talk to anyone as if you were sitting side by side. Forget about roaming and expensive rates.
UppTalk runs over Internet without using your carrier minutes. It's cheaper, smarter and unlimited.
It's time to stop paying expensive phone bills.
Call & Text millions of UppTalk users worldwide for free.
Texting with UppTalk is fun and simple. Talk using animated gifs and stickers!
No more missed calls. Receive calls on any device, even when you're only on Wi-Fi.


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Saruou needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 64 designs submitted by 27 freelance designers.
SME Accounting Solutions
I am a young professional established my consultancy services 5 years ago with 13 years local experience in Australia(I started Young. OK?).
I have 3 degrees: Bachelor of Business, Master of Human Resource management & MBA.
I am currently holding a financial controller position for 4 Australian companies & I am also a fitness personal trainer when I have spare time.
According to facebook: I am Hot & Sexy! Open-minded! Athletic! Energetic! Down-to-earth! Great sense of humour! Honest! Intelligent! Hard working (Diagnose as workaholic)! Career focused! Ambitious! Super Nice! Most Importantly.. I AM NOT A BORING ACCOUNTANT!!!
My old logo was very old fashion & boring (I am too ashamed to give out my business card that doesn't represent me & I will fall asleep if I look at it more than 5 seconds). But hey my mate did that for me, Can't really say "No" & I appreciated his help.
I provide the following services:
Accounting & bookkeeping service
Accounting Software & Procedure implementation
Business Advisory Services
Statutory Reporting
Taxation advisory Services
• Self employed / Small business owner that require affordable Full time / part time accounting, bookkeeping and taxation advisory services
• Small businesses that need someone take their business to next level in term of accounts, finance and strategic directions
• Potential business owner/ starter who need to know how to start a business
• Individuals who need taxation planning, advice and lodgment services
I want a logo that is:
• Represents my interesting, funky & complex personality
• Represents my professionalism and wide range of services I provide
• Fresh & Creative
• With Happy, Bright & Interesting Color/ Colors
I DON'T want a logo that is:
• Boring
• Too dark / grey
P.s.1. FYI.. SME = Small & Medium Size Enterprise
P.s.2. I will rate every design with no exceptions
P.s.3. Feel free to ask questions if needed
P.s.4. Thank you so much for participating.
P.s.5. If you need an Accountant in Sydney / Australia. Do let me know.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text: Thursday, March 01, 2012 APTA Summary: Proposed Rule on Returning Overpayments APTA's summary of a proposed rule requiring physical therapists and other health care providers to report and return overpayments from Medicare and Medicaid within 60 days provides members with the proposal's definition of "overpayment," the process of reporting overpayments, and examples of what steps should be taken when an overpayment is identified. In addition, the summary addresses enforcement implications, which include liability under the False Claims Act, and the 10-year lookback period. Comments for this proposed rule are due before 5 pm April 16. APTA will submit comments on behalf of membership. Look for this document on APTA's Compliance Web page under Overpayments. Comments There is no document posted on the Compliance Web page. Posted by Gwendolyn Simons -> ?NQ]< on 3/5/2012 10:20 AM On the Compliance page, linked above, it's under Additional Resources and the Overpayments subheading. Posted by News Now Staff on 3/6/2012 9:11 AM


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This short tutorial explains how to use the Arduino as a USB to DMX interface for software that works with OpenDmx. This USB to DMX interface enabled you to use your PC as a DMX master device to control DMX slave devices.
The OpenDmx USB circuit simply consists of a USB to serial converter (FT232BM) and a driver block (max485). This circuit takes care of transforming your signal from USB to Serial and from Serial (RS 232) to DMX (RS485) but it does not care about what are you sending (transmitting). The signal itself has to be produced by your PC. The PC has to take care of timing and order of the signal. This kind of devices is called "unbuffered", because the USB to DMX device is not storing or buffing anything, if your computer hang-up, your signal gets also jam.
The Arduino is using the same USB to Serial converter like the OpenDmx USB device. The only thing we have to add is the driver block (max485). We just have to wire up a driver block (as you can see in the following schematic) and connect the Driver Block Input (DI) to the RX Input (output of the USB chip) at the Arduino. That's it. Just install the driver for the OpenDmx USB interface, for example from enttec ( http://www.enttec.com/index.php?menu=downloads&prod=70303&show=downloads ) and get some software or write your own programm.
Here are some links where you can find some software and building examples:
a good one for linux
(edited by tomek ness (k3/fhp))


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DOE A to Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
For Release: October 6, 2004
Sussex County Educator Named 2004-05 New Jersey Teacher of the Year
Peggy Stewart sees mountains that need moving and pyramids that must be kept in balance. The veteran social studies teacher from Vernon Township is New Jerseys Teacher of the Year for 2004-05. Stewart, who was honored at todays regular monthly meeting of the State Board of Education, was cited for her individualistic approach to her students and for her persistence in creating well-rounded experiences to develop her students sense of citizenship as well as a strong world view.
"My philosophy is anchored in the power of the pen, the art of communication, and the habits of the mind," says Stewart. "I strive to empower students to move mountains by writing and speaking. I recognize that not all of the mountains moved will be as grand in size as Kilimanjaro or Everest. But whether the student moves a bluff, butte, hill or mound is inconsequential. The significance lies in each accomplishment, no matter the scale."
"Peggy Stewart is a first-rate teacher with a 21st century outlook," said Commissioner of Education William L. Librera, who introduced her today to the State Board at its regular monthly meeting. "Her classroom is an extension of the community. She creates many opportunities for her students to participate in community activities. She also encourages her students to view past and current events in a global context."
Stewart considers teaching to be one of three structural elements of a pyramid, all of which must be kept in balance to hold up, at its apex, the "crown of achievement." The other two elements are the community, which provides support for educational needs, and local administrators, who are fiscally accountable to the community and responsible for building partnerships.
"The pyramid framework visually displays the concept that student achievement is everyones responsibility, for if we lack any of the necessary structural bases, we cannot hold up the crown of achievement," she said.
Stewarts own crowning professional achievement came in 2000, when she was selected as a senior fellow in Yale Universitys Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER). For two years, she participated in an academic research study, a six-week field experience in China and Mongolia, and a two-year curriculum development project. She is currently a senior fellow with PIER. Stewart has also traveled to Japan and Brazil to study their cultures.
"We begin reaching students by seeing the world through a childs eyes," says Stewart. "The rewards are seeing the child share in our vision, able to see the big picture, and empowered to be active members of the world community."
New Jerseys newest Teacher of the Year began college at the age of 30, after starting her family. She received a bachelors degree in history with a K-12 teaching certification from William Paterson University. She later earned her masters degree in liberal studies from Ramapo College, with a concentration in multiculturalism. She is currently a candidate for national teaching certification.
She has taught history exclusively at Vernon Township High School since 1991, and has participated or led special projects for her students, including an annual Model United Nations for ninth grade students. In addition, she has developed two projects that she is especially proud of: The Senior Citizen Technology Program has students teach computer skills to senior citizens; and the Political Think Tank, a student-run organization that promotes political discussion and awareness within the community.
"I have listened to many professors lecture about the ideal teacher whom all educators should strive to be," said, Michael Romano, a former student of Stewarts who is currently majoring in secondary education. "It did not take long to realize that each professor was describing a teacher much like Ms. Stewart."
Dennis J. Mudrick, principal of Vernon Township High School, says, "Ms. Stewart has been and remains a fundamental reason for the overall success of the instructional program in the area of social studies at Vernon Township High School. She is strong, creative and effective in dealing with students and parents alike. She is well organized, thoroughly prepared for the lessons she teachers and outstanding in teaching students with different learning abilities. She has always represented herself, her school community and her profession with dignity, integrity and class."
New Jerseys Teacher of the Year is selected annually in a process that begins at the grassroots level. During the school year, school-level and district-level teachers of the year are selected. Each spring, county level teachers of the year are chosen and their detailed applications are sent to Trenton, where they are reviewed by a panel of educators representing a cross-section of the states education community.
As part of the award, Stewart was granted a half-year sabbatical sponsored by the Educational Testing Service. The Department of Education will cover all travel costs. The department will also reimburse the Vernon Township Public Schools for the cost of hiring substitute teachers through December. At the request of the New Jersey Education Association, Saturn Retailers of New Jersey have unanimously agreed to provide a Saturn for Stewarts use
NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: Attached is a list of the 2004-05 County Teachers of the Year.


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Athletics stumble out of gate against Angels
ANAHEIM -- Thursday's showdown between baseball's top two teams did not disappoint, though the A's would surely like to rewrite the ending.
Manager Bob Melvin believes they deserve a chance to do just that, after informing crew chief Gerry Davis in the ninth inning that his team would be playing the rest of the game against the Angels under protest.View Full Game Coverage
ANAHEIM -- Thursday's showdown between baseball's top two teams did not disappoint, though the A's would surely like to rewrite the ending.
Manager Bob Melvin believes they deserve a chance to do just that, after informing crew chief Gerry Davis in the ninth inning that his team would be playing the rest of the game against the Angels under protest.View Full Game Coverage
For now, the A's are saddled with a two-game deficit in the American League West following a 4-3, 10-inning loss that was clouded by a hefty dose of drama stemming from a controversial obstruction call in the ninth.
It led to a one-out, bases-loaded jam that the A's miraculously escaped. But the Angels came back to win it in the 10th on Howie Kendrick's walk-off sacrifice fly off Ryan Cook.
"I think it's just par for the course when these two teams play each other," said Brandon Moss. "Every game has been a great game all year. It was a fun game to be a part of. It wasn't very fun to lose."
Moss was front and center of the ninth-inning escapades, but for reasons he doesn't understand.
It all began when A's reliever Dan Otero induced a high chopper down the first-base line that he caught while bumping into Moss. Otero then collided with Aybar, who appeared to veer inside the baseline. Moss, though, was standing on the chalk and was tagged with obstruction. Even though Moss never made contact with Aybar, plate umpire Greg Gibson ruled that Aybar had to leave the baseline to avoid Moss and the Angels shortstop was awarded first base.
"They said he made contact before," said Melvin, "and he was talking about Moss being in the way, when Otero had the ball and tagged him out before there was any contact."
"Dan actually ran into me, not Aybar, and then when Dan caught the ball, I know that Aybar veered inside the line. There's video to prove it," said Moss. "He's trying to do what he can do to get on base and get a hit, and he got that call, but the call is incorrect. There is no way either one of us were obstructing the baseline, because he veered inside to get us, and everyone knows, if you're a hitter, and your baseline is blocked, you veer to the outside. It's just the way you do it. It's a disappointing call."
Then there was a miscommunication issue between Otero and Moss on pinch-hitter John McDonald's ensuing bunt, allowing both runners to be safe. Another bunt moved them up and, by inning's end, Melvin had called on Fernando Abad and Cook to close out the frame -- but Otero believed he could have finished the inning if Aybar did not reach base.
That's why many are in agreement with the protest. If upheld, a rarity, the game would be restarted at the bottom of the ninth inning.
"Because with one out and nobody on, it changes the dynamic of the way the game is played from that point on," said Moss. "It changes a lot of things. We don't use Abad maybe. We might not bring in Cookie. We might just stick with Otero. You don't know. And all that is based on the leadoff hitter getting on."
Added Ortero: "Anytime the leadoff guy gets on, it's huge, especially in the ninth inning of a tied game, and that guy's speed, and they play small ball. It makes it even that much more difficult. It makes it a lot harder to get out of the inning."
A's hitters were retired in order in the top of the 10th, and Cook issued a leadoff walk to Albert Pujols in the bottom of the inning and served up a base hit to Josh Hamilton to put runners at the corners for Kendrick, who drove one deep enough to right field to bring in the winning run.
The A's have dropped 11 of their last 17 games and are 19-19 in the second half. Though they maintain a 5 1/2-game lead on the top Wild Card spot, they want what the Angels have: possession of first place.
"It's an important series," said Sonny Gray. "We know that, they know that. It's tough to lose the first one, but we have to come back and put this behind us and play well."
Gray offered the grittiest of performances, overcoming an ugly start to complete seven innings, allowing the A's to stage one of their trademark comebacks, getting two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth on Josh Donaldson's 26th home runs.
It just wasn't enough.
Gray was stung by four base hits in a three-run, 30-pitch second inning, and he was forced to throw 21 more in the third, bringing his total to 64. But he faced the minimum over his final four frames, allowing just one hit in that span.
"They're a great ballclub. We know we are too," said Otero. "It's a battle every time out. They're going to battle us to the end, and we know we're going to give it all we got, too, so it's fun, I'm sure for the fans, but hopefully we can pull a few of these out the next few days."
Jane Lee is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, Major Lee-ague, and follow her on Twitter @JaneMLB.


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Xenia Sky
building community engagement in Harlem and Upper Manhattan
My artistic nude photography. Please do not reblog to sites with adult or explicit content.
Fashion and Aspirations not to mention Inspirations
A public blog that features a compilation of exceptional artists' works; serendipitously discovered by a secret admirer. The ongoing overtones of the production frequently include evocative imagery, passionate emotions, pure beauty and raw exprience (to name a few themes). Our content is composed of artistic expressions, fashion editorials, promising talents, diverse bodies, freedom for all, love forever and the eternal search for truth in the visceral .......................................................................................................................................................................................... (SUBMISSIONS TO email@example.com)
My little world
daily stylization, daily stylish, Fashion blog, stylization blog, new stylish inspiration every day
all things southern and sweet
ramblings of a figure model


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Copyright ©
Built with Volusion
December 14, 2016 - For those of you who don't know Boating & RV acquired three of the Bias Boating stores back in 2014 to expand on our original store located in Capalaba, which include the Slacks Creek, Tingalpa and Townsville stores. Our brand has been growing better & stronger everyday and we have helped to serve thousands of happy customers with all of their boating, sailing, trailer & caravan needs.
Please note: Boating & RV is a separate company that is not affiliated with any former Bias Boating operations, as such any outstanding Bias Boating orders or vouchers cannot be redeemed, returned or refunded through Boating & RV.


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'Thor: The Dark World' Toy Line Shows Off the New Thunder God and Dark Elves
'Thor: The Dark World' will soon be upon us, hitting theaters November 8, 2013, and so will Marvel's accompanying toy line. We got the chance to attend Hasbro's Fan Media Day during the 2013 American International Toy Fair, which showed off the new 'Thor 2′ action figures and gadgets.
Previous toy releases, like most recently with the 'Iron Man 3' LEGO sets, have teased potential spoilers from their corresponding movies, so what hidden 'Thor: The Dark World' gems might be hidden in this new toy crop?
It seems like we've already seen tons of 'Thor: The Dark World' through set photos, videos and that recently released behind-the-scenes pic. We already know that our buddy Thor will be donning a new, semi-altered suit — on top of a slew of other extremely spoilery plot details — but it looks like he might be having another costume change.
We snapped a few photos of the new 'Thor 2′ action figures at the 2013 American International Toy Fair during Hasbro's Fan Media Day in NYC, which showed off some closer looks at the Dark Elf armor, Loki and some of Thor's new looks. Also on display was the new and improved Mjolnir with an electronic screen and thunder bolt action.
'Thor: The Dark World' premieres November 8, 2013, and its accompanying toy line will hit shelves closer to the date. In the mean time, check out this preview of the 'Thor: The Dark World' toys below and let us know what you think of them in the comments:


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Contact us for information about using this image.
The Teachers' Institute was to be held from the week of April 12, 1852 from Monday morning till Saturday noon in Deerfield, Massachusetts. This institute was funded by the state Board of Education and was open to all public school teachers. Interestingly enough, the participants were required to bring not only the items needed to take notes, but also a Bible and a Dictionary.
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Plastic Injection Molding
Medical Device Plastic Injection Molding, From Concept to Commercialization
Plastic injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing thermoplastic and thermosetting polymer materials. You may use plastic injection molding to manufacture a variety of parts, from micro-sized components to complete medical devices.
When you partner with Phillips-Medisize, you align with a world-class, award-winning provider of medical device manufacturing services, including injection molding, insert molding, overmolding, and micromolding. You may also take advantage of our multi-shot and multi-shot liquid silicone rubber (MSLSR) plastic injection molding capabilities.
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text:
The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Warwick Police
Officer Michelle Caron reported she was dispatched to the Walgreen's pharmacy at 1560 Warwick Ave. around 10 p.m. on July 18 for an attempt to obtain oxycodone with a phony prescription. Dispatch told her the woman in question was wearing a black sleeveless dress and had blonde hair. Caron said she found the woman waiting in the pharmacy section and questioned her. She said the woman told her she was there to pick up a prescription for a friend, but the Pharmacist told Caron the same woman dropped off a prescription at the window for oxycodone earlier and said it was for herself and was now inside the store picking up an exact copy of the same script and saying it was for her neighbor. The pharmacist told Caron that she knew immediately that the prescription submitted at the window was bogus and called the doctor named on it. She said the answering service responded and said there had been several calls from pharmacists that evening about prescriptions from the doctor but she did not know if they were from a stolen prescription pad but had been suspected of being fakes by several callers. Caron said she arrested Lorrie C. Folco, 31, of 61 Zone St. in Providence and charged her with false representation to acquire a controlled substance and held her for the bail commissioner. She said she also found oxycodone and amphetamine pills on Folco.
A Florida resident was arrested and charged with shoplifting on July 20 after a loss prevention agent for the JC Penney store in the Warwick Mall told Officer Christopher Lo the man took a $66.34 bottle of LaCoste fragrance from the counter and concealed it in his pocket before attempting to leave the store without paying for it. Mark Olivo, 31, of 2293 S.W. Edison Cir. in Port St. Lucie, Fla., was taken to headquarters and charged with shoplifting and later released on $1,000 surety bail.
Officer William Castaldi reported arresting a Providence woman at the Wal-Mart store in the Rhode Island Mall on July 19 after an asset protection officer told him she saw the woman select shampoo and hair ties and conceal them in her purse before leaving the store without paying for the concealed goods. Cindy I. Ogando, 29, of 49 Lillian Ave. was charged with shoplifting and later released with a summons.
A Warwick woman was charged with stealing three bottles of champagne from Airport Liquors on July 19. Officer Nicholas Reay reported he went to the store around 6:50 p.m. after getting a call about a woman running from the store. He said he arrived to find a 1995 blue Cadillac exiting the parking lot and blocked it with his cruiser. A clerk identified her as the person who concealed a $59.99 bottle of Veuve Clicquot, a bottle of Bollanger valued at $64.99 and a bottle of Nuvo priced at $20.99 in a bag and attempt to leave the store without paying for them. The clerk said she confronted her as she was leaving and the woman took the bottles out of the bag and put them on the ground and then ran when police were called. Crystal O'Dowd, 32, of 63 Royal Ave. was charged with shoplifting and later released on $1,000 surety bail.
A Hollis Avenue man told Officer Tammy Mello that on July 18, he noticed that there was some equipment missing from his sailboat that morning, consisting of a two-piece mast, an eight-foot boom, the rudder, sails and rigging. He said the items were worth a total of $1,900. He said the masts were hung on his rear fence and the sails and rigging were stowed inside the boat. He told Mello that all of the items were marked with a certain number and supplied her with that number. There were no witnesses or suspects.
Officer Nicholas Reay reported that he was dispatched to Beach Avenue on July 17 to speak with a woman who told him she saw a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, put her son's Razor electric scooter into the hatch of a small black car and drive off. She told Reay the car had Massachusetts plates on it but she did not get the number. She said a blonde woman was driving the car and they drove away down Beach Avenue and turned west on West Shore Road. She said the scooter was worth $150 and she would press charges. Officers checked the area with no immediate results. The report was forwarded for further investigation.
Officer Nicholas Reay reported he was on patrol around 7 p.m. on July 16 when he saw a car burning out its rear right tire in the west lane of West Shore Road, with the accompanying screeching and smoke and obstruction of traffic. He said a white male wearing a muscle shirt was behind the wheel and that he stopped the burnout and drove off at a high rate of speed when he saw Reay's cruiser. He said he turned his car around and pursued the subject, who continued to operate recklessly until he turned onto Steele Avenue. Reay said he followed onto Steele and saw the car stopped at the end of the road. He said he ordered both men back into the car and began to question the driver. He said the driver told him he was just showing off as he was driving his friend to the convenience store for cigarettes. He said the driver appeared to be intoxicated and smelled of alcohol and became combative and said he didn't understand why he was being pulled over. He said the man continued to be confrontational and was patted down before he started a field sobriety test as the man continued to complain that he shouldn't have to do it. He said the driver failed the field sobriety test and was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. He said the driver refused a breath test at headquarters. Jason M. Harris, 28, of 115 Hamilton Ave. was charged with DUI and refusal and traffic violations and later transported to Kent Hospital for evaluation after he said several times that he would kill himself.
Officer Jason Cooke reported he was dispatched to Jefferson Boulevard around 11:30 p.m. on July 16 for a possible drunk driver who was being followed by the reporting party. He said he caught up with the suspect vehicle on Lavan Street and stopped it on Onset Street after watching it cross the double yellow lines. He said the driver appeared to be drunk and smelled of alcohol and said she was trying to get to Newport but got lost. He said he gave her a field sobriety test that she failed and was taken to headquarters for suspicion of DUI. Cooke said Marie A. Halton, 55, of 3595 Post Rd. in Warwick registered a .175 and a .181 blood alcohol content on the breath test. She was charged with DUI and transported to Kent Hospital for detox.


text:
It was nice seeing Ultimate Warrior this past weekend.
Warrior brought a smile to my face. It was a rush of nostalgia. I was looking forward to more appearances as part of his new deal.
No more.
My heart goes out to his family. His wife looked so proud & happy. His daughters are so young.


text:
This sea ice concentration data set was derived using measurements from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the Nimbus-7 satellite and from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) sensors on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) -F8, -F11, and -F13 satellites. Measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard DMSP-F17 are also included. The data set has been generated using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Bootstrap Algorithm with daily varying tie-points. Daily (every other day prior to July 1987) and monthly data are available for both the north and south polar regions. Data are gridded on the SSM/I polar stereographic grid (25 x 25 km) and provided in two-byte integer format.
Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 3
This is the most recent version of these data.
Changes to this version include:
- Intercalbration techniques between SMMR and F08, as well as F08 and F11 were changed to match sea ice area rather than sea ice extent.
- Ocean tie points now change each day (similar to the ice tie points) based on brightness temperatures for that day.
- The threshold for the lower limit for ice was relaxed to allow retrieval of ice at 10 percent ice concentration.
COMPREHENSIVE Level of Service
Data: Data integrity and usability verified; data customization services available for select data
Documentation: Key metadata and comprehensive user guide available
User Support: Assistance with data access and usage; guidance on use of data in tools and data customization services
Geographic Coverage
- If you are not currently logged in to Earthdata, you will be prompted to do so.
- You may register for an Earthdata Login if you do not have an account.
Once you have logged in, you will be able to click and download files via a Web browser. There are also options for downloading via a command line or client. For more detailed instructions, please see Options Available for Bulk Downloading Data from HTTPS with Earthdata Login.
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.Comiso, J. C. 2017. Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 3. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/7Q8HCCWS4I0R. [Date Accessed].
Detailed Data Description
This sea ice concentration data set was derived using measurements from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the Nimbus-7 satellite and from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) sensors on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) -F8, -F11, and -F13 satellites. Measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard DMSP-F17 are also included. The data set has been generated using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Bootstrap Algorithm with daily varying tie-points. Daily (every other day prior to July 1987) and monthly data are available for both the north and south polar regions. Data are gridded on the SSM/I polar stereographic grid (25 x 25 km) and provided in two-byte integer format.
Data files are stored in the original Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) flat binary two-byte integer format, use the little-endian byte order convention, and are scaled by a factor of 10. An individual image of daily or monthly averaged data constitutes a granule in the Bootstrap sea ice concentration time series.
Data are available on the HTTPS site in the
https://daacdata.apps.nsidc.org/pub/DATASETS/nsidc0079_gsfc_bootstrap_seaice_v3/ directory. Within this directory there is one main folder,
final-gsfc and within the main folder there are two subfolders,
north and
south. Within the subfolders there is a
daily folder and
monthly folder. The
daily folders are further subdivided into yearly folders. Monthly files are located in the
monthly directory with no further subdivision. Figure 1 shows the directory structure.
For this Version 3.1 data set, file names were changed from v03 to v3.1, such as
Daily Files
This section explains the daily file naming convention used for this product with an example.
Example File Name:
Refer to Table 1 for the valid values for the file name variables listed above.
|indicates that this file was created using the bootstrap algorithm
|4-digit year
|2-digit month
|2-digit day
|3-character sensor name:
n07 for Nimbus-7 SMMR
f08, f11, or
f13 for DMSP SSM/I sensors
f17 for the DMSP SSMIS sensor
|2-digit version number (for example, v3.1)
n for Northern
s for Southern
|indicates that this file is in binary format
Monthly Files
This section explains the monthly file naming convention used for this product with an example.
Example File Name:
Refer to Table 2 for the valid values for the file name variables listed above.
|indicates that this file was created using the bootstrap algorithm
|4-digit year
|2-digit month
|3-character sensor name (
n07 for Nimbus-7 SMMR;
f08, f11, or
f13 for DMSP SSM/I sensors;
f17 for the DMSP SSMIS sensor
|2-digit version number (for example, v3.1)
|Hemisphere (
n for Northern,
s for Southern)
|indicates that this file is in binary format
Northern Hemisphere files are approximately 266 KB. Southern Hemisphere files are approximately 205 KB.
The entire data set is approximately 7.6 GB.
Data set coverage includes the northern and southern polar regions. For a detailed description, see the SSM/I Polar Spatial Coverage Maps section of the Polar Stereographic Projections and Grids website.
SSM/I and SSMIS instrument coverage is global, except for circular sectors centered over the North Pole, 311 km in radius, located poleward of 87.2°. These sectors are never measured due to orbit inclination. The 50° scan pattern provided a swath width of 780 km at the Earth's surface. The spatial resolutions at the various frequencies ranged from approximately 27 km at 37 GHz to 148 km at 6.6 GHz. For more details, please refer to the SMMR, SSM/I, and SSMIS Sensors page. The measurement footprint size or effective field of view (FOV) varies by frequency, as shown in the following table.
|Footprint Size
|19.3 GHz
|70 x 45 km
|22.2 GHz
|60 x 40 km
|37.0 GHz>
|38 x 30 km
SMMR instrument coverage is global, except for circular sectors centered over the North Pole, approximately 611 km in radius, located poleward of 84.5°. These sectors are never measured due to orbit inclination. The 50° scan pattern provided a swath width of 780 km at the Earth's surface. The spatial resolutions at the various frequencies ranged from approximately 27 km at 37 GHz to 148 km at 6.6 GHz. For more details, please refer to the SMMR, SSM/I, and SSMIS Sensors page. The measurement footprint size varies by frequency, as shown in the following table.
|Footprint Size
|6.6 GHz
|148 x 95 km
|10.7 GHz
|91 x 59 km
|18.0 GHz
|55 x 41 km
|21.0 GHz
|46 x 30 km
|37.0 GHz
|27 x 18 km
Spatial Resolution
Sea ice concentrations are provided at a resolution of 25 km.
Projection and Grid Description
For more information, see Polar Stereographic Projections and Grids. The grid size varies depending on the region, as shown in the following table.
Bootstrap sea ice concentration data are available for 26 October 1978 through 31 December 2017.
Temporal Resolution
SMMR data were collected every other day. (The scanner operated only on alternate days, due to spacecraft power limitations). Major data gaps occurred in August 1982 (4, 8, and 16 August) and 1984 (13 through 23 August) for both polar regions. Monthly means are generated by averaging all available files for each individual month, excluding pixels of missing data. Data were interpolated where missing pixels were present so that no areas of missing data remained.
SSM/I and SSMIS data are collected daily. Ice concentrations are provided for each day of data and as monthly means. Monthly mean files are generated by averaging all available daily files for each individual month, excluding pixels of missing data. A major data gap in the SSM/I data occurs from 03 December 1987 to 13 January 1988.
The data set consists of sea ice concentration derived from gridded brightness temperatures. Sea ice concentrations range from 0 to 100 percent. Please see the Parameter Range section for more details
Parameter Range
Data are stored as two-byte integers representing sea ice concentration values. The sea ice concentration data values are packed into integer format by multiplying the original sea ice concentration values by 10 (divide stored value by 10 to get the percent). The sea ice concentration values range from 0 to 1000. Land is registered as 1200 and the Northern Hemisphere hole (a region of the North Pole that is not measured due to orbit inclination) is registered as 1100. Refer to the Spatial Coverage section.
Sample Data Record
The following is a sample data record from the Northern Hemisphere monthly data.
837 887 924 971 971 992 980 975 974 964 980 965 936 972 968 986
982 987 978 984 988 965 980 972 981 985 992 988 989 983 993 986
985 984 982 983 982 981 974 990 982 983 978 977 983 987 981 992
985 979 978 982 981 969 966 972 977 984 973 976 980 970 972 977
980 984 980 982 977 973 973 969 968 972 980 951 887 877 928 936
1200 1200 1200 969 1200 951 956 980 980 980 975 982 982 961 937 863
791 710 706 706 678
Software and Tools
Fortran tools are provided which extract the sea ice concentration files and geolocate the data. Sample Fortran code is provided for reading and displaying these sea ice concentration data.
Sample Interactive Data Language (IDL) commands to read and display sea ice grids and latitude/longitude grids are provided via the IDL commands text file. In addition, IDL tools to extract the sea ice concentration files and geolocate the data, as well as masking tools that limit the influence of non-sea ice brightness temperatures, are provided.
Table 6 lists the tools that can be used with this data set. For a comprehensive list of all polar stereographic tools, see the Polar Stereographic Data Tools web page.
|Tool Type
|Tool File Name(s)
|Data Extraction
mapll.for and mapxy.for
psn25lats_v3.dat and pss25lats_v3.dat
psn25lons_v3.dat and pss25lons_v3.dat
psn25area_v3.dat and pss25area_v3.dat
|Land Masks
gsfc_25n.msk and gsfc_25s.msk
coast_25n.msk and coast_25s.msk
ltln_25n.msk and ltln_25s.msk
|Region Masks
region_n.msk and region_s.msk
Data Acquisition and Processing
Satellite passive microwave sensors provide global radiance measurements that may be used to map, monitor, and study Arctic and Antarctic polar sea ice. The microwave data used for this sea ice concentration data set spans over 25 years, starting with the launch of the SMMR instrument on NASA's Nimbus-7 in 1978 and continuing with the DMSP SSM/I series beginning in 1987.
Sea ice concentrations are generated using brightness temperatures derived from SMMR and SSM/I radiances. The goal in the creation of the data set is to produce a long-term, consistent data set in which sea ice extent and area differences between the sensors are reduced that could serve as a baseline for future measurements. The Bootstrap data set provides improved consistency between sensors and enhanced removal of weather and land contamination.
The Bootstrap data set includes gridded daily and monthly averaged sea ice concentrations (every-other-day for the SMMR data) for both the north and south polar regions beginning 26 October 1978 through the most current processing.
Algorithms designed to estimate sea ice concentration using passive microwave data frequently do not work well over open ocean. When applied, instead of predicting the expected zero value, the algorithms predict sea ice concentration values as high as 35 percent, particularly in regions with excessive winds and stormy weather. A climatological sea surface temperature mask was applied to remove pixels from regions where the ocean surface is above freezing. Also, land contamination (false ice along the coast due to pixels containing a mixture of land and ocean) were removed using a filter adapted from Cho et al. (1996). Even with these quality-control measures, some residual sea ice concentrations remain in the open ocean and along the coast.
The SMMR and SSM/I instruments are dual-polarized and multi-frequency microwave radiometers that sense emitted microwave radiation at an incidence angle of about 53° and an altitude of about 800 km. At microwave frequencies, the observed radiance varies linearly with the temperature of the emitting material, according to the Rayleigh-Jeans law, and is usually expressed in terms of brightness temperature. The constant of proportionality in the linear relationship is the emissivity, which provides information about the electrical and physical properties of the material itself. The observed brightness temperatures come primarily from the Earth's surface with some contributions from the atmosphere and outer space. Depending on frequency and polarization, the brightness temperature is affected by changing surface, subsurface, and atmospheric conditions. The multichannel capability allows for the discrimination of different surfaces and atmospheric effects and allows for the development of algorithms that provide a range of geophysical information about the surface.
Four sets of satellite data are used to create the Bootstrap sea ice data stream:
- Nimbus-7 SMMR, data range: 01 November 1978 through 31 July 1987
- DMSP-F08 SSM/I, data range: 01 August 1987 through 17 December 1991
- DMSP-F11 SSM/I, data range: 18 December 1991 through 09 May 1995
- DMSP-F13 SSM/I, data range: 10 May 1995 through 31 December 2007
- DMSP-F17 SSMIS, data range: 01 January 2008 through the most current processing
Sea ice concentrations were processed by GSFC using SMMR brightness temperatures. The SMMR brightness temperatures were processed and quality checked at GSFC (Gloersen et al. 1992).
Bootstrap sea ice concentrations were processed at GSFC using DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures from NSIDC. Processing of DMSP-F17 brightness temperatures is ongoing. For more information on the brightness temperatures, see the DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures documentation.
Sea ice concentrations for this data set were derived from a revised Bootstrap algorithm which uses a different set of tie-points and adjustments. For algorithm background, please see the Enhanced Sea Ice Concentrations from Passive Microwave Data document (Comiso and Nishio 2008). For changes made to this Version 3 data set, see the Positive Trend in the Antarctic Sea Ice Cover and Associated Changes in Surface Temperature document (Comiso, et al. 2017).
Processing Steps
Data were interpolated in areas with missing pixels according to the following steps. First, data were spatially interpolated only for isolated empty pixels. An empty pixel was replaced by the average of four good surrounding pixels, or if four good pixels were not available, then a smaller number of pixels was selected. Second, a time interpolation was applied to the spatially interpolated map. Time interpolation was based on a weighting scheme; the closer the good data were in time, the higher the weighted value. For each empty pixel, the algorithm searched forward in time for a good pixel, and backward in time for a second good pixel. The algorithm determined how many days ahead and behind the two good pixels occurred and calculated the weight of each pixel. A weighted average of the two good pixels was then calculated, and the result was used for the empty pixel. During the SSM/I period, most temporal interpolations were conducted using only adjacent days. During the SMMR period, particularly in 1986 when larger gaps were present, temporal interpolations had separations of more days.
Table 7 outlines the processing and algorithm history for this product.
|July 2018
|Version 3.1 of the Bootstrap ice concentrations computes sea ice concentration with an open water identifier that is calculated daily in May and October; in version 3.0, this value was calculated using a single monthly value for May and a single monthly value for October.
|November 2017
|Changes to this version include:
|September 2007
|Changes to this version include:
Due to the updates outlined in this version summary, we ask that you acquire the entire Version 3 data set in order to update your time series.
|January 1996
|Original version of data. For information regarding Version 1 data processing, see the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations Version 1 Processing Steps web page.
Assessment of Version Differences
For Version 3.1 data, the differences in total Arctic sea ice area and sea ice extent are usually small (less than ± 0.5%), except in the second half of May when daily sea ice areas are often 0.5-1.5% higher and extents are 1-3% higher in V3.1 than in V3.0.
The staff at the NSIDC DAAC performed an evaluation between Version 2 and Version 3 data to verify any difference between the two versions. Here are their findings:
- The changes introduced in Version 3 have some effect on the total ice covered area and extent. These differences have some seasonality and appear to be largely due to the use of dynamic open water tie points.
- The majority of pixels show no change in concentration value or less than one percent, although a small fraction have larger differences. Roughly two percent of pixels show concentration changes of more than 10 percent.
Although most bad data are easily identifiable and removed with little ambiguity, human judgments must be made and applied consistently to the time series data. While efforts were made to minimize errors in judgment and inconsistencies, the resulting data set is not perfect. Nevertheless, the data provider feels that these maps are suitable for some types of research studies, such as basin-scale trend analysis, model inputs, and some regional studies. They are less useful in evaluating conditions on a specific day in a localized region.
NSIDC staff visually checked the entire set of data files, including file structure, comparisons to existing SMMR- and SSM/I-derived sea ice concentration grids, and information files and examination of data quality.
Errors and Limitations
Sensitivity analysis of potential errors associated with the retrieval of sea ice products were discussed previously. For example, see Comiso et al. 1997 and other references associated with the NASA Team Algorithm sea ice products. Sea ice concentration errors are difficult to quantify because sea ice is an evolving ice cover and does not have uniform physical and radiative characteristics throughout the ice pack. The emissivity of sea ice is known to change as the ice cover develops from grease ice to nilas, pancake to young ice, or first year ice to multiyear ice. For definitions of these types of ice, see the NSIDC glossary page. The line AD in the scatter plot that provides the sea ice tie-point in the Bootstrap Algorithm corresponds to 100 percent ice for the relatively thick ice types such as first year or multiyear ice. Areas with 100 percent of thinner ice types are often estimated to have ice concentrations as low as 80 percent due to lower emissivities (Comiso et al. 1992). In the summer, retrievals in the Arctic could have biases caused by meltponding effects (Comiso and Kwok 1996).
Inside the ice pack, observations from helicopter and aircraft flights typically show very high sea ice concentrations with some 5 to 10 percent of the leads covered by nilas or pancake ice. The frequency distribution of sea ice concentration in highly consolidated ice areas has a standard deviation of about 3 percent, which includes sea ice cover with concentrations of less than 100 percent. Overall, retrieval accuracy is estimated to be approximately 5 to 10 percent except in some unusual cases, such as the presence of a large fraction of thin ice or meltponding within the pixel and the presence of stormy weather conditions, especially near the ice edge. Limited comparative analysis with high resolution instruments and other measurements confirm this, but more extensive validation in a greater number of places over all of the seasons would provide more accurate error assessments.
For information describing the rough error/differences between each sensor (F8, F11, F13, F17) during the sensor overlap time period, refer to the following documentation: Comiso et al. 2008, Comiso et al. 2009, and Comiso et al. 2010.
Basic limitations arise from the sensor resolution, temporal coverage, and algorithm assumptions and characteristics. Users should review the information provided on fields of view, temporal sampling, and algorithm characteristics.
Particular care is needed in interpreting the sea ice concentrations during summer when melt is underway and in regions where new sea ice makes up a substantial part of the sea ice cover. As noted, some residual errors remain due to sensor differences and to weather effects along with mixing of ocean and land area within the sensor field of view.
No data coverage is available for regions poleward of 84.5° N for SMMR and 87.2° N for SSM/I or SSMIS due to the inclination of the orbits. SMMR data were acquired every other day, while SSM/I data were acquired daily. SSMIS data are also acquired daily.
Please refer to the SMMR, SSM/I, and SSMIS Sensors page for details regarding the following sensors and platforms:
Scanning Multi-channel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR)
Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)
Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMIS)
Nimbus 7 Spacecraft System
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Satellite F8
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Satellite F11
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Satellite F13
References and Related Publications
Contacts and Acknowledgments
Josefino C. Comiso
Oceans and Ice Branch, Code 971
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
Document Information
July 2018
NSIDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Email: email@example.com