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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – With the sixth-ranked UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team and second-ranked St. Norbert College Green Knights tied for first place in the NCHA coming into tonight's game, the Blugolds came away with the win, defeating St. Norbert 3-0 at the Hobbs Ice Center.
The Blugolds scored goals in each period to shutout St. Norbert for just the second time in school history. The first time was January 27, 1994, at 5-0 victory. This is also the first time since the 1994-95 season, and second time in school history, the Blugolds didn't lose to the Green Knights in the regular season. Earlier this season in November, Eau Claire won 5-3 while the teams tied 3-3 in overtime at St. Norbert.
Devin Mantha (Sr.-Sturgeon Falls, Ontario/Ann Arbor Pioneer) got the Blugolds on the board at 15:08 in the first period with an assist from Isaiah Bennis (Sr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial). The goal eventually proved to be the game-winner. The Blugolds outshot St. Norbert 16-8 in the opening period, though it was the only period the Blugolds had with more shots.
Just 45 seconds into the second period, Jordan Singer (Sr.-Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) scored his 13th goal of the season to put the Blugolds up 2-0. Chris Heineman (So.-New Boston, Mich./Traverse City Central) assisted on the goal. In the second, St. Norbert outshot the Blugolds 13-9.
In the final period, St. Norbert pulled their goalie late to bring on an extra attacker and the Blugolds capitalized with an empty-net goal by Kurt Weston (Sr.-Roseau, Minn.) with 1:10 remaining. Andrew Wilcox (Sr.-Rochester, Minn./Century) and Daniel Olszewski (Jr.-Janesville, Wis./Craig) assisted on the goal. The Green Knights led that period 19-6 on the shot chart.
For the game, St. Norbert outshot the Blugolds 40-31 but Brandon Stephenson (Sr.-Saline, Mich.) stopped all 40 shots to improve to 13-2-2 on the season. His 13 wins ties for second most in a season in school history while he now has 39 in his career, just one away from the Blugolds' all-time career record (Tom Johnson holds record with 40 wins from 1980 to 1984).
Tonight's win was the Blugolds' first shutout of the season. It was also the first time St. Norbert was shut out since Feb. 3, 2012 (0-0 tie vs. UW-Superior).
Eau Claire moves into first place in the NCHA with 21 points as the Blugolds now hold a 10-2-1 conference record. The 10 conference victories are the most the Blugolds have achieved since the 1989-90 season when they went 15-8-1. They have only reached 10 of more conference wins three times, including this year. Overall, Eau Claire is now 15-3-2. St. Norbert drops to 15-4-1 on the season and 9-3-1 in NCHA play.
Tomorrow the Blugolds will be on the road at UW-Stevens Point. Earlier in the season, the Blugolds and Pointers split with Eau Claire winning the first meeting 5-2 on Nov. 30 while the Pointers won 4-3 on Dec. 1. Action will get underway at 7 p.m.


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Who Won The Voice 2014? Did Josh, Christina Or Jake Take The Title?| May 21, 2014 at 2:41 AM EDT 1 Comment »
The Voice 2014 Season 6 Winner was crowned last night and it all came down to Jake Worthington, Josh Kaufman and Christina Grimmie.
That means it also came down to Team Blake, Team Usher and Team Adam. So did Adam or Blake have another win? No! For the first time, some other other than Blake or Adam won!
Josh Kaufman from Team Usher took home the Season 6 title. Jake was the runner up, which means Christina finished third.
"I can't even talk," Kaufman said covered in confetti. "I'm overwhelmed, I'm surprised, I'm happy, I'm relieved. This has been so much more…than I ever could have imagined."
Josh is a from Indianapolis and worked as a performer at a sandwich shop before his time on The Voice 2014.
Are you happy with the outcome?

subset: commoncrawl


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Check BNN and Bulbanews for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in the Bulbagarden Discord server.
Abilities (Japanese: とくせい special characteristic) are a game mechanic introduced in Generation III. Individual Pokémon may have only one of these special attributes at a time, which generally serve to assist them in battle. Prior to Generation VI, an Ability could not be changed after a Pokémon is obtained except by evolution, where the Ability it changes into is determined by the former Ability and form change. Not every Ability is beneficial; some will hinder the user.
Some species of Pokémon may have multiple Abilities. Pokémon caught in the wild will have one of two possible Abilities, and there is a 50% chance of encountering either. In terms of game data, these Abilities may be thought of as being stored in separate slots (i.e. Munna has Forewarn in the first slot and Synchronize in the second).
The only way a Pokémon can normally change its Ability is upon evolution. The "slot" storage system means that if an unevolved Pokémon has the "first" Ability for its species, it will have the "first" Ability of its evolved species upon reaching this stage, even if this Ability differs in the evolved species. In other words, a Poochyena with Run Away would evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate, while a Poochyena with Quick Feet would evolve into a Mightyena with Quick Feet. If the unevolved Pokémon has only one Ability, but its evolution may have one of two Abilities, then it has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability (dependent on its personality value). Generation VI introduced the Ability Capsule, which allows the user to change a Pokémon's Ability, under two conditions: the current Ability is not a Hidden Ability, and the species has two regular Abilities. It is consumed after use.
When Abilities were introduced in Generation III, some Pokémon only had one possible Ability. A number of these species were given a second Ability in Generation IV; upon transfer forward with Pal Park, a Pokémon affected by this change will keep its Generation III Ability unless it evolves, in which case the Ability will be recalculated.
Some Abilities also have effects outside of battle.
Hidden Abilities
Beginning in Generation V, most Pokémon were given access to another Ability, referred to in-game as a Hidden Ability, if obtained under certain circumstances:
- Where possible, all Pokémon obtained from the Pokémon Global Link, either via the Pokémon Dream World or a Global Link promotion, will always have their Hidden Ability.
- Certain event Pokémon may have their Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon obtained from the Pokémon Dream Radar will have their respective Hidden Abilities.
- Two instances of Pokémon found in-game in Black and White (the five Darmanitan in the Desert Resort and the Musharna found every Friday in the Dreamyard) have their Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon found in Pokémon Black and White 2's Hidden Grottos will always have their Hidden Ability, as do certain other interactable Pokémon in the game.
- Horde Encounters may have a Pokémon with a Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon found in a Friend Safari have a small chance of having a Hidden Ability. That chance increases if the registered friend associated with the Safari is online.
If a female Pokémon has a Hidden Ability and is bred, it has a 60% chance of giving that Ability to each of its children. Each of the other Abilities has a 20% chance of being passed down. In Generation V, Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down from male or genderless Pokémon, or when breeding with Ditto. In Generation VI, this was changed so that male and genderless Pokémon have the chance to pass down their Hidden Ability only when bred with Ditto.
Abilities and breeding
The mechanics of which Ability is acquired upon hatching a Pokémon Egg (in instances when a hatched Pokémon may have one of two Abilities) varies from game to game. In all games up to and including Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a Pokémon hatched from an Egg has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability.
However, starting from Pokémon Black and White, there is an 80% chance of the resulting offspring having the same "slotted" Ability as its mother and hence a 20% chance of the other Ability being passed down as long as the other parent is not Ditto. This might be a reference to Mitochondrial DNA which, in most species, is inherited solely from the mother.
List of Abilities
In Pokémon Conquest
- Main article: List of Abilities in Pokémon Conquest
While most Pokémon species in Pokémon Conquest have access to three Abilities (similar to the main series, Hidden Abilities included), many of these Abilities are different from the main series due to differences in the battle system. For example, Abilities like Cute Charm and Rivalry do not exist in Pokémon Conquest (due to the game's lack of a gender mechanic), while other Abilities utilize mechanics unique to Pokémon Conquest battles (like "Sprint", which increases the user's movement Range).
Like the main series, an individual Pokémon's Ability is dictated by its current species (i.e. evolutionary form) and may change during evolution. Unlike the main series, the individual Pokémon's Ability can also be changed at any time by taking it to a Mystery Spring.
In the anime
| This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Abilities have been shown in the anime, but are usually only used in battles; however, sometimes they have an effect on the plot, such as Ash's Infernape's Blaze. At one point in Gotta Catch A Roggenrola!, Iris pointed out that Roggenrola had the Ability Sturdy, implying that Roggenrola would receive less damage than a Pokémon normally would. In Showdown At Linoone, a Linoone has the Ability Pickup and takes items to its private stash, including May's Poké Balls.
Abilities were shown to work differently in the anime than they would in the games, such as Mold Breaker where it would cancel out any Ability instead of the ones that would prevent the user from using any moves as seen in Shapes of Things to Come! where Cranidos activated it to stop Elekid from activating Static. This was repeated again in O'er the Rampardos We Watched! but this time with Rampardos and Pikachu. Some Abilities were not to shown to be activated at all despite meeting their requirements such as Iron Barbs in Curtain Up, Unova League! when Ferrothorn was hit by Eelektross's Crush Claw, even though it was Ferrothorn's only Ability at the time.
In the TCG
Abilities under the name of Abilities did not appear in the Trading Card Game until the Black & White expansion kicking off Generation V. However, this was merely a renaming of the longstanding Pokémon Powers. Pokémon Powers were very similar to Abilities, but were introduced much earlier, appearing in the very first Base Set during Generation I. In fact, some Abilities from the games originally appeared as Pokémon Powers.
With the introduction of the Expedition Base Set, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies. Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is a passive Ability that is always in effect. When Pokémon Powers became Abilities, these distinctions were done away with.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Roxanne's Nosepass was the first Pokémon shown to have an Ability in this manga. Abilities have been featured sometimes after this, mainly during battles.
- The unused Ability Cacophony was included in the coding for third-generation games as Ability #076 (Air Lock was #077). From the fourth generation, Cacophony was removed and Air Lock was renumbered as #076, with the new Abilities positioned from #077 onward.
- As of Generation V, excluding Hidden Abilities, there are 106 Pokémon (almost exactly one-sixth of the total) who have unique Ability combinations.
In other languages
See also
|Pokémon individuality
|This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.


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Aviva Premiership
Stringer to join Saracens
ESPNscrum Staff
December 3, 2011
Peter Stringer has won two Heineken Cups with Munster © Getty Images
Ireland and Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer is set to join Saracens on a three-month loan.
The 33-year-old, who has won 98 caps for Ireland, is anxious to find first-team rugby after dropping down the pecking order for Munster. And he is set to provide cover for Sarries who are currently without injured scrum-halves Neil de Cock and Richard Wigglesworth.
"I believe I still have a lot to offer and want to continue to play at the highest level," he told Munster's website. "In the situation I currently find myself, that is outside the Munster match day squad, I think this temporary switch to Saracens will serve my ambition best.
"This offers me a new challenge, and I'm grateful to Munster management for their co-operation." Munster director of coaching Tony McGahan said: "We recognise the situation Peter finds himself in, are happy to accommodate this short-term arrangement and wish Peter well."
Wigglesworth is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury while de Kock is sidelined for two to three months with a fractured arm.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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Baby's Hands Reattached After Grandma Cut Them Off
(NEW YORK) -- An 8-month-old Chinese baby is recovering after a 12-hour operation to reattach her hands, which were reportedly cut off by her grandmother.
The injured baby was discovered by her mother, who arrived home from work to find the gory scene.
"Only 10 minutes later she dashed down holding her baby, who was covered with blood," a neighbor in the Shandong Province of China told the Daily Mail. "The baby's hands were gone."
The grandmother, who had been caring for the baby, also cut herself in an apparent suicide attempt, the Daily Mail reported. She is currently in a coma.
The baby and her hands were rushed to a hospital, where a team of surgeons meticulously mended the severed bones, blood vessels, nerves and skin.
"Although prosthetics are pretty good, nothing can replace the human hand as far as function," said Dr. Brian Labow, a plastic surgeon specializing in hand reconstruction at Boston Children's Hospital. "But time is of the essence, because as soon as a hand is removed, it's not getting any blood supply."
Keeping the hands on ice until they're ready to be replanted can help buy time, Labow said. But "until you have arteries and veins attached, the hands are essentially starving."
The replant procedure can take as many as six surgeons, three nurses and three anesthesiologists, Labow said. "You can probably double that for two hands," he said.
Once the blood vessels are connected, the surgeons can take their time carefully connecting the nerves under an operating microscope to restore hand function.
"You essentially stitch the two ends together, but it takes a while for the nerve to regenerate," Labow said, describing how the severed nerve slowly grows out to muscles in the hand. "And a child is absolutely perfect in terms of healing potential."
Unlike hand transplant recipients, hand replant patients do not need to take immunosuppressant drugs because the tissue is their own. And as long as the surgery is successful, the prognosis is good.
"Often there is some loss of fine motor function," Labow said. "But if it's a wrist-level injury, and a clean cut, we would expect extremely good hand function."
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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Follow the Herschel and Planck missions online13 March 2009
ESA > Science & Exploration > Space Science > Herschel and Planck
Latest News
Follow the Herschel and Planck missions online13 March 2009 Herschel, ESA's infrared space observatory, and Planck, ESA's mission to look back to the dawn of time, launched on an Ariane 5 on 14 May 2009 from ESA's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Follow Herschel and Planck on our mission websites.
Herschel and Planck commissioning has begun21 May 2009
Herschel and Planck commissioning has begun21 May 2009 After a perfect injection by the Ariane 5 launcher on 14 May, the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) for Herschel and Planck has started to wind down, while commissioning of the scientific instruments and subsystems on both spacecraft has be...
ESA's cosmic explorers in flight: stunning images from ground and space15 May 2009 Stunning images taken from Earth and space show Herschel and Planck in flight on 14 May 2009. The first, taken from Herschel, show the Planck-Sylda composite just after Herschel's separation, about 1150 km above Africa.
Watch Herschel-Planck launch 14 May 2009 15:12 CEST (replay)15 May 2009 Video showing the Herschel and Planck satellite pair lifting off on board an Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 14 May 2009 at 15:12 CEST.
Herschel and Planck: Near-perfect injection by Ariane15 May 2009 The initial orbit provided at separation on 14 May by the Ariane 5 has given near-perfect initial trajectories for both Herschel and Planck, now travelling on separate but similar paths toward their final orbits around L2, according to the mission con...
ESA en route to the origins of the Universe14 May 2009
ESA en route to the origins of the Universe14 May 2009 ESA PR 10-2009 Two of the most ambitious missions ever attempted to unveil the secrets of the darkest, coldest and oldest parts of the Universe got off to a successful start this afternoon with the dual launch of ESA's far infrared space telescope Her...


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The Miami Heat's LeBron James appears set to make his feature film debut. Deadline Hollywood reported Wednesday night that the four-time NBA MVP will team up with comedian and actor Kevin Hart to star in "Ballers," a comedy produced by Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.
James will play an NBA superstar whose diminuitive brother (the 5'3" Hart) gets the chance to come out from his shadow when Hart and his friends attend a basketball fantasy camp in Miami.
Hart is slated to co-write the film with his writing partners Joey Wells, Chris Spencer and Harry Ratchford. An earlier version of the script was written by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, and Peter Steinfeld.
Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg will produce the film.
James has played himself on the HBO series "Entourage," but has not acted in a film before. He also helped write, produce, and voiced himself in the animated series "The LeBrons." He has also played himself in a number of TV ads for Samsung, State Farm, Nike, and other brands.
In October, James said on Twitter that he would love to make a version of "Space Jam," the 1996 Looney Tunes film that starred Michael Jordan. Apart from Kevin Hart's cartoonish stature (he is a full 17 inches shorter than James), "Ballers" will not be much like "Space Jam."
But if James and Hart can do well at the box office, perhaps Hollywood might take notice and James' "Space Jam" dream could become a reality down the line.
More NBC6.com Stories:


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View All 14 Cotton Colors
100% Cotton Fabric Checks Collection #1 01 Y D9825M G
- Details
- Hand
- Luster
- Tips & Tricks
- Care
The 100% cotton fabric checks collection #1 is a series of colorful and vibrant patterns in a range of hues to suit many occasions. The versatile cloth is suitable for both apparel and decor uses. The long fibers of the Egyptian long staple cotton is known for creating the softest, strongest yarns for an incomparable look and feel to the fabric. Machine washable and treated for color fastness and less than 3% shrinkage, the 100% cotton fabric checks collection #4 is the perfect melding of beauty and function in fashion.
100% Cotton fabric
45 Inches wide
Egyptian long staple cotton
Smooth and lightweight
This fabric is matte
Tips and Tricks:
- This fabric is very forgiving and easy to sew, but tends to ravel at raw edges – be sure to finish all seams and hems!
- Lighter colors are slightly sheer – consider lining garments if modesty is a concern. Line in a natural fiber like cotton to maintain breathability.
- Use standard stitch size and a universal needle when machine sewing
- Great for tailored and structured garments as well as softer or fuller silhouettes
- Even when fully lining the garment, finish seam allowances to prevent fraying
- Depending on the garment, some of the finishes you can use are: French seams, overlock (serger), binding, rolled hem, hand-stitched or top-stitched hem.
Machine or hand wash in warm water and tumble dry on a regular setting or drip dry. Iron or dry clean when necessary.
100% Cotton fabric
45 Inches wide
Egyptian long staple cotton
This item will ship in 3-5 business days (This includes overnight and express shipping)


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Amon Post Partum Support Girdleam600
Product Details
Amon's BodyShaper post partum support panties support and shape your tummy after delivery. Seamless throughout except for one seam in the crotch. Mulitple weaves with different fabic thicknesses and bias provide medium firm support around tummy and light support in hips. Just right for extra control during workouts and is invisible under other clothing. The nylon/spandex fabric dries quickly and will breath as you perspire. Super 4-way stretch keeps it shape and will shrink to fit with your changing body. Quality constuction and state of the art weaving technology.


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Hi Metallers
What you think about them?
Here is the newest Grimlord's videoclip
Grimlord "New video clip!"
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Anyone who has been following the news in recent days has almost certainly read numerous stories about the remarkable blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his dark-of-night escape from house arrest. Truth is, there are too many stories about his work and dramatic escape to review in a single blog post. However, I would like to ask GetReligion readers a rather simple question: Why does Chen do what he does?
In other words, we know that he is an activist and that he is blind. This makes him a blind activist, I guess. However, he is not an activist for the rights of the blind.
Consider the following Washington Post report from several days ago about Chen and his plight. The background language in this report remains rather typical, however.
In the lede, he is identified simply as "blind activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng." Later, readers are told:
The men who kept Chen contained in his farmhouse, who he says beat him and his wife, and who harassed journalists and activists trying to see him were operating as an extrajudicial force, with no official standing. But they were clearly doing the bidding of local party bosses who wanted to keep Chen silenced and isolated.
When Chen escaped, climbing over a high wall and walking hours alone at night to evade detection, the blind activist had not been linked to any crime. And members of the activist network who assisted Chen -- driving him to Beijing, shuttling him around to avoid capture -- also were not committing crimes, since Chen was not charged with anything. Yet police have been rounding them all up.
Chen made a video that was broadcast on YouTube, directly appealing to Wen to take action against those who he says abused him and his family, to protect his family and to investigate corruption in Linyi city, which oversees his village. By appealing personally to [Premier Wen Jiabao], Chen was deftly avoiding the accusation, often used against dissidents in China, that he was "subverting state authority."
Thus, Chen is a activist, supported by an "activist network," who opposes local corruption. Later, readers learn that he is known for his "longtime advocacy for protection of the poor, the marginalized and the abused, and the application of the rule of law."
Duly noted. The Post story then proceeds into a detailed analysis of how the case is affecting, you got it, developments in Chinese politics. The case is also raising questions for Obama administration officials, too.
But that's it for Chen.
However, the same issue of the same newspaper featured an op-ed page column written by Bob Fu, a leader in one of the groups that is backing this generic activist. This column included the following background material:
Chen is often described as a "dissident," but that is a misnomer. Despite years of brutal treatment for seeking to bring attention to those victimized by China's "one-child" policy, he has never established a political party or organization. He has never advocated overthrowing the Communist Party. In the video he posted online after his escape, he says that the injustices his family experienced "hurt the image of our Party." And the first thing he told me after escaping was that he wanted the outside the world to know that he was not going to leave China but to "fight to the end for the freedom of my family. ... I want to live a normal life as a Chinese citizen with my family." ...
This blind lawyer, whose first name, "Guang Cheng," means "light" and "integrity," has been silenced for almost six years because the Chinese government views his assistance to the vulnerable as a threat. Chen's desire for justice and freedom should put him firmly on the "right side" of history.
To no one's surprise, the short bio for the author states:
Bob Fu is founder and president of the China Aid Association, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization campaigning for Chen Guangcheng's freedom.
It is natural that Fu is working on Chen's behalf. This generic activist, you see, is actually a pro-life activist, the kind of
Christian activist who sees China's often brutal one-child policy as a violation of human rights as well as religious liberty. The abortion angle in this story has begun to show up in some mainstream media reports, including this subsequent piece in the Post. (The Washington Post also had a breakthrough piece on Chen and the one-child policy back in 2005. Check it out.)
But the faith angle? The religious liberty angle? Or, wait, is that the so-called "religious liberty" angle?
Still missing. Please use the comments pages to let us know if you find mainstream news reports that spot this ghost.
Correction: See this new GetReligion post on this issue.


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Command Arms Accessories Launches New FGA Flashlight Grip Adaptor
Ivyland, PA—Command Arms Accessories (CAA) the manufacturer of unique and innovative weapon accessories is proud to introduce the new FGA Flashlight Grip Adaptor.
The new FGA combines a 1" light mount and vertical grip into one unit and accommodates push button end cap flashlights. A thumb activated on/off push button is featured and incorporates both an intermittent and constant on position. A side safety switch has been added to prevent inadvertent activation of the flashlight during covert activities.
The FGA also features a storage compartment with a screw cap base for holding a small cleaning kit or for extra batteries. Two rubber pressure switch covers with honeycombed inserts allow for customized pressure switch sizing. One 1.5" Picatinny rail is included that attaches to either side or bottom of the light mount to allow the addition of an accessory such as a laser. Thumbnuts allow for easy mounting onto a Picatinny rail, even while wearing gloves.
About Command Arms Accessories
CAA is the exclusive US distributor of the TDI and First Samco Inc. products. We are committed to providing unique and innovative products for the most demanding users designed by experienced weapons professionals. Products are designed with participation from elite military and law enforcement organizations around the world.


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A body found in a thickly wooded area on Long Island is believed to be a 21-year-old woman who went missing a week ago, and police are investigating the death as a homicide, a law enforcement source tells NBC 4 New York.
The woman's body was found Thursday evening, nearly a week after Sarah Goode vanished. The medical examiner is working to confirm the woman's identity.
Detectives found the body within a mile of where Goode's car was found earlier this week, about a mile from her home.
Goode, the mother of a 4-year-old girl, was last seen a week ago, when she was out with friends in Shirley on the night of June 6, according to police.
Her 1999 BMW was found parked on the street about a mile from her home in Medford. Police said it is unusual that it was found there, but did not elaborate on what, if any, evidence of her disappearance was found inside.
A woman who lives on the street where the car was found told NBC 4 New York the car's license plates were bent, obscuring the numbers. Neighbors thought it was stolen and reported it to police.
Police officers and about 60 family members and friends had been searching the woods near where the car was found.
Goode's family said calls to her phone went straight to voicemail.


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Does spending more money for copper lugs offer extra security and reduced maintenance?
During the early 1960s, the electrical industry began installing aluminum wire in many locations, and wire termination failures were commonplace. Installers used aluminum wire lugs (today called "terminators") on almost all wire terminations, knowing little about the thermal properties of aluminum. Due largely to a lack of experience in terminating aluminum wire and using aluminum products, many residential fires occurred, and the commercial and industrial wire termination failure rate increased.
At that time, most electrical professionals were still learning about the larger coefficient of thermal expansion of aluminum compared to that of copper. The result was aluminum-bodied lugs used to terminate copper wire operated successfully, while copper-bodied lugs used to terminate aluminum wire failed. Three entire series of branch circuit device termination types were tried and failed: copper (C), copper/aluminum (CU/AL), and copper/aluminum/revised CU/ALR) before a workable design, copper/aluminum/rev. II (CO/ALR) was achieved. Larger aluminum wire sizes terminated in copper lugs almost always presented problems, while the use of aluminum-bodied lugs reduced those problems, except when moisture entered in the formula.
Unprotected aluminum lugs corrode, forming aluminum oxide, which in turn causes failure modes with all sizes of aluminum wire. The past history of the problems resulted in the development of a viewpoint within the electrical and insurance industries that the most safe and reliable approach to using wire and lugs was to install an all-copper system. Thus, specifiers demanded that conductors, lugs, and bus bars be copper.
I researched what vendors build and sell in several countries worldwide (Egypt, Singapore, Jakarta, Tunisia, England, France, Australia, Germany, Trinidad, and the United States). After speaking to many vendors, engineers, and construction employees in these locations, I discovered what they think about different types of lugs. The review shows where electrical continuity really counts, "copper throughout" is most-often the specification still today.
Although most manufacturers of electrical equipment still tend to use copper lugs, the review also revealed manufacturers are providing equipment with brass lugs, copper-plated steel lugs, tin-plated copper lugs, tin-plated brass lugs, and aluminum-bodied lugs. In fact, some manufacturers build whatever is specified, while others only build copper, aluminum, brass, or copper-plated steel lugs.
In some locations, using compression lugs is a requirement, while authorities forbid the use of mechanical lugs of any metal type (having setscrews). Further, many industrial specifications, and even some country standards, require compression lugs with full tinning of copper conductors prior to insertion into the lug, followed by the crimping of the lug using a full circumference die in a hydraulic crimp tool - trusting that a compression copper lug is stronger during a short-circuit and less vulnerable to corrosion/galvanic action.
A look around the electrical industry within the United States paints a different picture. The majority of the lugs we use have aluminum bodies, yet today's electrical systems continue to improve in reliability.
What has changed? Is an all-copper system still the most reliable way to go? Aluminum-bodied lugs still have some failures. But when you use them within their design parameters, statistically they have no more failures than copper lugs. In fact, the only aluminum lug failures I found involved cracking of the sidewalls of the lug and threads at the setscrew during initial installation - the result of not properly using the required torque wrench.
The thermal expansion properties of copper and aluminum dictate that installers use only aluminum-bodied lugs to terminate aluminum conductors. Likewise, installers can use copper- or aluminum-bodied lugs to terminate copper conductors.
This research turns up some other surprising findings, too. Manufacturers today do not make aluminum-bodied lugs of pure aluminum. Instead, they produce them with a continuous copper or nickel flashing or coating, that they cover with tin or silver. The flashing is necessary because the tin coating will not adhere to the aluminum. You can see this copper coating on lugs you use today by erasing the thin plating from the lug with a pencil eraser, revealing the copper underlayer.
When manufacturers don't provide these coatings, the formation of a high-resistance aluminum oxide powder occurs soon after installation and even sooner in moist conditions. However, the coatings impede aluminum oxide formation for a long time - even in moisture-laden conditions.
When installers use an oxide-inhibiting compound while inserting an aluminum wire (not needed for copper wires) into the lug, and at the lug area where it's connected to the bus bar, the survey shows galvanic action and oxide formation almost ceases to be a problem. When an aluminum lug surrounds the wire (instead of a copper lug surrounding an aluminum wire), it can expand and contract with current flow (and the corresponding temperature change) without causing deformation of the wire, regardless of whether the wire is copper or aluminum.
Manufacturers used to fit aluminum-bodied lugs with steel setscrews that could rust. Recently, UL 486B effectively stopped the use of steel setscrews for wire sizes of No. 3 and larger, so aluminum 6262T9 setscrews are now the "norm" for large aluminum-bodied lugs. When you thread aluminum into aluminum, the aluminum galls or wears away. A polymer wax applied to the threads prevents galling of aluminum lug to aluminum setscrew.
Because aluminum-bodied lugs are more prone to cracking during installation than copper or steel lugs, the use of a torque wrench is a must. When cracking occurs, it usually takes the form of thread stripping that prevents the Allen-head setscrew from securing the lug to the conductor. It might also occur as a crack along the vertical wall of the lug where the setscrew resides.
Discussions with the manufacturers of copper and aluminum lugs revealed another surprising issue: Once the lug setscrew is torqued to specification and the bolt with a Belleville washer is torqued to specification, leave them for life (except after a short-circuit event).
This is the opposite of the normal maintenance techniques where lugs are typically re-torqued every 2 yr to 6 yr. Manufacturers now recommend a thermal scan with repairs and re-torque only where the thermal scan shows a heating problem.
We usually find heating because the bolt holding the lug to the bus bar was over-torqued, which simply resulted in stretching the bolt. Deformed bolts lack the strength needed to maintain good contact between the lug and bus bar and hold the lug in place during a short-circuit event.
Many people still don't trust anything but all copper installations. However, experience in the United States shows no statistical increase in failures with modern aluminum-bodied lugs than with copper terminations. This is provided the aluminum lugs have a copper or nickel flashing, tin or silver coatings, and installers use the correct torque wrench values during installation and an antioxidant compound with aluminum wire.


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23 November 2009
On 23rd November 2009 the IEA hosted a debate on Climate Change. The participants discussed the question: "Do Science and Economics Support Government Action on Climate Change?". Each speaker provided a different perspective on the economics or the science. Debating the topic were: Prof. Fred Singer from Science and Environmental Policy Project, Nigel Lawson from The Global Warming Policy Foundation, Prof. Mike Hulme from the University of East Anglia and Dr. Sam Frankhauser from the London School of Economics.
23 November 2009
Energy and Environment


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A mother of four, photographer, nature lover. Someone trying to make sense of it all, through photos and stories.
I try to be free in all senses of the word, so I made the leap and now work with what I love doing; taking pictures, storing this life in moments, both for myself and for clients. My heart is in photographing birth and motherhood, but I take on just about any photography job.
(See my birth photos at www.birth.no and the rest of my work portfolio at www.mariavatne.no.)
I live on a farm in Norway with my man Nik and my children Ronja, Freja, Falk and Ulv, plus a bunch of animals. We grow our own food as far as the seasons allow it, we don't go to kindergarten, the three youngest ones will be homeschooled.
We govern our own lives, we strive for independence, we want to be in this life wild and free and full of love.
All in "today"


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It is one of the most dreaded shots in golf, but it doesn't have to be: The Fairway Bunker. Here is a quick five step plan to help you out when you find the sand from off the tee. Apply these suggestions and your fairway bunker shots are bound to improve:
(1) Take a little wider stance than normal, lean slightly into your lead leg, and dig your feet into the sand. This will help to restrict body turn, minimize leg action and secure your footing.
(2) Position the ball in the center of your stance with your hands slightly ahead of the ball.
(3) Grip down on the club a quarter to one-half inch.
(4) Make a smooth-tempo, three-quarter length back swing.
(5) Swing forward, trying to pick the ball off the sand. Pick your club selection only after you have examined your lie, how high the front lip of the bunker is, and how much distance the ball has to travel. Take at least one more club to hit fairway bunker shots. If you need more help with your fairway bunker play, or any other part of your golf game, contact a PGA Professional.


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**1/2 (out of four)
After enough belly flops, a pencil dive looks all right. And that's what "Grudge Match," a generic but decent step up from something like "Escape Plan" or "The Big Wedding," is: The pencil dive of movies, only set in a boxing ring.
During a very dry start, former champion boxer Henry "Razor" Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) works a Pittsburgh factory job like he stepped off the set of "Out of the Furnace." Razor's old rival Billy "The Kid" McDonnen (Robert De Niro) owns a used car dealership and, at the boxing-themed bar he owns, performs stand-up about his victory over his enemy some 30 years ago. He doesn't joke about the time Razor beat him. Each man's loss was his only career defeat.
Thanks to Razor's financial woes, Kid's lingering competitiveness and the persistence of their former promoter's son (Kevin Hart), these old punching bags agree to a long overdue third bout. Great, you're thinking, a rocky opening leads to a "Rocky" rehash, tweaked to sit next to "Last Vegas" and "The Bucket List" in the Older Guys Showing They Can Still Do Stuff section. Thankfully, no. "Grudge Match" is savvier and funnier than expected. During the press conference announcing the fight, few reporters show up, and the ones who do both mock the boxers or express concern for their health. Hart's efforts here and throughout the movie make good use of his usual loudmouth attitude, even if the script forces the character to constantly comment on whiteness ("I just won the cracker lottery!").
Note: By "savvier," I just meant that "Grudge Match" doesn't take itself too seriously. No movie that includes jokes about "Baywatch" and "Webster" and any sincere mention of a phone book can be that savvy. Yet "Grudge Match" also doesn't have any Viagra jokes, and the predictable plot lines involving the woman who got between the guys (Kim Basinger) and the son one never met (Jon Bernthal) hover around fine instead of dipping into awful.
Between the two beaten-up vets, De Niro's got far better comic timing. It's not unwelcome, in a "We should have waited to rent this but whatever" kind of way, to see these two jaw at each other. Naturally, at this age, they still look more comfortable when not bobbing and weaving. Razor's proud of his hobby: turning junk into art. "Grudge Match" doesn't accomplish the same, but it pleasantly avoids the trash.
Watch Matt on "You & Me This Morning," Friday at 6:55 a.m. on WCIU, the U
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