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The Benefits and Drawbacks of Smarter Cities
By [ISA Internationales Stadtbauatelier] (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
By: Dipak Krishnan, Contributor
To analyze the benefits and drawbacks of implementing smarter cities, a certain analytical framework must be employed. Are smart cities making "old" business processes more effective through use of existing data in novel ways? Second, are they creating new services and processes through collecting and leveraging new data via sensors and technology? More importantly, what even is a smart city?
A smart city is one that leverages existing and new infrastructure and technologies to enable the development and deployment of efficient and effective solutions or services for citizens, businesses and governing agencies.
Smart cities leverage existing infrastructure to make processes more effective. In New York, combining data from 19 agencies to help building inspectors improve prediction of fire safety features the use of existing data in novel ways to support an existing process. In Dublin, integrating new GPS data from public transit vehicles with existing timetables to provide citizens with a real time transit schedule is the case of creating a new service with new sensor data and technology. The service enables citizens to reduce wasted time and to place greater trust in a more transparent transit system. In Chicago, using GPS to locate snowplows enables citizens to make citywide transportation more effective. From a purely technological viewpoint, these examples in both categories rely on information technology to support data integration from existing stand-alone systems, or integration of data feeds from sensors such as GPS.
Smart cities have significant economic benefits. They make transportation more efficient, and thus increase labor productivity. More impressively, cities that invest in smart-grid technology and infrastructure, called "connected cities," experience an annual GDP growth rate that is 0.7 percent higher, an unemployment rate that is a full percentage point lower, and office occupancy rates 2.5 percent higher than less advanced cities. Smart infrastructure is cost-effective over a long-term.
Economic gains are readily procured from implementations of temperature and air quality sensors, variable speed drives and robots, as well as smart meters and intensity and color controlled LED lighting which cut waste at its source. If cities deploy sensors such as smart meters, and that infrastructure inspires new innovations in energy management, it could be majorly impactful in two ways. Firstly, the city will become more sustainable. New innovations will be developed to update the current infrastructure. Secondly, the money that citizens save in wasteful energy use will generate surpluses, increasing discretionary spending.
In essence, the benefits of smart cities can be distilled to one underlying principle: done right, information technology and big data enable services and business processes make our lives better. However, a greater reliance on technology has its drawbacks.
Interconnectivity can provide benefits of greater communication, but can also lead to cascading failures. If an intruder or a hacker gains access to the core systems of the tech-reliant city (e.g., the electric grid or surveillance systems used by police), it can result in either city services being shut down or personal information being released. Rossant of The Architect's Newspaper notes that big data can be a weapon for oppressors to use to subjugate their people. There is a double-edged nature of smart cities and big data; it has potential to enact real progress but also to wreak havoc. It all depends on those who use the data and to what ends they pursue.
As they are envisioned currently, Smart Cities have immense potential, but to realize their potential, governmental framework and economic models have to be developed first. In other words, the media, economists, and some governments present smart cities as a technological problem to which a technical solution can be devised. I believe this is wrong. As the Brookings Institution notes, "developing a focused, forward-looking economic vision that targets long-term productivity, inclusivity, and resiliency is the first step in making cities smarter." Devising smart technological solutions to political and economic solutions will lend a purpose to the use of this technology, making citizens' lives more effective.
Secondly, I think the issue of security is one that engineers behind smart cities need to solve. Clearly, we have the capability to harness data in a way that can make citizens safer. Although we can decrease police response time, and create apps that allow citizens to travel safely, the network itself can never be fully secured. Until society views technology as a tool to achieve a greater future instead of a cure-all to endemic problems, smart cities will not reach their full potential.
Dipak likes smart cities. Do you like traditional cities? Want to challenge this article? Reach out to Dipak via the comment section below.


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By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 24, 2004; Page B01
Tobacco farmer Dwight W. Watson was sentenced yesterday to a six-year prison term for making threats, destroying property and paralyzing part of downtown Washington after he drove his tractor into a pond on the Mall last year.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson told Watson that he was imposing the penalty -- and rejecting several pleas for leniency from the defense -- primarily to stop another civil protester from tying up a large number of law enforcement officers and terrifying a city jittery about terrorist attacks. Watson's siege lasted 47 hours.
"You may not have intended to engage in terrorism, but nevertheless, you did terrify people," Jackson told Watson, 51, who had said he came to Washington from North Carolina to bring attention to the plight of farmers. "Whatever your intentions, this city regarded you as a one-man weapon of mass destruction."
Jackson told Watson that his primary complaints -- that tobacco farmers had been unfairly maligned as purveyors of cancer and were losing their once-honored livelihood because of a government squeeze on the product -- were causes that merited civic protest.
"Mr. Watson, I have concluded you are a nice guy and you had a legitimate grievance . . . which [you] chose to express in a horrendous fashion," Jackson declared. "The sentence I will hand down to you today is intended to deter the next nice guy who thinks he has a legitimate complaint."
Watson probably will serve four years in federal prison. He will get credit for the 15 months he has spent in jail and probably will get another year off the six-year term for good behavior. Had he accepted a plea bargain offered by prosecutors instead of taking the case to trial, his sentence would have been 31 months.
A jury took only 45 minutes to convict Watson of making false threats and destroying government property in the episode, which began at lunchtime March 17, 2003, when Watson drove his John Deere tractor and trailer into a pond at Constitution Gardens and threatened to blow it up with "organophosphate bombs."
The standoff created a furor. Police cordoned off a 10-block area, leading to traffic tie-ups during four consecutive rush hours. Several nearby government offices were evacuated, and a large section of downtown Washington was disrupted. U.S. Park Police and other agencies brought in sharpshooters, negotiators and an armored vehicle in a round-the-clock law enforcement effort that cost an estimated $2 million. Watson finally surrendered peacefully March 19.
What he claimed were bombs turned out to be nothing more than two cans of bug spray.
During his trial in September, Watson told the jury that he never meant to threaten anyone and that law enforcement officials misinterpreted his intentions. The judge told Watson yesterday that he had been "his own worst enemy" in his defense, and the downtrodden farmer, whose gray hair has grown wavy and shoulder-length in jail, agreed.
Watson, whose family had grown tobacco and tobacco seed on 1,500 acres in Whitakers, N.C., for more than a century, received an outpouring of support from members of his rural community. They sent more than 100 letters to the judge attesting to Watson's honesty and integrity. A Web site started by tobacco farmers and family members describes Watson as an "American hero" who called attention to the difficulties of tobacco farmers.
Watson's attorney, federal public defender Erica Hashimoto, asked for a sentence reduction because of Watson's law-abiding history and service as a military police officer. Prosecutors said he deserved the prison time.
The judge said that he was moved by the words offered on Watson's behalf but that they did not change the facts of the case. Jackson agreed to recommend that the prison term be served in a federal facility in Goldsboro, N.C., near Watson's family, or in Morgantown, W.Va.
In court yesterday, Watson apologized to Jackson and the city for the fear and damage he caused.
"My actions were totally uncalled for, totally unacceptable and totally wrong," Watson said. "It was not my intention to hurt anyone, but it looks like I was trying to hurt people. It was foolish."
He added that for five years before the Mall incident, he waged a series of protests of government and industry actions.
Watson's brother, George Watson, who came from North Carolina to attend the hearing, said he and his brother "were hopeful something more reasonable would come down." He said he was disappointed that his brother was viewed as a threat in the capital, which at the time was under heightened terrorist alert.
"My brother was a freedom fighter, not a terrorist," George Watson said.
Dwight Watson told the judge he would not return to tobacco farming after getting out of prison. He then offered some final words before marshals led him away:
"Don't smoke, because tobacco's contaminated, and help the veterans."

subset: commoncrawl


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Among the N gauge rolling stock that I most enjoy operating on Runport St Nicola are the fixed formation trains with a locomotive at one end and a driving van trailer at the other – especially if all the vehicles match!
Since the heyday of the Great Western auto train, diesel push-pull services have included those worked by Class 33/1 and 4-TC coach sets between Bournemouth and Weymouth and the 47/7 and Driving Brake Second Open combinations operating between Edinburgh and Glasgow. So when the opportunity came in October 2009 to invest in a Dapol "book set" of a locomotive and 3 carriages in the then latest silver Wrexham and Shropshire livery it was impossible to resist for such a dedicated push-pull and diesel multiple unit arena as the station at my then current N gauge layout Terminal 1.
In April 2008 Renaissance Trains, in a joint venture with Laing Rail and Deutsche Bahn, launched The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company, the UK's third open access rail operator after Hull Trains and Sunderland based Grand Central. Renaissance Trains shareholders owned 36% of the shares in Wrexham & Shropshire. Deutsche Bahn acquired 50% of the company in early 2008, with Laing Rail retaining 14% as an investment opportunity.
Renaissance Trains promoted and invested in "open access" passenger and freight rail businesses, as well as promoting and investing in rail industry innovation. Its aim was always to create rail businesses that attracted new customers – rather than abstracting them from existing rail businesses – stimulated the market, delivered excellent customer service and offered outstanding investment returns.
Open access operators do not receive subsidy. As a result they plan the level of capacity provided to meet demand and use an up to date approach to sales channels that ensure most capacity is sold in advance. Their experience demonstrates that utilisation will be over 80% of the seats provided on a given point to point service.
However, potential new open access operators first have to show the Rail Regulator and Network Rail that there is an unsatisfied need for passenger – or freight – services in a given area and that the route involved is not already being fully exploited by an existing franchise holder. They also have to prove that they will not simply siphon off existing passengers from the franchise holder, that their business plan is viable and that they can provide their own motive power and rolling stock.
Traditionally, rail franchise holders are dominated by large transport groups motivated just by profit, perhaps to the neglect of less profitable routes. They are awarded their franchises by proving to Government that they are the best organisations to run a reliable service in the area involved.
Wrexham & Shropshire operated up to five direct passenger services daily from Wrexham, Shrewsbury, Telford, Tame Bridge Parkway (in the West Midlands) and Banbury to London and so served a population of more than 750 000 people along the route. Fares – at £ 53.00 for a standard class anytime return ticket from Wrexham to London – were good value, and tickets were available from all National Rail outlets as well as online.
Indeed, Wrexham & Shropshire was the only long distance train operating company to offer cheap flat fares on all its services and the only one that allowed passengers to pay on board at the same price. In contrast, Virgin Train's cheap fares were only available if booked 12 weeks in advance.
Trains in smart liveries featured on-board catering, first and standard class accommodation, and staff who took care of passengers throughout their journeys.
Or as Jonathan Guthrie reported in the Financial Times reported on 11 April 2009:
Tiny rail group has Virgin in retreat
The biter has been bitten. Sir Richard Branson, who virtually owns the "plucky underdog" brand, has retreated from a battle with a tiny railway company that Virgin Trains had threatened to squash. On Thursday Virgin Trains capitulated, cancelling plans for new services on a sleepy route between North Wales and London that would have killed off fledgling operator Wrexham and Shropshire.
"Mr Branson has got enough money already" opined 72 year old Welsh grandmother Violet Benson, travelling down to London that day to see her grandchildren on a thrifty £35.00 return ticket.
This was a commercial battle that Virgin Rail would easily have won. The company, which received £ 35 million in state subsidies in 2008, intended to start two new services a day between Euston and Shrewsbury with connections through to Wrexham. But it only revived the plans, shelved earlier this decade, after W&S started up last April to fill a gap in the market. For years inhabitants of North Wales and Shropshire had been asking big train operators to run more trains to London.
Virgin began to take a hammering in bad publicity. The buccaneering balloonist was morphing into a bearded bully in the eyes of the public. Newspaper editorials blasted Virgin with salvoes against anti-competitive behaviour. The Virgin empire has 47 000 staff and is run by a man who owns a Caribbean island and a space airline. Wrexham and Shropshire is managed by a six person office in Shrewsbury and employs 65 staff.
A Virgin official said " We had to be realistic. The reaction [ to our plans ] was that we were being predatory and that we could put [ W & S ] out of business."
Hostile media coverage was "froth" he said, but the company could not be seen "to have blood on its hands".
Wrexham & Shropshire's style of operation harks back to the days before Dr Beeching took an axe to branch lines in the 1960s. Its little trains meander along at speeds that, at times,
a well maintained milk float could better. Passengers can stretch their legs in comfort in the 40 year old carriages – something that only an Oompa-Loompa could manage on a Virgin Pendolino.
Reservations are not displayed via failure-prone LED screens above the seats; instead, they are printed on cards attached to the headrests. No onboard computer announces the stations as on some other cross-country train services – that job is handled bya nice lady called Jane in a smart black and claret uniform.
Nostalgic poet Sir John Betjeman would have revelled in halts with names such as Chirk and Ruabon, complete with pretty sandstone station buildings. But is this heartwarming tale of an entrepreneurial David besting a corporate Goliath as good as it seems? As Virgin Trains pointed out, Deutsche Bahn, the German state rail company, is the key backer of W&S. is the tiny business just a foot in the door of the UK rail industry for the Teutonic monolith, which also owns Chiltern Railways?
Andy Hamilton, managing director of W&S, said that 36 per cent of the business still belonged to the four British private investors that set it up.
"Investment from Deutsche Bahn is in the for of a loan that has to be paid back." he said, adding that W&S needed to break even in its third year to stay in business.
Mr Hamilton was "delighted" by Virgin's retreat. But, he added, W&S was still threatened by a "predatory" expansion of the services of Arriva Trains Wales. These plans were however, termed "complementary" by the larger operator.
"That is what competition is all about" said John Wylde, a retired bus company owner, riding the W&S service to Marylebone last week.
"Mrs Thatcher thought you should get companies at each other's throats. But in the end the big boys always win."
W&S has re-opened a cafe that closed 41 years ago at the Edwardian architectural gem that is Wrexham General station. There are two tables, a tea urn and a vase of fresh freesias. There is no station cat.
But it is still early days for W&S. Besides, the company first needs to acquire a wicker hamper for the cat to fall asleep on top of. Following Virgin's volte face, such long term capital investment is more justifiable.
The moral of the tale is that no one messes with Welsh grannies. Not even Sir Richard Branson.
Although W&S initially used the 1960s vintage British Rail blue and grey livery for its intermediate carriages, the Dapol book set represented the final silver markings applied to Standard Class Mark 3A Open Standard vehicles 12145 and 12127. Both were built at BREL Derby between 1975 and 1977 as part of Lot 30877 to Diagram AC2G, weight 34.3 tonnes, ride on BT10 bogies, seat 76 passengers and were formerly used by Virgin Trains. They were owned by DB Schenker / DB Regio and were refurbished at the Marcroft, Stoke, works of Turners / DB Axiom Rail.
82304 – pictured and formerly numbered 82130 – was also German owned and based along with sister vehicles in the 82301 – 82305 range at Crewe International Depot. These five DVTs were modified to operate push-pull W&S trains with matching Class 67 locomotives 67 012 -15 and overall silver 67 029 "Royal Diamond".
All the dedicated W&S Class 67s were also based at Crewe International and are owned by Angel Trains. Applied to the General Motors powered Alstom assembled 3200 bhp locomotives within Pool Code WAWN were the names
"A Shropshire Lad" ( 67 012 ) inspired by the works of poet A.E. Housman
"Dyfrbont Pontcysyllte" ( 67 013 pictured top) aka Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, carrying the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee. This name was applied on 9 July 2008 with Welsh and English versions on either side but the Shawplan etched plates supplied with the book set only have the Welsh version.
"Thomas Telford" ( 67 014 ) named after the Nineteenth Century civil engineer.
"David J. Lloyd" ( 67 015 ) applied on 15 July 2008
On Wednesday 26 January 2011 the Birmingham Post reported:
"Wrexham & Shropshire Railways is to cease operations on Friday, ending its services between North Wales and London, it has been announced.
The rail company said the move followed an investigation into all possible alternatives, citing the "unprecedented economic environment" as a contributing factor.
Trains from North Wales call in at Shrewsbury, Telford and Wolverhampton, on their way to Marylebone Station.
"Although the company has strived to increase passenger numbers, it has been determined that the business has no prospect of reaching profitability. Wrexham & Shropshire is not insolvent nor is it being placed in administration and all outstanding financial commitments will be met.
"Alternative employment opportunities within the railway industry are being sought for the 55 employees, and all staff wages and full redundancy entitlements will be paid," the firm said in a statement.
The Rail Maritime and Transport union said the decision was a "bitter blow" to the railway industry.
The company said it had made a number of moves in a bid to make a profit, including cutting the original service of five trains a day between Wrexham and London Marylebone, to four in 2009, then to three last month.
Chairman Adrian Shooter said: "Regrettably, we have concluded that the potential for further changes to the company's operations, including any synergy with Arriva Trains Wales, will not improve the financial position sufficiently."
Wrexham & Shropshire launched in April 2008, restoring direct train services between Wrexham, Shropshire and London, developing a reputation for excellence in customer service, reaching a 99% customer satisfaction score in the National Passenger Survey.
Despite strong growth in passenger numbers, the business has not been able to generate sufficient revenues to cover more than 65% of the cost of operating the service and in 2010 alone suffered losses of £2.9 million, said the company, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway.
The last train to depart will be the 1830 from London Marylebone to Wrexham General on Friday. From Saturday January 29, all Wrexham & Shropshire tickets already purchased will be valid on alternative routes into London Euston operated by Arriva Trains Wales, London Midland and Virgin Trains, and from London Marylebone by Chiltern Railways."
In Issue 1282 of Private Eye magazine covering 18 February to 3 March 2011 the Signal Failure column allegedly written by "Dr B Ching" also reported:
"Pontificating in the US press this month,Richard Branson said companies should respond to mishaps by being "honest about what was happening" and that good press relations would "help journalists put any bad news in context." Really?
Branson used Virgin Trains (VT) to illustrate good practice; but VT was far from honest when reacting this month to the latest bad news – people blaming Virgin for the sudden demise of Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway. Passengers on WSMR's London-Wrexham trains liked the standard class leg room, friendly staff, buffet car and not being browbeaten or fined when buying tickets on board. WSMR's demise shows such sentimentality is out of place in today's greed system (shurely "customer focused rail system"? Ed)
"We did not prevent them dropping off passengers at Wolverhampton, as has been stated by politicians," VT told the Birmingham Post. In fact VT executive Charles Belcher reminded rail regulators in April 2007 of VT's unique "moderation of competition" clause, banning rivals from most of VT's territory. He told them WSMR's proposed services "calling at Wolverhampton and Birmingham International" would have "closed rights" – ie WSMR must carry no passengers between London and Wolverhampton or Birmingham International. Belcher said there was "no record as to how WSMR will ensure that customers will not use their services" and regulators must get "clarification regarding these matters".
The regulator duly shackled WSMR, which never had enough passengers to break even. But VT wanted to make doubly sure: after showing no interest in Wrexham or Shrewsbury for a decade, VT started a rival Wrexham-London train and applied to compete on Shrewsbury -London (Eye 1235). Beardie's all for free market enterprise until it threatens his own income; then he loves regulation and market restriction ( see also Eye 923, when Virgin asked regulators to block new Manchester-Penzance trains in 1997)"
However, Wrexham and Shropshire will live on in N gauge at Runport St Nicola and I hope in the hearts of many enthusiasts who applauded this plucky little company, whose former trains have, since 2012, been operating between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill on the Chiltern Railways Mainline service.
Also from Chirk came Virgin Train's Mark III DVT (82126), two First Opens (11007 and 11048) and 57 301 "Scott Tracy": acquired by way of my good friend Paul Elliot. Matching Trailer Standard Opens numbered 12078 and 12133 were also available separately from Dapol. The majority of Virgin Train's services on the West Coast Main Line are operated by its fleet of 54 nine-car Class 390 Pendolino EMUs but to supplement these services at busy times or to replace failed tilting trains, a set of nine Porterbrook owned Mark III carriages was upgraded to Pendolino standards by Wabtec Rail at Doncaster in July 2009.
Including spare vehicles, the WB64 "Pretendolino" set comprised Driving Van Trailers 82126 and 82101, First Opens 11007, 11018 and 11048, catering vehicles 10212 and 10217, Trailer Standard Opens 12011, 12078, 12133 and 12138 and Trailer Standard Open (Disabled Toilet) 12122.
In practical terms, the three First Class vehicles provided seating for 143 with another 18 First Class seats available in the Kitchen Buffet First and 374 seats in the remaining five Standard Class vehicles.
As well as an silver external livery and LED central door locking indicators very similar to the Class 390s, the WB64 carriages were given new internal doors, carpets, laminated glazing, more reliable air conditioning, re-upholstered seating, power points and wi-fi access.
The hard-to-obtain 125 mph capable rolling stock was also made available for charter work and was even used for the final sequences of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II" where it appeared on the big screen at Kings Cross station.
As such, its presence at Runport St Nicola would be entirely believable with 57 301 although a hired-in Freightliner Class 90 was initially used by Virgin Trains on its Friday night relief workings out of Euston. As more fully described in the feature on 57 315, increasing Pendolino reliability from 2008 allowed Virgin's original 16 "Thunderbird" Class 57s to be reduced to just six with half a dozen GM engined locomotives going to Network Rail for Southern Region de-icing trains and a further four – 57 313 to 57 316 – being sub let to Arriva Trains Wales and rebranded for use on Holyhead-Crewe-Cwmbran-Cardiff "Gerald of Wales" services subsidised by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Although a good deal slower than Network Rail's "Doctor Yellow" New Measurement Train converted from an InterCity 125 set, my Network Rail Structure Gauging Train is conveniently much shorter and powered by two venerable diesel electric locomotives. These are Class 37 97 302 and Class 31 31602. 97 302 was released from English Electric Vulcan Foundry at Newton Le Willows Lancashire with Works Number EE/VF3348/D834 1963 as D6870. First allocated to Swansea Landore depot, the Co-Co was later renumbered 37 170 but retained much of its original equipment. Renumbering in the 97/3 series however signified the addition of European Railway Traffic Management System equipment for use on the Cambrian Lines to Aberystwyth.
31 602, also fitted with a twelve cylinder English Electric engine working at 850 rpm but built by Brush of Loughborough, is one of the 31/6 subclass, being a standard 31/1 not fitted with Electric Train Heat apparatus but through wired for ETH. Introduced as D5614, the 1 470 bhp A1A A1A was later renumbered 31 191 and had been named "Chimeara" before acquiring the title "Driver Dave Green 19B". The two intermediate Mark 1 carriages of the train are DB975081 and DB975280, which in reality would have sandwiched a four wheel structure-gauging optical (then laser) vehicle used to accurately measure the distance to bridge and tunnel walls. The SGT represented in the models was in service from 1986 to 2013 and has now been replaced by more modern equipment aboard an ex Scotrail Mark 2 DBSO
DB975081 with its distinctive brown end was formerly Railway Technical Centre Test Coach Hermes. This was initially converted to a driving trailer vehicle but had been modified into a non-driving trailer car by 2008. RDB975280 (formerly Test Coach Mercury) meanwhile became DB975280 and housed computer data collection and staff facilities.
In 2012 Europorte Great British Rail Freight celebrated ten years of partnership with the Mediterranean Shipping Company by repainting General Motors Class 66 Co-Co 66 709 in a blue livery with a broadside image of the Container Ship 'MSC Sorrento' after which it was named. As MSC could easily also stand for Manchester Ship Canal and even Marine Stewardship Council and as Eversholt owned 66 709 was based at Roberts Road Depot, Doncaster it was a natural choice to move 100 ton bogie oil wagons in and out of the We Three Kings refinery at Runport St Nicola. 66 709 was one of five similar 3 200 bhp two stroke locomotives diesel electrics built for GBRf in 2002 at the General Motors Electro-Motive Division works at London, Ontario, Canada. The sub class 66/7 are mechanically very similar to the first Class 66/0 delivered in 1998 while more powerful variants have been outshopped by GM EMD / Progress Rail at Muncie, Indiana, USA from 2013 to 2016.
On the subject of freight, the non- powered display line on Runport St Nicola can, among other vehicles, display a grey GBRf liveried HYA bogie coal wagon and a red DB Schenker marked BRA steel strip carrier. As well as having interesting design histories – as outlined below – they form a series of visual jokes in the context of Runport St Nicola – Girls Aloud having comprised Cheryl Cole ( nee Tweedy) and Nadine Coyle, steel coil being one of the possible loads for the BRA.
What I would really like now is for a bogie well wagon to become available in N Gauge on which I could place a railcar from the French Chemin de Fer Vivrais: CFV also standing for Cheryl Fernandez Versini, Bear's mummy's second married name. There is also a link with the 2012 edition of Celebrity Big Brother which featured bra model Danica Thrall, who to my knowledge has never visited a model railway exhibition and stood next to a model Thrall BRA. But I am willing to be proved wrong!
The Romanian built high capacity HYA wagons are able to move anywhere on Britain's rail system thanks to their low track force wheelsets. In April 2011, VTG Rail UK increased its presence in the biomass market when it signed a further long term agreement with GB Railfreight for the supply of an additional fleet of 21 HYA hoppers to support the freight haulier's biomass delivery contract. The wagons supplemented the existing GBRf fleet of 25 wagons which transport pelletised biomass from Port of Tyne to Drax Power Station near Selby, North Yorkshire.
In July 1997 meanwhile, the still relatively newly formed English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) announced that it was to have 2,500 new wagons built by Thrall Europa at the former carriage works in York. The first design to appear was a bogie covered steel wagon, given TOPS code BYA, the first of which were delivered in August 1998. These followed the trend established with private owner wagons in the early 1990s (and first used on some RIV wagons in the late 1970s) of having a metal cover with three telescopic sliding sections. Unlike the earlier wagons, the BYAs had covers with round tops (the ends being shaped to match) and were formed from pressed and crimped metal to give a curious corrugated appearance. Beneath the cover was a relatively high floor, which could be removed to allow access to a well in which steel coils could be carried. The design also had substantial solebars, on which a very large brake control was mounted, and American-type swing motion bogies. Another reflection of EWS policy was the fitting of swing-head couplings, with the intention being to use the AAR buckeye coupling for routine use. This could however be swung to one side to reveal standard drawgear, ensuring compatability with other stock. The wagons were painted in overall EWS dark red, including the solebars and buffers.
The BYAs (full code BYA-A) were numbered in the air-braked series as 966001 to 966260 and were initially to design code BY006A. Before deliveries were complete, problems were found with the swing-head couplings, and most of the wagons were quickly modified to design code BY006B. It was reported that this involved the replacement of the AAR coupling with a standard screw coupling. By the end of the year, wagons were in operation from Port Talbot, Immingham, Lackenby and the West Midlands and trains of the type, often mixed with the earlier JSA wagons, were becoming a common sight. Delivery of the batch of 260 BYAs was completed by the start of 1999, after which construction turned to a second variant which was assigned the code BRA, previously used for Borail wagons and later to BBAs modified to carry reinforcing bars. The new BRAs were also intended for steel bar traffic and, although largely identical to the BYAs, had fixed loading racks inside. 50 wagons were ordered, numbered 964001 to 964050. The first to appear (964002) was officially recorded as a BYA-D to design code BY006F, but had the BRA code applied externally. The remainder were BRA-Bs to design code BR008A. The whole batch was delivered in the first few months of 1999 but was slow to enter service. Problems with loaded bars fouling the sliding hoods lead to the entire fleet being recalled to works for modifications. They eventually entered service working from the Allied Steel and Wire works in Cardiff.
British Rail's InterCity 125 High Speed Trains ( HST ) of the 1970s were based on the power-car-at-each-end format of the Metro-Cammell Blue Pullman sets introduced in 1960, but used 2750 bhp Paxman Valenta engines to sandwich either seven or eight of the new 75 feet long Mark 3 carriages. These were some of the longest passenger vehicles ever seen on British railways but were criticised for using old fashioned slam doors instead of sliding or swinging plug doors. The name "High Speed Train" was first used in Britain by the London & North Eastern Railway for its Silver Jubilee and Coronation services from 1935. These featured streamlined carriages with – in the latter case – an observation car at the end, hauled by streamlined pacifics like the famous speed record holder "Mallard".
The success of the 1970s HSTs was based not so much on the trains themselves as in the way they were used. After trials with the prototype 252 001 (the power car of which was designated Class 42) the gently graded Western Region line from Paddington to Bristol was modified so that level crossings were replaced by bridges and curves made less sharp. This allowed all major passenger trains to be worked by production HSTs at a constant speed close to 125mph, thus creating a high speed railway rather than just a few prestige expresses that would have slowed down other trains to make way for them. 252 001 was outshopped from Derby in July 1972 but the drivers trade union ASLEF was unhappy about the central driving position in the fully glazed cabs. As a result the production trains – Class 253 with Class 43 power cars – had more conventional driving positions and windscreens and also lacked buffers, which were found to be unnecessary at the time. Later modifications included aerodynamic roof spoilers to keep exhaust fumes off the back windscreen while the guard was moved from the rear of the noisy power car into his own compartment in the next carriage (then known as a Trailer Guard Second).
From their introduction on 4 October 1976, the new HSTs were a great success and spread to the Kings Cross -York and the Bristol-Gloucester-Birmingham-York line by 1982. Although there was less scope for 125 mph running in the latter case, the high power to weight ratio meant that delays and hills could be more easily overcome. Arguably the most successful long distance diesel multiple units ever built, the HSTs were the trains that saved the British railway network when it was severely under threat in the 1980s. They also bridged the gap between the older diesel-locomotive-pulling-carriages type of train and the semi fixed and DMU trains of the 1990s onward. The original yellow and blue HST livery changed to dark grey and blue and then to the red striped "Executive" livery by 1983 with swallow motif and new typeface being added in 1987. After privatisation in 1994 however liveries of the new operators – Virgin, Midland Main Line and Great North Eastern – were applied. A new Great Western company also acquired HSTs and on being taken over by bus and train firm First Group a new livery of thin gold and brown stripes was added to original green and white scheme. However, the 38 First Great Western HST sets were, from 2002, painted purple and white to match the new Class 180 Adelantes and a further nine IC125 were set to be transferred to the FGW fleet from other Train Operating Companies (TOCs)
My first-generation Dapol model of 220 002 "Forth Voyager" in its original Virgin Trains Cross Country livery was acquired through the kindness of my good friend Paul Elliott. Although making more noise under way than later Dapol representations, this is a finely detailed item with the four vehicles being closely coupled by magnets in place of the bar couplings used on the 12″ to the foot version. As a result, the train has to be assembled in the right order or the magnets will repel instead of attracting one another.
Since 8 December 2007 diesel electric multiple unit 220 002 – comprising Driving Motor Second 60302, Motor Second Restaurant Buffet 60202, Motor Second 60702 and Driving Motor First 60402 – has been operated without a name by Arriva Trains Cross Country. It is pictured here at Manchester Piccadilly station.
And since the first Voyager designs left the Bombardier works in Bruges, Belgium, in 2000 very similar Meridian and Pioneer sets have also begun service for East Midlands and Hull Trains while tilting Super Voyagers continue in both Arriva and Virgin Trains West Coast service.
In their many forms, Voyager units are now a common sight all over Britain and their design philosophy and deployment history tell us much about the privatized railways of the early 21st Century.
In 1998 Bombardier Transportation received an order to supply and maintain 34 four-car diesel electric multiple units (DEMUs) for Cross Country services in the UK which would then replace the InterCity 125 diesel multiple units and conventional Class 47/8 hauled trains operated at the time by Virgin Trains Cross Country.
Bombardier was to be the total Train Service Provider throughout the life of CrossCountry franchise, up to the year 2012. With a maximum speed of 125 mph, these Class 220 trains were designed for ease of maintenance and a high level of passenger comfort with very quiet interiors. The high power to weight ratio and electric transmission were also designed to allow high acceleration resulting in improved journey times.
Indeed, being a diesel electric rather than diesel hydraulic or diesel mechanical set train allowed the 750 bhp 1800 rpm Cummins QSK 19 engine under each carriage to turn an alternator and so contribute to the electrical current available to each longitudinally body mounted Alstom Onix 800 three phase traction motor, one of which powered one axle on each bogie through a cardan shaft and axle-mounted final drive gearbox. In the event of one diesel engine failing in service there would still be another three to power the eight traction motors of the train.
My first impression on seeing a brand new Voyager 220 009 at Preston station on 11 September 2001 was the thick black cables between each vehicle and the warning sign "Shut down engines, isolate 110v batteries and wait 3 minutes before proceeding
beyond this cover"
This design feature also harked back to the 1959 vintage Blue Pullman diesel trains which comprised both trailer and non-driving motor cars between driving motor brake vehicles. The driving motor brakes were fitted with North British MAN 1 000 bhp prime movers in engine rooms behind semi-streamlined driving cabs. Electric transmission then energised GEC traction motors under the driving motor brakes and motor parlour and motor kitchen cars. Sadly all Blue Pullman units were scrapped from 1972 so the only way to directly compare them would be in model form..
The provision of Dellner couplings at the outer ends of each Voyager set also allowed two four car sets to work in multiple or be rescued in an emergency by a Class 221 or 222 DEMU or by a suitably Dellner coupling fitted Class 57/3 "Thunderbird" locomotive.
Each unit additionally featured at-seat entertainment, sockets for laptop computers and mobile telephones and efficient external and internal passenger information displays, as well as the convenience of wheelchair-accessible toilets with baby changing facilities.
The wheelchair-accessible toilets, dominating one end of each vehicle except for the MSRB, were certainly the largest and most comfortable ever fitted on a British train and the utilisation of the 34 units at a purpose built depot at Central Rivers near Burton upon Trent proved the ease of maintenance designed into them.
In addition to Central Rivers, English Welsh and Scottish Railways sub-contracted operations in 14 smaller overnight servicing depots for Virgin Class 220 Voyagers and 221 Super Voyagers including Three Bridges, Sussex, Eastleigh, Old Oak Common and Barton Hill, Bristol.
Each Voyager unit has an unrefueled range of 1 350 miles and Class 220 Voyagers and Class 222 Meridian units can be distinguished from the tilting Class 221 Super Voyagers by their 2 250mm wheelbase Bombardier B5005 bogies in which the hollow axles are supported by bearings between the wheels, thus leaving the outer wheel faces exposed.
Built at Crespin in France, the disc-braked B5005 is a development of the B5000 bogie produced in 1991 by RFS Specialist Rail Products in collaboration with British Rail Research for the Networker EMUs and DMUs then being ordered in quantity by Network SouthEast. Initially used under trailers, a powered version with AC motors and 25 tonne pivot load followed in 1994.
In contrast Class 221 Super Voyagers have heavier Bombardier HVP bogies with the wheels obscured by tilting apparatus. Although Virgin Trains West Coast Class 221 Super Voyagers continue to tilt at up to 6 degrees those now operated by Arriva Trains Cross Country have their tilt functions isolated.
The lightweight B5005 bogies also give the Class 220 Voyagers a Route Availability Index of 2, allowing them over most parts of the British railway network and also radically lowering the amount of damage that each Voyager does to the track it runs over compared to locomotive hauled trains or InterCity 125s.
Along with the use of inboard journals and shorter axles, the B5005 also offers a 60% reduction in frame mass with primary suspension achieved by a simple free-rubber Metacone, with longitudinal traction rod, that sits directly on top of the axleboxes and eliminates the need for hydraulic dampers. For speeds of up to 125mph, the B5005s on the Class 220s also feature a secondary air suspension although rubber Metacones with an emergency vertical damper permit degraded operation if an air-spring deflates.
As trackside hotbox detectors are set to scan outboard journals, fusible plugs melt if the axleboxes overheat. This results in a loss of air pressure that triggers a warning light in the cab.
As well as Bruges, Class 220 Voyagers were also assembled by Bombardier at Horbury near Wakefield and tested during 2001 and 2002 on the Monk Bretton branch, also near Wakefield, and on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) Serco undertook all the formal Acceptance Testing and a multitude of train operations on the class 220 fleet including commissioning runs on every unit and the train maintenance depot created at Crofton for these trials still remains to service Voyager, Meridian, Class 170 and Class 180 units.
Although adding to the allure of each new train set, names were also useful for identification as the numbers only appeared in small type below platform level.
220 009 "Gatwick Voyager" made history on 28 September 2001 by becoming the first of its class to operate on a preserved railway with testing and training carried out on the Bo'ness & Kinneil line in Scotland. On the same day 220 018 bucked the trend of including "Voyager" in any name by being christened "Central News" at Birmingham New Street. However, the event was not broadcast on its namesake BBC TV show ( which still airs nightly at 1800 ) until 1 October and the 2003 Platform 5 Combined Motive Power recorded 220 018 as being named "Dorset Voyager".
220 006 subsequently became "Clyde Voyager" at Carstairs on 25 October 2001, just after it had run south from Edinburgh Waverley coupled to 220 002 which had just been named "Forth Voyager". This marked the first passenger carrying Voyager journey north of the Border and Railtrack certification of all Scottish routes for Voyager operation.
220 034 "Yorkshire Voyager" meanwhile became the last of the Class 220 Voyager sets to leave Bombardier's Wakefield factory on 13 December 2001, leaving both Wakefield and Bruges plants free to concentrate on the production of 44 tilting Super Voyager trains.
However, beyond the mid Noughties the at-seat audio entertainment – accessed via headphones purchased from the shop replacing the toilet in the MSRB – was at best patchy and often completely inoperative. By 2017 however, a more pressing concern was the provision of reliable WiFI internet connection. Similarly, building the basic four car Voyager with the option of later design development into the tilting Super Voyager gave the vehicle bodies a narrow roof and no room for large items of luggage in overhead racks – a step backwards from the InterCity 125 and hauled Mark III coaching stock
Even more importantly, the desire for a high power to weight ratio – to facilitate good acceleration – was to result in an under-floor engine configuration at odds with noise levels being kept low in the passenger accommodation. A conventional train – with a twin cabbed diesel locomotive at one end – or an InterCity 125, with a streamlined one-cab locomotive at each end – both tend to concentrate engine noise at the ends of the train. Similarly, having four engines per train instead of two or one has increased the risk of fires in the exhaust systems if these units are not properly re-assembled after maintenance.
Another design feature which caused some teething troubles in service was the rheostatic braking with roof mounted resistors. Debris such as lumps of wood from trees or small birds on occasions became lodged in these hot grids and started fires while inundation with sea water whilst running through Dawlish on the South Devon coast caused control software to shut down the whole train.
Luckily this software issue was soon addressed, but the Class 220 Voyagers remained in four car sets whilst replacing seven or eight car InterCity 125s. Although the idea behind the new four car trains was to use them on more frequent services the upsurge in rail travel and transportation since the early 1990s has had the effect of making timetable pathways more scarce than ever. Additionally, because the Voyager units are only internally gangwayed a train manager cannot access more than one unit at a time if two units are coupled together to make an 8 car train.
Another debatable feature common to the Voyagers and many modern multiple unit trains is the reliance on powered air conditioning. This creates a pleasant environment when working correctly but in the event of failure the air in the carriage soon becomes difficult to breathe and, unlike the Mark III carriages on the InterCity 125s, there is no possibility of opening a door droplight.
Even before Virgin Trains lost the Cross Country franchise to Arriva, it had become apparent that the shops located in the Class 220 Voyager's Motor Second Restaurant Buffets were not popular with passengers who feared losing their seats and/or belongings if they ventured along the narrow train to make purchases.
As a result, now that Arriva rather than Virgin Trains are the sole operators of the 34 Class 220 Voyagers, the shop has been deleted and replaced with extra luggage and bicycle stowage space. Each four car set now comprises:
Coach A with 26 First Class seats in 2+1 arrangement.
Coach C with 70 Standard Class seats in 2+2 arrangement.
Coach D with 68 Standard Class seats, luggage space and reservable space for three bicycles.
Coach F with 44 Standard Class seats in a quiet zone, disabled seating and stowage area for the catering service trolley – replacing the shop – just behind the driving cab.
Wessex Trains was created on 14 October 2001 when the former Wales and West and Valley Line franchises were reorganised. Wales and West Passenger Trains Ltd took on the trading name of Wessex Trains and the operation of services in southwest England. Their geographic area being bounded by Penzance Cardiff, Gloucester, Worcester and Brighton although this stretched to Great Malvern in 2004.
Cardiff Railway Company Ltd, which changed its trading name from Valley Lines to Wales and Borders Trains, operated most trains in Wales and the adjoining parts of England. Both franchises were owned by the National Express Group until Arriva took over a slightly modified Wales and Borders franchise in 2003.
Originally it was planned for Wessex to take over the diesel services of South West Trains. However, this would have left most services from the South West to London under the control of one operator and a change of government policy led to the decision to merge Wessex and First Great Western into the new First group owned Greater Western franchise on 1 April 2006.
Alphaline was a brand used by the Regional Railways sector of British Rail to identify certain provincial express trains in the Midlands, Wales and South West operated by then-new 1990 vintage Class 158 diesel hydraulic multiple units from services operated by older rolling stock. Alphaline trains thus formed a layer of service between the prestigious Inter-City sector and Regional Railway's local and commuter trains, and applying such branding to just one DMU class was a move not seen since the introduction of the InterCity 125 trains in the 1970s.
More specifically, Alphaline services offered passengers reservable seats, an at-seat trolley service of cold snacks, sandwiches and hot and cold drinks available for all or part of the journey, a British Telecom card phone and air conditioning. Although such card phones are seen as old technology when almost everyone has a mobile telephone in 2010, only the Class 158s had these – and air conditioning – in the Regional Railways fleet of the early 1990s.
After Privatization in 1994, both Central and Wales and West Trains continued with the Alphaline brand although by 2003 it was unique to Wessex Trains, which continued the use of a silver livery although with purple rather than maroon or navy blue doors to distance itself from Wales and West markings. The Alphaline concept did not survive the 2006 merger of Wessex Trains with First Great Western.
The two car set numbered 158 746 and named "Spirit of the South West" in Wessex Trains Alphaline livery was made by Bachmann. 158 746 – comprising A and B type Driving Motor Second Lavatories 52746 and 57746 – first appeared as a set in the 1992 Platform 5 Combined Motive Power volume and were allocated to Neville Hill Depot in Leeds. 158 746 was re-allocated to Edinburgh Haymarket in 1993 where it was to stay until 2000 and also remain in pre-Privatization Regional Railways livery. However, the accomodation was to be changed to Driving Motor Composite Lavatory – DMSL in 1994.
This picture was taken by John Chalcraft on 29 April 2000 at the mouth of Parsons Tunnel, Teignmouth and appeared in the 2001 Platform 5 Combined Motive Power. It shows 158 746 in the Wales and West version of silver Alphaline livery. By this time 158 746 was allocated to Cardiff Canton depot where it would be based until 2003.
By 2004 some Wessex Trains Alphaline liveries were simpler but still very different from Wales and Border Alphaline markings which had evolved directly from those of Regional Railways. In 2002 158 746 was named "Spirit of the South West" and repainted into a red promotional Heart of Wessex Line livery with yellow doors.
In 2003 however the unit was back in silver Alphaline markings, this time with the maroon doors as represented in the Bachmann model along with the name – in purple lettering on 57746 – which would continue until 2004. In 2004 158 746 was allocated to Exeter depot but in 2005 it was missing from the Platform 5 book. 158 746 re-appeared in 2006 based once again at Cardiff and still retaining its Alphaline livery and was to continue with these markings at St Philip's Marsh, Bristol, in 2007 and 2008. However, 158 746 did not appear in the Platform 5 books for 2009 and 2010.
A total of 137 Class 150 Sprinter diesel hydraulic multiple units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1984 and 1987, the 1986 vintage 150/2 subclass – numbered 150 201 – 285 – being distinguished from the prototype 150/0 and early production 150/1 examples by the provision of end gangway connections, allowing passengers and railway staff to move between all vehicles of trains coupled in multiple.
The two car production Sprinters were based on the body shell of the locomotive hauled Mark III carriage and were ordered to replace non-standard and unreliable diesel mechanical multiple units designed in the 1950s. These second generation multiple units – riding on bogies – were designed for medium and long distance journeys while cheaper but less popular Class 142 Pacers – essentially Leyland National bus bodies on freight wagon chassis – were introduced for short journeys.
As well as returning to the Voith torque converters last seen on the Western and Warship locomotives in the 1970s, each Sprinter vehicle had both innermost axles powered by an onboard Cummins NT855R5 285 bhp prime mover, yielding better acceleration performance than the power-trailer combinations that they often replaced.
However, new three car Class 150/0 trains formed by adding a Class 150/2 vehicle to the centre of an existing Centro Class 150/1 set were banned from the Lickey Incline as they lacked the power to climb the 1 in 37 gradient. Cheltenham to Birmingham New Street services were then taken over by Class 170 dhmus while the three car Class 150/0s were concentrated on less arduous routes from Birmingham Snow Hill station to Great Malvern and Stratford Upon Avon. In 2010 these trains are operated by London Midland.
The Class 150/2s were built from steel by BREL York with powered BP38 and pure load carrying BT38 bogies cleared for 75 mph working. Their BSI couplers also allowed them to work in multiple with most Second Generation dhmus including Classes 170 and 172.
Following Privatization in 1994, many Class 150/2s transferred to Wales and West which then split into Wessex Trains and Wales and Borders ( later Arriva Trains Wales ) from 2001. The 25 Wessex trains Class 150/2s worked on a number of local lines in South West England including services between Cheltenham and Swindon.
Refurbishment by Wessex Trains of its Class 150/2 fleet during 2006 featured the addition of DPTAC 'easy to see, easy to press' tactile passenger door control buttons, non slip vinyl flooring, high backed Primarius seats in a 2+2 arrangement and upgraded toilet areas. Ex Scotrail and Regional Railways Class 150/2 sets including former Edinburgh Haymarket based 150 256 were also re-liveried into Arriva Trains Wales turquoise and cream livery: a common sight on trains working from Cheltenham to Maesteg and Cardiff.
During subsequent First Great Western ownership CCTV was also fitted and in November 2007 Arriva Trains Wales acquired ten more Class 150/2s when the Central Trains franchise ended.
At the start of 2010 set 150 256 – comprising Driving Motor Second Lavatory 52256 and Driving Motor Second 57256 – was one of 72 Class 150/2 two car units leased to Arriva Trains Wales by Porterbrook and was based at Cardiff Canton depot.
The Class 153 railcars were converted by Hunslet-Barclay in Kilmarnock in 1991-1992 from Class 155 two car units originally built by British Leyland at Workington, Cumbria during 1987 to 1988. Envisaged as part of the build of "Super Sprinters" – along with the Metro Cammell assembled Class 156 – to replace First Generation dmus, each 23 metre Class 155 carriage was constructed with techniques similar to those previously used on two-axle Pacer units. Avdel rivets held pre-formed panels together to create a lightweight body on a welded floor assembly although the length of such a light body and the number of large windows did create a tendency for the carriages to sag and – initially – for the new sliding plug automatic doors to either not work or open while the Class 155 was moving. Although this problem was eventually solved, the inability of four wheeled Pacer units to cope with steeply graded and sharply curved branch lines previously worked by Class 121 and 122 "Bubblecars" gave rise to the need for a modern Regional Railways replacement with bogies. The West Yorkshire PTE units excepted, the Class 155s were thus selected for conversion but although this did not require any external doors to be moved, the No.2 cab was unusually cramped, despite being extended into the vestibule area. The Red Star parcels lockers originally fitted to the Class 153s have also now been converted into bicycle and luggage storage spaces. Class 153 railcars can link their Bergische Stahl Industrie (BSI) couplers with Classes 142, 143, 144, 150, 155 156, 158, 159, 170 and 172. However, the maximum benefits of multiple unit working are only realised when two Classes which are gangwayed throughout are coupled together – thus allowing passengers and guards to walk the full length of the train.


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The kids will enjoy getting creative at our Mini Terrarium Workshops! Suitable for ages 8+
Please note children need to be supervised at all times. Please arrive 5 minutes prior to the workshop commencing.
The workshops will be located on Level 1, Crown Building.
For enquiries, please phone the Customer Service Desk on 02 4228 5999.


text:
A SEX-CRAZED teacher jailed for romping with three pupils has lost her bid for freedom.
Brianne Altice, who was caged for up to 30 years, blamed "self-esteem issues" for her crimes.
And the mum-of-two, 37, claimed she had taken responsibility for what she did and was "extremely remorseful".
But a parole board has refused to let her out of prison until at least another hearing in April 2019.
She has also been ordered to complete a two-year sex offender treatment programme and pay £600 towards counselling for her victims.
Altice was described by one of her teen lovers as a "teacher with benefits" as they continued sessions AFTER she had already been arrested for under-age sex.
Romps behind her husband's back included one in a church car park.
And pupils at their school reportedly had a running joke of "Who is Ms Altice sleeping with now?"
She was caught after one of the boys described tattoos on her body.
The 16-year-old also gave cops an accurate layout of the house where he said they had intercourse at least five times.
Altice was arrested after he tipped off cops in 2013 – and two 17-year-old students then came forward saying she had also been having sex with them.
She was fired shortly afterwards as an English teacher at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, and her husband filed for divorce and custody of their children.
Altice was jailed in July 2015 for two to 30 years after pleading guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse.
She made an emotional bid to get out of jail last month, telling a parole hearing: "They said this and that and made me feel good about myself.
"So I justified everything. There's no justification for it."
The blonde sobbed: "I clearly lost sight of all my values and my principles and was seeking inappropriate means to address my own issues. Issues I'm very aware of now."
Utah Board of Pardons and Parole Vice-Chairman Robert Yeates said some of the meetings with the youngest pupil happened during lunch hours.
He asked Altice: "Did you grasp the gravity of this?"
"I do not believe I did," she replied.
Altice will never be able to teach again but apparently has a job lined up at a legal service once she is released from prison.
She said she was taking responsibility for her actions.
"This was my doing," she cried.
"This was no one else's fault but my own.
"This was not my ex-husband's fault, or the school's fault, or my students' fault.
"These were my poor, poor decisions. I'm very aware of it now and I am very remorseful. I regret the decisions I made that brought us here."


text: Effective wildlife conservation requires detailed scientific data on the movement, behaviour and physiology of free-ranging animals. Collecting such information through direct observation is challenging, and in many species, simply impossible. "Bio-logging" employs miniature animal-attached electronic tags to uncover the hidden lives of wild animals, including birds, mammals, fish and even insects. Technologies include: satellite tags to chart migration routes; video cameras to film foraging behaviour; and accelerometers to measure energy budgets. These cutting-edge approaches are revolutionising the field of biology, significantly advancing global efforts to understand and protect wildlife.


text:
WGBH Openvault
Antiques Roadshow FYI; Antiques Roadshow FYI 119
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More material is available from this program at the WGBH Archive. If you are a researcher interested in accessing the collection at WGBH, please email email@example.com.
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- Series
- Antiques Roadshow FYI
- Program
- Antiques Roadshow FYI 119
- Program Number
- Series Description
Fans of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW have wrestled with these weighty questions since the hit PBS series debuted eight years ago. Beginning Wednesday, January 19, 2005 the producers of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW proudly present this brand-new weekly series of 26 half-hour programs, revealing the answers to What happens to the stuff after the owners leave the convention hall? ... Where can I get the best deals? ... What are the hot collectibles right now? ... What do the appraisers collect? and more!
Hosted by ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's Lara Spencer with correspondent Clay Reynolds, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW FYI is the perfect complement to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW — a digest that gives viewers tools to enrich and improve their own treasure hunts. A cross-country excursion with stops in America's top antiques shows and auctions. Candid conversations and trade secrets from ROADSHOW experts. Unsolved mysteries surrounding stolen works of art and surprising updates on treasures from past ROADSHOW episodes. Series release date: 1/19/2005
- Program Description
Correspondent Clay Reynolds finds out why an owner is struggling over what to do with an extremely rare circa 1818 Creek Indian sash appraised for $6,000 to $8,000 at ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in Savannah, Georgia. Later, sparks fly when Clay learns about the centuries-old lost-wax method of bronze sculpture casting at the Modern Art Foundry in Queens, New York. Then Clay and expert Gloria Lieberman have a heart-to-heart about love- and friendship-inspired jewelry designs. Finally, appraiser Dean Failey confides the story of the missing masterpiece that tugs at his heartstrings — a 250-year-old William Stoddard high chest, crafted in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Long misidentified as a Newport, Rhode Island high chest, after its true identity (and value of up to $100,000) was discovered, the piece mysteriously disappeared.
- Duration
- Asset Type
Broadcast program
- Media Type
- Topics
- Antiques and Collectibles
- Citation
- Chicago: "Antiques Roadshow FYI; Antiques Roadshow FYI 119," 06/29/2005, WGBH Media Library & Archives, accessed December 10, 2018, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_76BAB6CF73B743F2B97EFBD6CC16E46B.
- MLA: "Antiques Roadshow FYI; Antiques Roadshow FYI 119." 06/29/2005. WGBH Media Library & Archives. Web. December 10, 2018. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_76BAB6CF73B743F2B97EFBD6CC16E46B>.
- APA: Antiques Roadshow FYI; Antiques Roadshow FYI 119. Boston, MA: WGBH Media Library & Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_76BAB6CF73B743F2B97EFBD6CC16E46B


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Oct 25th 2009
Babyface's official music video for 'How Come, How Long'. Click to listen to Babyface on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/BabyFSpotify?IQid=BabyFHCHL As featured on Babyface: A Collection of His Greatest Hits. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/BabyfaceGH?IQid=BabyFHCHL Google Play: http://smarturl.it/HCHLGPlay?IQid=BabyFHCHL Amazon: http://smarturl.it/Babyfaceamazon?IQid=BabyFHCHL More From Babyface Every Time I Close My Eyes: https://youtu.be/GbrSO81KhBY When Can I See You: https://youtu.be/Ee9SCW91urE Whip Appeal: https://youtu.be/fh5ejGUTGAo More great Classic RnB videos here: http://smarturl.it/ClassicRNB?IQid=BabyFHCHL Follow Babyface Website: http://www.babyfacemusic.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Babyface Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennyedmonds Subscribe to Babyface on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BabyfaceSub?IQid=BabyFHCHL --------- Lyrics: There was a girl I used to know She was oh so beautiful But she's not here anymore She had a college degree Smart as anyone could be She had so much to live for But she fell in love With the wrong kinda man He abused her love and treated her so bad There was not enough education in her world That could save the life of this little girl How come, how long It's not right, it's so wrong Do we let it just go on Turn our backs and carry on Wake up, for it's too late Right now, we can't wait She won't have a second try Open up your hearts As well as your eyes


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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Beat It
They laughed at struggle and tears
fears and nomads wandering
in the dust of explanation
Scowled at happiness
written on beach sands
Frowned at roaming
aimlessly wherever tides of wind
took the soul as faintly delivered spirits
roared in adoration
But me
I beat drums into a panic
and spread myself thinly
over cobblestone
tarmac, pebbles, and dirt
remembering only
the lack of wherewithal
that claimed the life of my pant-less dog
how I had to bury him
on the side of the road
on the outskirts of Meadville
after it stopped raining
Crying did not erase
the blisters I'd developed
from using a plastic fork
and leaving it as a grave marker
one I'd never revisit
Betsy (my blue Chevy)
ran out of gas near Echo Town
so I hollered into the canyon
but no one heard
but my own voice
Walking makes no sense
with these feet
but a traveler sometimes has no other choice
but to let fate blow into the air and move along
Yup, beat life until it finally beat me
and I was left with a blank stare
that had run out of paper, pencil lead,
and patience
– Renee Matthews-Jackson
For Renee Matthews-Jackson poetry is her passion. The poet from Cleveland, Ohio is also a playwright and accomplished actor. Renee made her theater debut in 1987 in Joseph A. Walker's classic, The River Niger at the world famous, Karamu House Performing Arts Theatre.
Beat It! was inspired by a quote from Jack Kerouac's San Francisco Scene, "...and everything is going to the beat – It's the beat generation, it be-at, it's the beat to keep, it's the beat of the heart, it's being beat and down in the world and like old time lowdown and like in ancient civilizations the slave boatmen rowing galleys to a beat and servants spinning pottery to a beat..."
Posted by Mark Butkus at 8:01 AM
Labels: beat generation, Beat It, Jack Kerouac, poem, poet, Renee Matthews-Jackson
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The most common method of decorating eggs is by dyeing them with different colors and designs. Although this is traditionally done for the Easter season, dyeing eggs could also be used for a school project or other decorations. Many other methods of decorating can also be used on eggs that allow lots of creative possibilities, such as wax decorations.
To dye eggs, there are a few steps you need to take. First, all your eggs have to be hard-boiled. The second step is to make sure whatever surface you are working on is well protected by either a newspaper or towel, as the dye may splash out on it. You can then fill a container with an appropriate mixture of vinegar, water, and food coloring. This recipe can be made in many different ways depending on the tone and depth of color required. You should then place the eggs in the dye and leave them for at least five minutes. You can leave them in longer if you desire a darker color. You should also turn the egg a few times to make sure the whole egg receives a dose of the dye. The last step when decorating your egg is letting it dry. Pull it out of the dye and set it aside on a protected surface so the color can fully dry, and you will have a brilliantly colored egg for your project.


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The Berrie Center's Caroline Bohl on Yoga and Diabetes
"It's Great for Beginners"
Many of you may know Caroline Bohl as a Berrie Center dietitian and diabetes educator. But did you know that on weekends, Caroline practices what she preaches to her patients about health and wellness—by teaching yoga on Long Island where she lives. A unique resource at the Berrie Center for anyone considering adding yoga to their exercise regiment ("it's great for people with all types of diabetes," she said, "and it's great for beginners"), we asked Caroline to enlighten us about the ancient practice that has become ubiquitous in today's culture.
What are the physical benefits of yoga?
It can lower stress, increase muscle tone and balance and, like other forms of exercise, increase insulin sensitivity and improve glycemic control.
How does practicing yoga lower your blood sugar levels?
Just like any physical activity, yoga helps the muscles become more efficient at taking sugar out of the blood to use for energy. Exercise can often lower the blood sugar
What might make yoga helpful for people with diabetes?
Yoga can help people be more sensitive to the mind-body connection and might help people be more mindful of their self-care. It's that mindfulness component that yoga offers that often helps people dealing with a chronic illness, like diabetes. It can also help with the stress and anxiety that surrounds taking care of a chronic medical condition.
What's the hardest part about getting started with a yoga practice?
It is hard to get over the initial hump, I admit. I think the intimidation factor holds a lot of people back. For years, I lived around the corner from a yoga studio in Manhattan and wouldn't walk in. I don't know what I was afraid of.
Where is a good place to start?
I recommend that you start with a few beginners' yoga classes at a local studio or gym. And start slowly!
Another good place to start, if you don't want to go to a studio, is with simple breathing exercises that can be done anywhere. Breathing in and out through the nose so that the length of the inhale meets the length of the exhale is a good way to calm you and slow the heart rate. Even if you did it for 20 seconds in the middle of the day it will help.
How does one become a yoga instructor?
You have to attend an accredited training program (thru a yoga studio usually) and graduate with a 200-hour teaching certification. It requires class hours, observation and teaching. After that, you can go on for more advanced training.
Ask your doctor or diabetes educator how you can incorporate yoga into your daily life or exercise regimen—or contact Caroline Bohl at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Hawaii is one of the places that is paradise to many people and a place that they decide to call home. Due to this, there are tons of people all over the world that are looking to call this place home. And this is something that they are finding is relatively easy to do thanks to the number of houses for sale in Hawaii. Most people are looking to buy homes on the islands of Oahu, Honolulu, the Big Island and so forth, all of the hot spot attractions. And due to this they are looking for a real estate agent that is in these areas. There are many things that the person is going to want to consider when they are looking for a real estate agent to handle their transaction, and knowing what to look for could help the person to find that perfect house even faster than they had ever thought.
The person should make sure that they are looking for someone that has experience. And why is this? Simply because someone that has experience is going to be able to give them a better picture of what they are up against. For example, this person has been through everything that they can go through while dealing with the market, which is something that most people want to have on their side. They also know the best time to invest and so forth.
Google Ads
There are many agents out there who are going to have Google ads. However, there are several other organizations that the person may want to look at when they are considering a real estate agent. For example, the Accredited Buyer Representatives (ABR), Council of Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI) and so forth. All of these are organizations that people can trust, thus someone that is a member is going to be the best bet for the person to find the home that they want.
The agent that the person chooses should be one that is committed to finding a property for the person, whether they are intending to buy this as a home for themselves or use it as an investment property. In order to do this look for those agents that are on the web and seem to have their name plastered into the market since it shows that they are willing to do what it takes to get the job done.
All in all, go with your gut feeling on what you are getting in an agent. And remember that the agent is the person that you are going to have to rely on in order to get the home of your dreams. For those that are looking, then good luck since it may be a while until they find the agent that is going to mesh well with their personality and be ready to work for them. Though, most people are finding that the agent hunt is relatively easy and that they are able to find the perfect home for them.


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Sonoma Modern American
Stuffed Grilled Pizza
Serves 6
Pizza Dough
1 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 T bread flour
pinch salt
1 ½ tsp instant yeast
1 tsp honey
1 T olive oil
¾ cup water
In a mixer mix dry ingredients. Add honey, oil, and water. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Mix on medium for 30 seconds. remove dough onto an oiled surface. Divide into 6 pieces. Form them into a ball. Place on an oiled pan far enough apart that they will not touch after rising. Store in the refrigerator 6 - 24 hours. (You can make the dough and form into ball and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size and then make pizzas.) Pull dough to room temperature 1 hr before needed. Press out on a floured surface. Roll on your fingers to form a 6" circle. Place your favorite cheese, vegetables or condiments in a small pile in the center. Fold dough over to close. Roll edges to seal.
To Grill - brush hot grill with oil and brush pizza with oil. place flat side onto hot grill over medium high heat. Move ¼ turn when dough sets. When crisp flip pizza and repeat. Move to just off the heat and cover grill for 1 minute to heat the center. You can grill and then reheat in the oven.
To Bake - preheat oven to 450* (use convection if capable). Place pizza on an oiled baking dish. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Until golden.
Serve and Enjoy!!!!!


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Pattrn-Gardns-art - 10/13/00
"Parterres and the Jardins Potager in the Current Middle Ages" by Akim Yaroslavich.
NOTE: See also the files: gardens-msg, gardening-msg, Palladius-art, herbs-msg, lavender-msg, herb-uses-msg, angelica-msg, p-agriculture-bib.
This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set
of files, called Stefans Florilegium.
These files are available on the Internet at:
Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.
While the author will likely give permission for this work to be
reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first
or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris
AKA: Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
Parterres and the Jardins Potager in the Current Middle Ages
by Akim Yaroslavich
Nearly thirty-five years after the beginning of the Current Middle Ages, many noble Lords and Ladies who survived years in student cells at universities or in crowded city housing have moved to country cottages, majestic manors or even comfortable castles. Finally, the gentle Lady can grow her own garden so her next Tudor feast will have everything seasoned just perfectly with her own herbs. Maybe, if she entreats her Lord to engage a few of his squires to goode effort, the back gardens will be transformed into a stunning period "parterre" with knotted beds and all period plants. Perfect. Right? Welllll...
As one of these comfortably landed Lords, perhaps I can offer some helpful insights into the "Parterre" or pattern garden and its larger relative, the "Jardins Potager" or the kitchen pattern garden. First, and foremost, decide how much time and effort you are willing to invest in your garden. This venture is not quite as simple as making an embroidered corset or hammering out a barrel helm. A garden requires constant upkeep. Don't forget that while you are at the Pennsic Wars for the week, your poor garden is withering because you aren't there to water it! Once you have decided how much effort you will budget, then the concept has to be scaled to the physical size of the garden you will actually plant. For example, my Tudor herb garden in the back forty of my erstwhile residence was 70 feet wide and 145 feet long. This required (during the main planting season of March through June) my laboring an average of five hours every day and at least a 14 hour day every weekend. Initial construction, mainly digging and leveling, was executed under construction flood lights until almost midnight every day after work. This phase took over four months and I lost over fifty pounds! Of course, I used period methods (a shovel and wheelbarrow) and no power equipment whatsoever. Obviously, this scale of endeavor cuts into prime SCA event season very badly. Next, you must decide what you want to plant.
Here the SCA gardener must make some very realistic declsions in order to avoid some big disappointments. All of those lovely gardens in Europe grow beautifully..... in Europe. If you want to make an absolute period-to-the hllt garden in an unreasonable climate, I have no pity for you (I bet you wear full Tudor in mid-August in Ansteorra, too!). Assuming there are at least some rational proto-gardeners reading this treatise, for purpose of illustration, assume a moderate size parterre (pattern) garden of 36 feet by 50 feet (I have never claimed that I was a ratlonal gardener.) Research the main plants you wish to grow. If you are fortunate to live in Caid or Meridies, you have an advantage of having a climate that can accept a large variety of period species and further, they will be perennial rather than annual. Research the pattern style that is pleasing to you and adapt it to your needs. In dry climates, sink the garden a few feet below the general level of the surrounding yard and slope it so that precious rainfall pools in it. If you have poor drainage and lots of rainfall, mound the beds up. Good drainage is essential to almost every period herb species. Design your pathways so that any bedding area can be worked comfortably without having to get into the bedded areas. That is one of the main reasons this kind of garden evolved in the first place. Each very special and valuable plant in these gardens got the care it required to bountifully produce its product. One must realize that herbs and spices in period times were wealth, health and substanance not merely for taste. Beds should be double or even triple spaded; paths on the other hand should remain fairly dry and servicable. To outline my large (sunken) potager pathway system required 7,000 bricks: another 20,000 were used to pave it with a herringbone pattern. If you decide to rely on gravel or even grass paths, make sure that your paths are at least 30 inches wide. Three feet is better. PIants will tend to overhang and grass paths should allow access for small power mowers (masochists can ignore this point.) At each turn, there should be some larger area, either radii or squares, to allow equipment (like wheelbarrows) to turn around. My new gardens on my 50 acre homesite will definitely take advantage of all the experience I gained in my previous one. The new gardens will be similar in pattern except that they will be SIX times the size of my previous effort and will be defined by a 1000 foot long avenue and formal border of trees (Carpathian zelkovas) on both sides. The new theme is late period Italian and will incorporate symmetrically designed vistas one-half mile long (on site). As I am older (and mayhaps wiser), I will use major earthmoving equipment and every modern trick of landscape science to make maintenance feasible for such an ambitious project. This will include a new polymer (sprayed on packed earth) for paths; they will look exactly like clay-lined period paths, but will perform like they are asphalt. Authentic appearance can be established with far less effort than just using a shovel and wheelbarrow or being plagued with constant weeding. Determine just how period you are willing to go before you begin. Remember, absolutely period methods will be best utilized in small projects; high tech help is needed to replace the virtual army of gardeners that were required to build and maintain large period gardens originally.
Plan to include some focal points and decide whether or not your land is suitable for inclusion of such concepts such as vista and perspective(how deep is your lot and how good is your view?). Good ideas are small water troughs or basins, benches or perhaps a sundial. The use of ancient standing columns, ironwork pot stands or birdbaths are mostly Victorian and Edwardian, so avoid them unless you can specifically document them. Cute elves, toadstools, and unicorn statues (especially horny horses) are modern kitsch; avoid these even more so! An excellent idea for gravel paths is to use coloured gravels to make flat designs in the manner of knotwork. This may either be loose raked or set in a concrete bed.
Keep in mind that the late Medieval and Rennesiance gardens all the way through Elizabethan times mixed herbs, vegetables, shrubs and flowers in the same garden; this is quite different from the American concept of a formal herb garden. Some period plants that add a great deal of interest and texture that one might not expect are artichokes, hollyhocks, tobacco. Local weeds are also a good source because a large number of common weeds are escapes from colonial gardens or grown as food in Europe (chicory, common teazels,daylilies, dandelions).
In order to be reasonably period in overall concept, some form of enclosure is generally customary. This is accomplished by box and Engish yew hedges in most of Europe. Regrettably, both of these species are a.) expensive, b.) tempermental to climate, c.) very slow-growing, but usually, d.) all of the above. Be prepared to substitute reasonable replacement species. In central Meridies I have used cedar as a good trimable tall hedge. It also makes excellent topiary. Many cooler areas will find hemlock to be an adequate species for hedges. In extreme cold or dry areas, junipers may suffice. The short edging box may be replaced by thick groundcovers (like ajuga) or trimmed herbs (like thyme, lavender-cotton, or rosemary). If your climate and budget will support the original species, wonderful; but the rest of us will have to make do. Everything covered so far establishes the framework or the backbone of the pattern garden. What about the main feature, the period planting?
Very fortunately, most of the herbs, vegetables and a large number of the flowers are just as popular today as they were back in period. A little research can uncover enough species to make the entire project worthwhile in SCA terms. If you want exact varieties, they are available with effort. Some of the period varieties are particularly rewarding (fruit trees and roses). Even some of the modem plants are not too far removed if you avoid hybrids. Please remember though, that many period flowers were rather weak by today's standard; but they often have surprising pleasures such as stronger scent to compensate. Some good sources for these plants are other SCA gardeners who can supply seeds and cuttings. Remember when you are planting, you should decide whether you will follow the rigid patterns of symmetry or just plant indiscriminately. Allow enough room for adequate growth. I can not emphasize this enough! Five or six healthy basil plants will produce more and better basil than thirty crowded ones. Plan your perennials to be placed in areas where they will be attractive at their mature size. Plan to divide them regularly to increase your display as the years pass. It is much less costly than buying them in large numbers. Some herbs (yarrow, mint, chives) are invasive and should be placed in their own bedding area. Others reseed freely and must be controlled by deadheading (no that isn't a fighting term) or your garden next season will be all one or two species (catnip, dill, thistle). Since it is nearly impossible to duplicate conditions exactly (for various reasons), make reasonable decisions by these criteria: Would this plant contribute to the overall effect of the periodness of the pattern? If this plant had been available then, how would they have used it?
While it is very excellent to grow your own materials for A&S Faire, it is so much more challenging and satisfying to grow your period treasures in the semblance of a period garden. Enjoy the fruits of your labours.
Copyright 1991, 2000 by Randall W. Diamond, 3407 Gillespie Lane, Columbia, Tennessee 38401. Email: ringofkings at mindspring.com . Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited and receives a copy.
If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in
the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also
appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being
reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
<the end>


text: Resources Another Five (More!) Blog Design Shops Jan 21. 2014 A fresh new look for your blog can help to remotivate you – and new year is the perfect time! Here are another five blog shops that you might want to check out… vanillabunting.blogspot.co.uk theblogboat.co.za Stephanie G Designs Nudge Media Design 17th Avenue Designs Share It!EmailTweet 17th avenue/bblogger/blog/blog designs/blog layouts/fblogger/how to blog/lblogger/nudge media design/stephanie g designs/the blog boat/vanilla bunting/vlog 0 Comments


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High-quality cell phone covers are available on eBay. In the Search box, type "high-quality cell phone covers" to view a selection. Check the boxes on the left to narrow the search by phone type or cover attributes. Typically covers are available in a variety of quality levels and price range.
Many retailers other than eBay sell high-quality new and used cell phone covers. There are large assortments of covers on websites such as Amazon, Best Buy and Overstock.com. Reiko Wireless Accessories has wholesale cell phone covers. Covers at are also available at brick and mortar stores such as Best Buy.


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Skip to main content
This sludge collector is for circular sedimentation tanks.
This rotating sludge collector is for circular sedimentation tanks, and is a device that collects sedimented sludge and puts it into the main sludge hopper for use in the first sedimentation tank and the final sedimentation tank.
Central drive support pillar-type
Peripheral drive-type


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Plus Size Lace Trim Knee Length Dress - 4x
Fit US Size:14,Bust:41.34,Waist:36.22,Length:38.58,Shoulder Width:15.75,Sleeve Length:9.45,Cami Dress Length:30.71,Cami Dress Bust:37.8.(In inches) Fit US Size:16,Bust:43.7,Waist:38.58,Length:38.98,Shoulder Width:16.34,Sleeve Length:9.65,Cami Dress Length:31.1,Cami Dress Bust:40.16.(In inches) Fit US Size:20,Bust:48.43,Waist:43.31,Length:39.76,Shoulder Width:17.52,Sleeve Length:10.04,Cami Dress Length:31.89,Cami Dress Bust:44.88.(In inches) Fit US Size:22,Bust:50.79,Waist:45.67,Length:40.16,Shoulder Width:18.11,Sleeve Length:10.24,Cami Dress Length:32.28,Cami Dress Bust:47.24.(In inches) Fit US Size:24,Bust:53.15,Waist:48.03,Length:40.55,Shoulder Width:18.7,Sleeve Length:10.43,Cami Dress Length:32.68,Cami Dress Bust:49.61.(In inches)
Processing Time: Your item will be shipped out within 3 business days.
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- 30 Day Returns Guarantee
- Full or partial refund if the item is not as described
- Full refund for damaged items
Lace floral pattern adds interesting texture to this delicate knee-length dress that creates a flattering two-piece effect, including a soft inner cami dress and sheer mesh dress. Ruffle adorn the waistline for a bewitching detail.
Material: Rayon,Spandex
Silhouette: A-Line
Dresses Length: Knee-Length
Neckline: Round Collar
Sleeve Length: Short Sleeves
Embellishment: Lace
Pattern Type: Floral
With Belt: No
Season: Summer
Weight: 0.3700kg
Package Contents: 1 x Dress 1 x Camisole
- Receiving time = Processing time + Shipping time
- Priority Direct Mail: 7-15 bussiness days
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KhushbooHeight:4' 6" Bust size:32AA Body Shape:Hourglass
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Artist Workshops
Pierside Gallery, 327 Marine Ave., Newport Beach, offers Artist Workshops for adults and young students on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The two-hour sessions are taught by Disney artist Margie Tabor Zuliani and are $45 each. For more information, call (949) 675-5225.
Free Tour Of OCPAC
The Orange County Performing Arts Center's docents will lead free public tours of the center's concert halls, including Segerstrom Hall, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater. The behind-the-scenes tours are at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays. For more information, call (714) 556-2122, ext. 4246.
Comedy At Westside
Chris Edwards will host Comedy Night on Wednesdays at the Westside Bar and Grill, 512 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa. The free event starts at 9 p.m. and is 21 and older only. For more information, call (949) 646-5615.
Chamber Lunch
A group of Costa Mesa Chamber members meets from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month at the Costa Mesa Country Club, 1701 Golf Course Drive, to exchange leads. Visitors are welcome. Cost is $17; no reservation is necessary. For more information, call (714) 885-9093 or visit costamesachamber.com.


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emptiness, frustration, insatiability, internet browsing leaving me empty, metaphysic, ouroboros, vanity in peak
I'm frustrated again.
Left in a strong feeling of insatiability.
Pictures of pretty people in fashionable clothes, their glamorous lifes, advises on how to be 'in trend'… It feels like someone is trying to foist certain way of life upon me. And it seems appealing at first glance – 'icing-coated' blogs where girls attempt to be girlier, bending realities to their own reflection in the mirror.
Vanity in its peak.
People making other people wanting… People getting jealous of other people… Have you ever come across the symbol of snake eating its own tail? Ouroboros.
And I remain frustrated, kidnapped from my very essence, stripped of my own unlikeliness. Again.
Human race! Where did you loose your metaphysics?
Does anybody suffer world-poisoning anymore? It was such a beautiful 'illness'.


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Featured Stories
Charley Gonzales Kidder
|World War II
By Natasha Verma
"Two years, 11 months and 21 days," World War II veteran Charley Gonzales Kidder said with a smile. "That's exactly how long I served."
At 18 years of age, Gonzales Kidder was proud and honored that his...
|Read More
Felicita Munguia Arriaga
|Political & Civic Engagement
By Hope Teel
In 1959, Felicita Munguia Arriaga was a 12-year-old accompanying her mother to the polls, where the older woman planned to cast her vote for a man named Joe Hubenak.
Very few Hispanics were voting during that time...
|Read More
Modesto Arriaga
|Political & Civic Engagement
By Faith Daniel
Modesto Arriaga was playing baseball with his church team, the Rosenberg Lions, when a police car pulled up and asked for one of his teammates to go with them. Later, the other boys would learn that the ballplayer's...
|Read More
Iris Galvan
|Political & Civic Engagement
By Rebecca Chavoya
An old Hispanic man pushed a tamale cart down the streets of Rosenberg, Texas, in 1974. Iris Galvan, 18-year-old high school student and member of Juventud Unida, approached him with a warm, welcoming demeanor....
|Read More
We are happy to share our photographs and other materials with other organizations. Please contact us to discuss your request, and click on the camera icon for our permission form and terms of usage. Our email is firstname.lastname@example.com.
We will make DVDs of recorded interviews for a small charge.
For educators
We can supply material for classroom discussions.


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Aegon supports both ISA and General Investment Accounts.Log in to Aegon Platform - 1st time Log in to Aegon Platform Register for Aegon PlatformTrouble logging in?
Please call Aegon on 0141 265 0003


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Sold Out
Arrives in 8 weeks.
"Love has no boundaries, it stretches to infinity..."
This makes a lovely and unique present for yourself, girlfriend, best friend, mother or even a pair for friendship. This timeless and gift ready bracelet is perfect for occasions like Birthdays, Engagements, Wedding Anniversary, Bridesmaid gift, Christmas gift and Graduations.


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|AKMENE: Siauliai County, Akmene district
Alternate names: Akmenė [Lith], Akmian [Yid], Okmyany, Окмяны [Rus], Okmiany [Pol], Akmyane, Akmenės. Окмяны- Yiddish. 56°15' N, 22°45' E, 31 miles NW of Šiauliai (Shavl), 17 miles E of Mažeikiai. in Mazeikiai region. Large reserves of limestone and clay exist here. The Jewish community came to Akmian (Yiddish) in the 18th century. By the mid-19th century, the majority were Jewish. Mass migration of Jews followed the May Laws of 1881. Faced with increasing Czarist persecution, many settled in Cork, Ireland where Jews still refer to themselves as Akmianers. In 1915, some of the Jews were expelled into the Russian interior. [August 2009]
MASS GRAVE: 25 Jewish families lived there when the Germans occupied the town on June 26-27, 1941 when organized local Lithuanian white-bands imprisoned all Jews (men?) in the local jail. On July 5-6, Germans appeared at the jail to have fifteen Lithuanians move the Jews. Two brothers and the owner of a fabric store were shot and killed immediately. The remainder were imprisoned until the beginning of August when they were transported to the granary at Mazeikiai on the banks of the river Venta. The men, separated from the women and children, dug pits. The women and children were assembled with Jews from Mazeikiai and surrounding villages. All were murdered with the Jews of Mazeikiai on August 9. A large black marble memorial marks the mass graves. [March 2009]
|Last Updated on Sunday, 26 September 2010 18:33