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High-Performance Computing
Imagine thinking thousands of thoughts at the same time. What if each thought was one piece of a really big problem—a problem now solvable in hours or days rather than years because of this simultaneous thought process? That's what high-performance computing (HPC) does.
HPC is a lot of computer processing power linked together, thinking through and solving different pieces of big problems in parallel. HPC makes it possible to answer big questions in a fraction of the time it would take when using individual desktop PCs. With HPC resources, some problems can be solved that could never be solved before.
With this problem-solving capability, scientists start to ask questions they would never have thought to ask. And universities are increasingly the hubs of the HPC systems that ask these questions, solve these problems, and change the world.
High-performance computing does, however, come at a high cost. "The typical investment varies from under $100,000 per year (within an individual research group) to tens of millions per year," says Henry J. Neeman, director of the OU Supercomputer Center for Education & Research (OSCER) at Oklahoma University.
While the majority of colleges and universities don't make this investment, nearly one-quarter do. When colleges and universities with high, medium, and low research intensity were surveyed by the Educause Center for Applied Research, 23 percent of respondents reported providing central IT (centralized HPC) services for research computing. That's according to the November 2012 report "Research Computing: The Enabling Role of Information Technology."
Here's what researchers at three institutions are doing to make use of their investments in HPC.
HPC and Cancer Research
In the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biomedical Informatics, Xinghua Lu and his colleague Songjian Lu study signaling pathways in tumors, which lead to improved cancer treatments. Their research relies on use of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's Sherlock, which is a modified YarcData uRiKa graph analytics appliance from Cray. A National Science Foundation Strategic Technologies for Cyberinfrastructure award funded the Sherlock project at a cost of approximately $1 million, shares Nicholas A. Nystrom, director of strategic applications for the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
Signaling pathways, according to the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, are groups of molecules in a cell that work together to control one or more cell functions. As Lu and Lu note, these pathways consist primarily of signaling proteins that transmit cellular signals, which regulate cell activity such as cell death and cell proliferation.
"Cancers are mainly caused by the mutations in the proteins affecting certain signaling pathways," says Songjian Lu, a post-doctoral associate who works in Xinghua Lu's lab.
They identify chains of signals that cause cancer, using existing technologies to compare tumor cells with normal cells and detect the mutated genes in tumors. Then, using knowledge mining, data mining, and graph models, they ultimately connect the genetic mutations in the tumors to the mutated proteins that cause cancer.
The calculations these researchers run to discover the mutated proteins are huge. As biological systems are complex, they explain, many computational problems stemming from the biological problems are so difficult that even supercomputers cannot solve them exactly. This does not, however, prevent them from using HPC to pinpoint the mutated proteins that cause the genetic mutations in cancer.
In the end, this research is very important because new and existing drugs that treat cancer often target cellular signaling pathways. "A better understanding of perturbed [changed] signaling pathways will help design new drugs to target these pathways," says Xinghua Lu.
And for institutional administrators, highlighting research projects is an opportunity to share a good story with potential donors and students.
Big Data for Global Climate Change
Derek J. Posselt, an associate professor of atmospheric, oceanic, and space sciences at the University of Michigan, uses HPC to study the interactions between global climate change and local-scale clouds and rainfall. Posselt conducts his research using the Infiniband system, which the University of Michigan built out of products from Dell, Mellanox Infiniband, and Data Direct Networks.
The hardware, software, staff and facilities for the system cost roughly $12 million to purchase and run for five years, says Brock Palen, senior HPC system administrator, for the university's CAEN Advanced Computing office.
The resulting research is incredibly practical.
"We have discovered that, while rainfall and snowfall generally increase in a warming atmosphere, the patterns of precipitation become more local and intense," says Posselt. The amount, frequency, and intensity of rain and snow have far-reaching effects on human population, ranging from agriculture to city planning to pollution management to ecosystem management and protection, he adds.
HPC is critical to Posselt's research in two key areas:
- First, climate change happens on large, continental scales. Studying those scales requires simulations of large horizontal areas. At the same time, circulations of clouds and rainfall happen on scales of only a few kilometers. Studying both the larger and smaller processes simultaneously requires extremely large computational resources—that is, high-performance computing systems.
- Second, it is not enough to predict a single possible outcome of climate change. "It is important to understand the uncertainties inherent in the [weather] system and in our models of the system," says Posselt. HPC makes it possible to predict a host of different outcomes by running hundreds to millions of computer simulations in a short time.
Climate change and its effect on local weather are among the problems that researchers could not solve if their institutions had not made an investment in HPC. "Most of the results we have obtained would have been impossible without the use of HPC resources. For those results that we could have obtained with ordinary desktop computing, HPC has increased our efficiency by at least an order of magnitude. We obtain results in days with HPC that would have taken months on an ordinary desktop computer," explains Posselt.
Simulation Technology Development
Mark S. Shephard, the Johnson Professor of Engineering and director of the Scientific Computation Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.), uses HPC to create simulation tools that help to model and improve products and technologies. The HPC investment was made in the IBM BlueGene Q system, which cost $6.6 million, plus nearly $1 million on top of that in related facilities costs, he explains.
Simulation tools help scientists use mathematical models to model lots of physical phenomenon. "The emphasis of the work is to take the mathematical model and make sure we solve it very well, on as big a problem as we would like, even on problems with billions and billions of unknowns," explains Shephard.
In a practical application of simulation, the company HeartFlow collaborated with Shephard to apply the technology to heart image data collected from individual patients. "[Physicians] image the patient's arterial system and simulate the blood flow in that system to decide whether the patient needs to be stented," he explains.
Without these simulations, a physician would make the decision whether to stent the patient based on a reduction in blood flow. The accuracy of these simulations is saving a significant number of people from having to be stented, Shephard points out.
Institutional Benefits and Beyond
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's IBM BlueGene Q system has produced numerous benefits for the university, its faculty, and students says Christopher D. Carothers, a professor in the Department of Computer Science. The school has received $50 million in external research funding that it probably would not have without the HPC platform. Also, since 2007, the university has not had to buy any new faculty members their own research computer cluster; they all use the HPC resource instead.
In addition, the HPC system is a substantial system of almost half a petaflop (a thousand trillion floating point operations per second) in processing power. This allows marketers in human resources and in admissions to tell potential faculty and students that if they come to RPI, they will get time on the HPC platform.
Another benefit of the system to faculty and students is that faculty does not have to waste research students' time having them maintain a departmental computer cluster. And finally, faculty and students can scale their research to any size they want because of the size of the HPC platform.
An alternate way to measure the value of a high-performance computing investment is by usage.
At Clemson University (S.C.), 36 of 54 academic departments use the Clemson Palmetto HPC Cluster, according to Jim Bottum, a research professor of electrical and computer engineering. The Clemson Palmetto HPC Cluster consists of computer processors from vendors such as Dell, IBM, and HP.
Approximately 80 faculty user groups from colleges and universities across South Carolina use the Clemson Palmetto HPC Cluster. It has drawn more than $47 million in research funding to its users since fiscal year 2010. According to Bottum, officials at his institution measure ROI from the Clemson Palmetto HPC cluster by the number of research publications that HPC makes possible, the number of grants received for HPC-based research, the number of Ph.D.s awarded where the candidate's research is dependent on HPC, and the increasing use of HPC resources by nontraditional users.
In other words, with high-performance computing, it's not a simple ROI equation. Yet, the results and benefits of HPC-enabled research is simply limitless.


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Novomatic Gaming Acquires Eurocoin Gaming
Novomatic Gaming, one of the world's largest integrated gaming companies, has announced the latest in a string of acquisitions in recent months. Now joining the Novomatic fold is Eurocoin Gaming, Holland's sole supplier of Bell-Fruit video and reel-based gaming machines.
The gist of this major deal is that Novo Gaming, a wholly owned subsidiary of Novomatic Gaming acquires 100% of the shares of all three brands – JHV, Bell-Fruit and Errel – under the Eurocoin banner.
What Novomatic Hopes to Achieve with the Deal
As Novomatic Gaming acquires Eurocoin Gaming, it gains access to the latter's vital and virtually uncontested position within the slots market in The Netherlands. Chief Technical Officer of Novomatic, Thomas Graf describes Eurocoin as "the leading force in the Dutch gaming supply chain with a market share of up to 80 percent in the pub market and a growing presence in the arcade sector. Eurocoin Gaming shares our ambitions; a continuous drive for innovations and being the best in our areas of business".
Moreover, one of the most significant changes to anticipate as Novomatic gaming acquires Eurocoin is the emergence of popular Eurocoin titles – like Fruit Fest Joker Poker 2 and Wild Thing – in the online space. Graf explains: "Eurocoin Gaming has a huge historical library of successful games that will also be made available to the future online gaming market in the Netherlands once it becomes fully regulated".
Ultimately, because Novomatic Gaming acquires Eurocoin Gaming at such a booming time in the online and land-based slots business, the company is sure to further entrench its already powerful hold on the Dutch market. Moreover, Novomatic Gaming acquires Eurocoin Gaming in order to diversify its offerings by adding to those available by existing brands.
Eurocoin's Response to the Deal
The fact that Novomatic Gaming acquires Eurocoin Gaming is being punted as a definite pro for Eurocoin customers, who are expected to multiply exponentially in the coming months and years. Eurocoin plans to continue to provide Bell-Fruit products to the Dutch market, whilst driving forward its offerings to the technological cutting edge, with the help of Novomatic's famously innovative approach.
Managing Director of Eurocoin Gaming, Paul Strikers says that Eurocoin is "happy and proud to further support Dutch operators with the famous Bell-Fruit product. Together with Novomatic, we expect to provide premium quality service and state-of-the-art products and innovations to the Dutch gaming market. As such, we will make sure our customers get access to best-of-breed group game content across all distribution channels. Our new team will ensure that Dutch operators will discover new sources of revenue via new and innovative products, which will open up new revenue streams and, at the same time, significantly grow the current customer base".
A Little Bit More about Eurocoin
In 2013, the current Eurocoin Gaming brand was formed out of the merging of JHV Gaming Products, AWP-design.nl and the original Eurocoin Gaming. Out of this merger developed the three brands – JHV, Bell-Fruit and Errel. Each of these companies has its own development team, the members of which have designed and developed games for various platforms in both the local Dutch and international markets.
That Novomatic Gaming acquires Eurocoin Gaming is testament to the latter company's great value and potential in the Dutch and global gaming industries.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sky Master 80 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack with Wheels (black/blue)
Sky Master 80 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack with Wheels (black/blue)
As of 2018-12-08 16:56:44 GMT (more info)
Not Available Discontinued - Unfortunately this product has been discontinued and we will not be receiving any more stock. Click here for alternative products.
Product Information (more info)
Description of Sky Master 80 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack with Wheels...
We are reluctantly offering the fantastic Sky Master 80 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack with Wheels (black/blue) at a great price. Don't pass it over - purchase the Sky Master 80 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack with Wheels (black/blue) online today!
Key Product Details
- Height: 1732
- Length: 2756
- Width: 1102
- Weight: 1080
Product Features
Super light weight 80L (inc. daypack) travel pack with wheels. Straight tube aluminium trolley design maximizes your packing space and reduces weight. Rugged oversized free flow wheels. Bio-form concealable harness system with padded hip belt and lumbar support so you can carry it on your back in rough terrain. Hip belt wheel covers protects your clothing from grime. Zip off, multi purpose detachable day pack features multiple pockets and storage space. Ideal for side trips and for carry on luggage. Daypack Features:- Twin compartment design. Internal organiser with comms pocket. Bottle pockets. Concealable shoulder straps with harness attachment clips. Hydration compatible. Twin front zip utility pockets. Size: 80L (inc. daypack) 70 x 44 x 28cm (main); Weight: only 4.9kg; Also available in smaller 70L size. Full length main zip opening makes packing and unpacking clear and simple. Dual opening main compartment is ideal for separating your clothing from your footwear. Integrated lower zip shoe compartment. Multiple internal zip pockets and compression system keeps your gear secure. Lockable zip housings. Very strong nylon construction. Heavy duty SBS #10 size zip (normal bags use a #8 zip or less) for the main compartment. This is a strong zip and designed for use on bags that could be put under stress. Summary - The Sky Master 80L Travel Pack is one of the most advanced wheeled travel packs currently available on the market anywhere worldwide. Light weight, innovative, stylish and environmentally friendly. Made from recycled materials. The Dobby fabric used on the outer of the bag is made from 100% recycled polyester. This gives an overall recycled rating of 67%. The Sky Master series is the top of the range products from Caribee, Australia's favourite travel and leisure brand. Meticulous attention to detail is demonstrated in every aspect while the advance harness makes makes carrying this pack an absolute breeze.


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At a time when we (The City) are so broke we can't afford to pay attention, and our credit rating is falling faster than shares of Hostess, our King offers noting!
No concessions for him after all he didn't take a pay raise in the past nine years, so he feels he has already given up so much.
Remember folks he works nights, weekends, and even puts in long hours at the deli counter when citizens have the nerve to approach him and complain about the gunfire on their streets.
After begging the city employees for concessions, and threatening layoffs at the same time, if they didn't help make up the budget short fall, NOT caused at all by the FREE GAS, our King apparently told the unions how many workers must be cut, in order to cover for his gross mismanagement, but hush that number is available only to the unions as yet another scare tactic I'm sure.
In addition sources tell Wake Up Wilkes Barre that in yet another last ditch effort to avoid layoffs, the King has asked the unions to work one day each week for FREE. Good God why not ask them to pump his FREE GAS on the free work Friday as well!
In addition sources tell Wake Up Wilkes Barre that in yet another last ditch effort to avoid layoffs, the King has asked the unions to work one day each week for FREE. Good God why not ask them to pump his FREE GAS on the free work Friday as well!
Now the Firefighters union leader is reading from the King's talking points. "Without a tax increase, services provided by the fire, police and public works departments will be cut", Freitas said.
Sounds rational but in reality without the King stealing gas, giving his shyster buddy $300 per hour to consult on something he knew nothing about, and double dipping on trips to Harrisburg where he filled his gas tank at DPW, then took mileage reimbursement for the very same trip, we might not be as broke as we are.
Now I know we are quick to criticize the King, and some who might still be sipping the Kool-Aid may even say:
I live in this city, and I don't want my services cut, so with that I can justify yet another tax increase.
- To that I say: I also live in this city, and I sure as heck don't want my service cut either. That's why we didn't complain so much in 2004 when the King raised taxes by 20%, or in 2009 when he imposed yet another 31% tax increase, but come on people STOP STEALING GAS, and wasting money on useless unneeded friends, and family hiring programs. Then and only then will the people sit down and shut up!
As for you Kool-Aid sippers, we heard you last November, so now it's your turn to sit down and shut up!
Wake Up Wilkes Barre
- W-B's credit rating goes down
- W-B officials refuse to disclose number of layoffs, what concessions are sought
- W-B mayor got mileage out of travel money


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Varios Locations in the Portland Metro Area
This venue doesn't have a description. Can you add one?
Future Events
- No events -
Past Events
withKBOO Community Radio
Friday, September 11, 2015 at midnight through Monday, September 14, 2015 at midnight
midnight through Monday, September 14 at midnight
3-day PDX Metro Community event FEATURING: KEYNOTE: Mr. Les 'Pee Wee' Harrison, Motivational Speaker and Author of 'The Perfect Assist: Placing People in the Right Position to Score in Life!" **Evening VIP Honoree Reception & Premier Authors Book Signing at The Hotel Monaco, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm; Entertainment 8:00 to 10:00 pm – DJ Michael Morris 9/11 Friday-Noon to 2:00 pm – Interfaith Gathering @ PDX Masjid; 9/12 Saturday-Noon to 3:00 pm – PCC Cascade Campus: The Saturday Afternoon Tea w/the Lady Rose Diane of Guyana, So. America – 911 Women's Award Ceremony – Keynote Imani Muhammad – Unit Director, Boys & Girls Club,PDX; Co Host-Guyana Institute of Historical Research & B Beautiful Children Foundation; 9/13 Sunday-11:00 am to 1:00 pm – Sunday Prayer Warriors Breakfast and Youth STEM/Internship Commitment Ceremony-11:00 am to 1:00 pm, Featuring: Apostle ED Mondaine & Panel: Mic Crenshaw, Jomo Greenidge, Shakelah Morgan, and AJ Wone!
animal rightsartsbikingclimate changecommunityeconomicseducationenvironmenthealthcarelabor rightsLGBTQminoritiesnon-profitpolicepoliticsracismsocial justicesustainabilitywar and peacewomenclass/courseconferencediscussionDIYeducationalfilm screeningfundraisermeetingmovieperformancepresentationprotestreadingtalkWorkshop


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Hey, You know I care. And I am not far away either. Sorry I missed your visit last night. Love you.
I think we feel that way a lot as women. I hope you've had a hug or two... And that you know you ARE loved!!!
Thank you both. It's been a long week. *hugs* to you both!
Post a Comment


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I'm new to JavaFX and want to make something interesting.
A month ago I signed up SendGrid, because my old colleague @nakansuke starts to new business with SendGrid company.
He advised me that there is a good Java wrapper library of SendGrid WebAPI, it's sendgrid4j.
Exactly, it's good and easy to use SendGrid WebAPI.
Today I was having fun with JavaFX and SendGrid.
My simple idea is sending HTML mail with HTMLEditor on JavaFX.
This is my simple application.
I only use Label, TextField, Button and HTMLEditor.
Only input sending e-mail address and subject and contents of mail by HTML.
HTMLEditor component on JavaFX is good to write HTML.
I sent this mail to my web-mail of Yahoo, so checked it.
I think JavaFX programmer might say "Hey guy, why don't you check your web mail by WebView?" Yeah, that's true. I did it :)
This is my JavaFX application includes WebView.
Yes! I got the mail!
I opened it and saw HTML mail.
Of course, it's same looking of HTMLEditor :)
I show my code of JavaFX Controller class. It's very simple.
package jp.co.hoge.sendgridfx; import java.io.IOException; import java.net.URL; import java.util.ResourceBundle; import javafx.event.ActionEvent; import javafx.fxml.FXML; import javafx.fxml.Initializable; import javafx.scene.control.Label; import javafx.scene.control.TextField; import javafx.scene.web.HTMLEditor; import jp.co.flect.sendgrid.SendGridClient; import jp.co.flect.sendgrid.SendGridException; import jp.co.flect.sendgrid.model.WebMail; public class SendGridFXController implements Initializable { //SMTP authentication info of SendGrid private static final String SMTP_AUTH_USER = "blah-blah-blah"; private static final String SMTP_AUTH_PWD = "blah-blah-blah"; //Mail from info private static final String MAIL_FROM = "email@example.com"; private static final String MAIL_FROM_NAME = "Test from Kiku"; SendGridClient client; @FXML private HTMLEditor editor; @FXML private TextField textTo; @FXML private TextField textTitle; @FXML private Label message; @FXML private void sendButtonAction(ActionEvent event) { try { WebMail mail = new WebMail(); //setting mail from mail.setFrom(MAIL_FROM); mail.setFromName(MAIL_FROM_NAME); //setting mail to mail.setTo(textTo.getText()); //setting mail subject mail.setSubject(textTitle.getText()); //setting HTML content mail.setHtml(editor.getHtmlText()); //sending mail client.mail(mail); message.setText("Sending mail is success."); } catch (IOException | SendGridException ex) { message.setText("Sending mail is failed."); } } @Override public void initialize(URL url, ResourceBundle rb) { client = new SendGridClient(SMTP_AUTH_USER, SMTP_AUTH_PWD); } }
We can use sendgrid4j by maven.
Here is pom.xml.
Repository setting of sendgrid4j.
<repositories> <repository> <id>jp.co.flect</id> <name>FLECT maven repository</name> <url>http://flect.github.io/maven-repo/</url> </repository> </repositories>
Dependency is here.
<dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>jp.co.flect</groupId> <artifactId>sendgrid4j</artifactId> <version>0.9.1</version> </dependency> </dependencies>
That's it :)


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Kensington Safeway tries for WIC approval
Store was denied last year because of high prices
The Kensington Safeway has reapplied for its WIC license after being denied last year by the federal program because its prices were too high on staple goods.
Officially known as The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC is a program of the Food and Nutrition Services branch of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides grants to states to help subsidize the purchase of staple foods such as milk, eggs, peanut butter, beans and canned fish for low income women with children under 5 years old.
The Kensington Safeway reapplied for its license last week after the state program denied it last year because the prices on WIC-eligible items exceeded 125 percent of those being charged at other large area commercial stores.
"We can't have, you know, high-end Gucci vendors," said Deborah Morgan, chief of information technology at the Maryland WIC program. "We're bound by regulation to keep our prices competitive."
Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle said signs in English and Spanish explaining that the store could not accept WIC were posted about a month ago because about 20 people weekly were coming into the store inquiring about it, he said.
"They were just coming in and shopping and didn't find out (WIC was not accepted) until they got to the check stand," Muckle said.
There are 64 eligible WIC vendors in the county, concentrated largely in Rockville and Silver Spring. Only one is located within the Kensington ZIP Code, a Shoppers on Nicholson Lane. The nearest WIC location to the Kensington Safeway is a Giant in Wheaton about 1.2 miles away, followed by a Safeway about a mile and a half away. The third closest was location was more than four miles away in Silver Spring.
Morgan said stores are not required to apply for WIC licensing, and it was up to Safeway to decide whether to lower its prices and try again.
Sixteen of the WIC vendors in the county are Safeway stores, and Muckle likened the price disparity between the Kensington Safeway and other stores to those seen between gas station franchises, which may have higher or lower prices per gallon of gas. Muckle speculated the differences may be due to variables in things like rent or energy costs. He said a comprehensive price reduction program throughout Safeway stores may have lowered the prices enough that the new license application may be approved.
"We're interested in serving WIC clients so we did reapply," Muckle said.


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Coca-Cola is the latest corporate victim in a string of high-profile data breaches, but unlike the malware-assisted attacks that compromised millions of Nieman Marcus and Target customers' private information, the beverage giant's plight has some clear lessons for federal agencies.
Coca-Cola's breach, first reported Jan. 24 by the Wall Street Journal, involved a former employee stealing company laptops containing the unencrypted personal information of about 74,000 people.
Personal information removed from the company's Atlanta headquarters included the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, financial compensation, ethnicities, credit card and other information linked to employees, suppliers and contractors, forcing the company into damage-control mode.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said the laptops were later recovered and there was "no indication" that personal information was misused. However, the company notified the employees and offered them one year's worth of identify-theft protection services at no charge.
The government can learn three major lessons in mobile security from Coca-Cola's data breach, according Tony Busseri, CEO of Route1, a digital security and identity management company that works with the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Energy.
?"The terminated employee's rights and privileges should have been shut down the moment he was terminated, and it would seem on the surface that it didn't happen," Busseri said. "These are simple protocols we should keep in mind supporting mobility."
A Coca-Cola spokesperson identified the former employee who stole the laptops as someone whose job was to maintain or dispose of equipment. The spokesperson did not specify whether the individual was an employee when the laptops were stolen. Either way, Busseri said, an employee should not have either the physical capability to walk out of headquarters with laptops full of information or the network privileges to access the data.
"Some systems in larger corporate America don't talk amongst each other well, and there can be a failure somewhere along the line," Busseri said. "All it takes is one."
?"Why was information of that sensitivity level beyond the firewall of the enterprise, and why wasn't it encrypted?" Busseri asked.
According to Coca-Cola, the company's policy is to encrypt all laptops, but these laptops were not so protected. In a memo the company sent to employees, Coca-Cola did not explain why the stolen laptops were not encrypted.
It is possible the laptop had a VPN connection and unencrypted data was inadvertently saved to the local drive, but the fact remains that the company's mobility policy ultimately failed.
"If your solution supporting mobility is one where there is a risk that information could go out of your network, the policy is not good enough. Anytime you extract something beyond the firewall, it is at risk," Busseri said. This was a case, he said, of "data going with the device."
This has happened in government before, with perhaps the most egregious case coming in 2006 when a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst's stolen laptop and external drive exposed the personal information of 26 million veterans. The VA data was also unencrypted, and ultimately cost taxpayers millions of dollars while seriously damaging the agency's reputation.
?Lastly, Busseri said, the terminated employee should not have been able to log into the laptops in the first place. Why wasn't there at least a password protecting the unencrypted, sensitive data on them? Why were they just lying around? "This individual got a laptop, but how did he get onto it?" Busseri asked. "Was there not even a single level of authentication on it?"
When data breaches occur, Busseri said, corporate America's response is often to implement more employee training and policy updates. He said more effective remedies involve common sense approaches to mobility policies, especially regarding unhinged or upset insiders.
In the arena of mobile security, Busseri said the public sector is far ahead of the private sector, but the lessons still apply.
"Organizations need to do a better job of terminating employees, terminating rights and privileges immediately and ensuring the systems communicate properly," he said. "Second, you should be using remote access solutions that make sure data doesn't leave. What's happened with Coca-Cola is a great proxy in the challenges government is facing. The workforce is mobile and wants to use its own devices. The government needs to extend up that mobility without increasing the security profile."
(By Frank Konkel)


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Airbus has always been at the forefront of pushing technical boundaries in aviation and excelling in aircraft design and technology. Airbus says efforts to lower the weight of the world's largest airliner lay behind recent A380 wing cracks and pledged to learn from mistakes that lay dormant for a decade, as repair costs looked set to climb towards 500 million euros ($A642 million).
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 11:01 PM | A380 | A380 CRACKS | AERODYNAMICS | AIRBUS | COMPOSITES | THEORY OF FLIGHT
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 11:01 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: A380, A380 CRACKS, AERODYNAMICS, AIRBUS, COMPOSITES, THEORY OF FLIGHT
Friday, May 11, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 12:05 AM | A380 | SUPER | THEORY OF FLIGHT | WAKE SEPARATION | WAKE TURBULENCE
Wake turbulence is turbulence that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. Wingtip vortices occur when a wing is generating lift. Wake turbulence exists in the vortex flow behind the wing. The strength of wingtip vortices is determined primarily by the weight and airspeed of the aircraft.Wingtip vortices make up the primary and most dangerous component of wake turbulence. This is the reason the separation criteria had to be written out for A380.
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 12:05 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: A380, SUPER, THEORY OF FLIGHT, WAKE SEPARATION, WAKE TURBULENCE
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 12:05 AM | A320 NEO | AERODYNAMICS | B737 MAX | FUEL SAVING | SHARKLETS | THEORY OF FLIGHT | WINGLETS
In continuation of our coverage on WINGLETS and FUEL SAVING A320 SHARKLETS, we bring the news about Boeing announcement and breakthrough on new winglet design concept for the 737 MAX. The new Advanced Technology winglet will provide MAX customers with up to an additional 1.5 percent fuel-burn improvement, depending on range, on top of the 10-12 percent improvement already offered on the new-engine variant.
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 12:05 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: A320 NEO, AERODYNAMICS, B737 MAX, FUEL SAVING, SHARKLETS, THEORY OF FLIGHT, WINGLETS
Sunday, May 6, 2012
G R Mohan | 12:05 AM | AERODYNAMICS | LOW SPEEDS | STALL | THEORY OF FLIGHT
S tall speed is defined as the lowest airspeed at which 1 'G' level flight can be achieved. However it is also possible to fly the airplane at speeds below the defined stall speed. This regime is outside the certified flight envelope. There are several important factors that a pilot must know when the airplane is at extremely low speeds.
Posted by G R Mohan at 12:05 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: AERODYNAMICS, LOW SPEEDS, STALL, THEORY OF FLIGHT
Friday, March 30, 2012
G R Mohan | 12:37 AM | AERODYNAMICS | LIFT DEVICES | THEORY OF FLIGHT | WING FLAP TRACK FAIRING
s we do the pre-flight walk around , and inspect the wing underside we rarely give a second glance at the canoe shaped flap track fairings under the wings. Some are slender but many appear somewhat oversized to accommodate just the flap fairings. Or do they serve some other function?
The physics of airflow alteres violently as it expands from subsonic to supersonic speeds. As the aircraft passes through the transonic speed range, local airflow approaches sonic speeds over the wing and body of the aircraft and leads to the formation of shock waves and consequent large increase in drag.
At transonic speeds, it was found, that the time-honoured principle that the drag of the individual elements of an airplane could be added in a linear manner to give the approximate drag of the entire configuration could no longer be relied upon.
Researches by Dietrich Kuchemann in the UK and Richard Whitcomb of NASA , in early 1950s, established that this wave drag can be minimised by a fuselage wing configuration synthesis, where the cross sectional area changed smoothly along the length of the aircraft. Known as the Area Rule, its basic tenet postulates that the wave drag of a simple equivalent body of revolution would be the same as a more complex wing body arrangements.
Initial application of area rule designs can be seen in the "Coke Bottle" or "Marylin Monroe" indented fuselage body shapes to reduce the effect of the presence of wings as in F-102 and F-106 aircraft. This, however had practical limitations and alternate efforts to address the local discrepancies in cross sectional areas led to the concept of attaching conical and pod shaped bodies along the wing , nacelle and fuselage. First successful application of this principle to combat wave drag effects was in Convair- 990. Following applications of the local area rule, several pylon, nacelle, and wing fairings were embodied, to smooth out the area distribution and facilitated in raising the cruise speed from 0.8M for the basic aircraft to 0.89 M for the modified airframe.
These anti shock bodies christened as 'Whitcomb After-bodies' or 'Kuchemann's Carrots' are widespread in today's designs.
Anti shock bodies were also apparently developed by the Soviet Designers during the same time , as seen in their installations in TU-16 and through subsequent designs such as the TU 154.
On most modern designs, the mechanism for deploying the wing flaps are encased in canoe shaped pods , which serve as anti-shock bodies and can be seen in A300/310, A 380 and Boeing 757 to name a few. Known to most as flap track fairings, garnering little attention, these pods nevertheless have an important role in transonic drag reduction and fuel economy.
Posted by G R Mohan at 12:37 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 1:22 AM | AERODYNAMICS | FUEL SAVING | LIFT DEVICE | SHARKLETS | THEORY OF FLIGHT | WINGLETS
It's a nearly vertical airfoil at an airplanes wingtip that reduces drag by inhibiting turbulence.
( Merriam-Webster dictionary)
First known use of winglet dates back to as early as 1611.
NASA's pioneering research in the 1970's as part of energy efficiency program to conserve energy in aviation resulted in Winglets finding acceptance with airplane manufacturers and airlines alike.
Richard Whitcomb was instrumental in conducting test to explore hypothesis that a precisely designed vertical wingtip device could weaken wing tip vortices and thus diminish induced drag which translates into less fuel burn and better cruise efficiency.(NASA website)
American, Southwest, Ryanair, and others took advantage of fuel efficiency that comes with winglets and partnered with Boeing –Aviation Partners group(ABP) to have winglets installed.
|Wing Tip fence
Wingtip fence is the preferred device of Airbus to tackle and reduce induced drag on wingtip.Airbus also has ambitious project in introducing Sharklets, akin winglets on its A320 neo and also an active proposal for the same to be introduced on A330.
Lift is the force that makes the aircraft fly. Lift is a result of unequal pressure in a wing as air flows around it with positive pressure underneath the wing and negative pressure above.
Drag is the resistance encountered while moving through the airflow. Considerable amount of drag is also generated from the high pressure under the wing, which causes air to flow up over the wing tip and spin off in a vortex.. These vortices produce what is called induced drag which hampers aircraft fuel consumption, range, speed and so on.
(Acknowledgements: Airbus, NASA and Merriam-Webster)
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 1:22 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: AERODYNAMICS, FUEL SAVING, LIFT DEVICE, SHARKLETS, THEORY OF FLIGHT, WINGLETS
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
G R Mohan | 12:17 AM | AERODYNAMICS | BUFFET BOUNDARIES | FLIGHT CREW | HANDLING | THEORY OF FLIGHT
Stall speed is defined as the minimum airspeed required to maintain 1g level flight. Any further reduction in speed will result in the lift produced by the wings to be less than the weight of the aircraft and leads to a loss of altitude. The increase in angle of attack will in turn cause flow separation from the upper surface of the wing . In a swept back high speed aerofoil, this flow separation and associated pitch down will not be a marked phenomenon. Instead the aircraft enters into a descent. The descent rate further tilts the relative airflow downwards and leads to an increase in angle of attack further driving the aircraft into the stall regime. Any attempt by the pilot to raise the attitude by aft pressure on the elevator will cause a further increase in angle of attack and further loss of altitude.
The lift, however, depends on both air density (kg/m³) and on the plane's velocity, and air density decreases with altitude. So, the higher you go, the faster you have to fly to stay above the stall speed. As you go higher, temperature also decreases, at least in the troposphere were commercial planes are flying. As the temperature decreases, so does the speed of sound.
Similarly, the critical Mach number is the maximum speed at which the airflow can sustain over the wings without losing lift due to flow separation and shock waves,. Any increase in speed in will cause the airplane to encounter stall effects. When the critical Mach number is exceeded, there is an abrupt rise in drag rise as well as a pitch down due Mach tuck. This can result in aircraft upset, altitude loss and loss of control. As the aircraft descends, the airspeed increases. Excessive pull forces during recovery may lead to further loss of control or structural damage to the airplane.
Modern commercial jet aircraft may suffer both high and low speed stall buffet. The associated boundaries are depicted in the FCOM of the aircraft. The high speed buffet is caused by flow separation from the wings as occurs behind a shockwave at high altitudes and/or Mach numbers. The low speed buffet is caused by the same airflow separation as the aircraft approaches the stall angle of attack. With stall speed increasing with altitude and sound speed decreasing, the velocity window in which an aircraft can operate becomes narrower and narrower.
Turning manoeuvres at these altitudes increase the angle of attack and results in stability deterioration with a decrease in control effectiveness. The relationship of stall speeds to critical Mach number (Mcrit) narrows to a point where sudden increase in angle of attack , roll rates and disturbances cause the limits of the airspeed to be exceeded.
The Coffin corner or the Q corner is the altitude at or near which a high speed fixed wing aircraft's stall speed is equal to the critical Mach number. Coffin corner exists in the upper portion of the manoeuvring envelope of an aircraft, for a given gross weight and G – Force.
VMO is an aircraft's indicated airspeed limit. Exceeding the Vmo may cause aerodynamic flutter and G load limitations to become critical during recovery. Structural design integrity is also not predictable at airspeeds greater than Vmo.
A deeper understanding of the stall characteristics and recovery procedures are important proficiency issues. When flying at high altitudes, the crew needs to be aware of the margins of safety available, especially when manoeuvring and while riding out turbulence.
To recover from a stall, the attitude needs to be decreased to reduce the angle of attack. The old maxim of Power for ROD or altitude control and Attitude for airspeed control holds good. A burst of power is not the solution for a stall recovery. In all cases, remember "attitude before power" when you are in a stall.
Posted by G R Mohan at 12:17 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: AERODYNAMICS, BUFFET BOUNDARIES, FLIGHT CREW, HANDLING, THEORY OF FLIGHT
Monday, January 23, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 12:23 AM | A380 | AERODYNAMICS | THEORY OF FLIGHT | WING LOAD
In the aftermath of wing root cracks appearing on A380, lets refresh ourselves on how the wing loading and wing root cracks surface.
Lift produced by a wing is not linear across the wing surface.As a matter of fact,lift is produced by the wing as a result of pressure differential between the top and bottom side of the wing.The pressure differential gives birth to wing shear force and a bending moment, which is the highest where the wing meets the fuselage.
Lift produced by a wing is not linear across the wing surface.As a matter of fact,lift is produced by the wing as a result of pressure differential between the top and bottom side of the wing.The pressure differential gives birth to wing shear force and a bending moment, which is the highest where the wing meets the fuselage.
However, aircraft like A330,whose engines are wing mounted, their weight is near the area where maximum lift is being produced.This reduces the total weight, thereby reducing the shear force and the bending moment at the wing root.Wing loads are also subject to the fuel distribution in the wing.Aiming to achieve lesser moment at the wing root is the objective in effectively managing the wing loading.
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 12:23 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: A380, AERODYNAMICS, THEORY OF FLIGHT, WING LOAD
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Srinivas Rao | 8:11 AM | AERODYNAMICS | CREW TECHNIQUE | procedures | THEORY OF FLIGHT
All aircraft are certified to land at a particular maximum landing weight. Any landing carried out in excess of that weight is termed as an overweight landing.
Landing at or below overweight landing ensures that normal performance margins as per certification are ensured.
Regulatory certification criteria require that landing gear design be based on
All aircraft are certified to land at a particular maximum landing weight. Any landing carried out in excess of that weight is termed as an overweight landing.
Landing at or below overweight landing ensures that normal performance margins as per certification are ensured.
Regulatory certification criteria require that landing gear design be based on
- A sink rate of 10ft/sec at the maximum landing weight, and
- A sink rate of 6ft/sec at the maximum takeoff weight.
Commercial airliners normally make a sink rate of 2-3 ft/sec. A so called hard landing barely exceeds 6ft/sec.
When would it be required to carry out overweight landing?
- In case of any uncontrollable fire, damage, malfunction, etc
- In case of crew incapacitation, medical cases on board requiring immediate attention, etc.
- Any other situation where crew perceive an immediate landing is required.
Is it safe to carry out overweight landing?
Enough debates have been done on this subject. Airline crew are trained to handle overweight landing and the performance criteria and design aspects have been catered to allow for such an event should an emergency arise. Overweight landing provision is limited only to non-normal operation and crew shall not land overweight on a normal flight due to direct routings and strong tailwinds.
Aircraft are designed with adequate strength margins for overweight landings.Performance margins are generally well above maximum landing weight. Brakes are designed to withstand reject takeoff at the maximum takeoff weight. So oversight landing should not be a problem.
Is there a special procedure for maintenance after landing overweight?
An overweight landing entails a maintenance procedure even if the landing was smooth!!!!!
Inspections aim at checking for structural distress.
Is there a procedure for crew to follow?
Crew have a procedure to follow which aims at sensitizing crew on the sink rate for touchdown and the technique thereof.
Overweight landing provision is allowed for by the manufacturer in case of exigencies and the procedure is outlined.Design and performance margins allow for overweight landing.Overweight landing is prohibited in a normal operation. Procedures are outlined for the crew and the maintenance teams to follow in the event of an overweight landing.
Posted by Srinivas Rao at 8:11 AM 4 comments Links to this post
Labels: AERODYNAMICS, CREW TECHNIQUE, procedures, THEORY OF FLIGHT
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The Carroll County Community Mediation Center (CCCMC) is one of 17 community mediation centers in the state of Maryland. As our name indicates, the local community is an integral part of the work we do. Our volunteers are community members who live and/or work in Carroll County. The center's mediation, facilitation and conflict management coaching participants get connected to services through family, friends, co-workers and referrals from community organizations and agencies. Local churches, nonprofit and governmental organizations provide convenient meeting space so mediations can take place in the communities where the conflicts and disputes occur.
There are many ways you can make a difference in Carroll County and the Mediation Center is hoping you will consider joining its community of volunteers to be a part of increasing the use of peaceful conflict management processes to resolve disputes in your community. The Community Mediation Center is currently looking for individuals who are interested in becoming volunteer mediators. We provide a high-quality, 50-hour mediation training, an apprenticeship which includes mediation observations and co-mediations with an experienced and skilled mediator, mentorship and support as well as on-going continuing education opportunities. Our next training will be in July, and we are hoping to add a few teenagers, older adults and bi-lingual speakers to our volunteer roster.
The mediation center utilizes a co-mediation model and strives to match our volunteer mediators to the demographics and life experiences of our mediation participants. When we facilitate mediations between young people or teenagers and their parents having a co-mediator who is also a teenager can make the difference. When we facilitate mediations between adult siblings and their aging parents or two or more older adults, it can be empowering when one of the co-mediators is an older adult. The mediation center also recognizes the importance of mediation participants having the ability to express themselves in their native language. In order to better serve the Spanish-speaking community, we need volunteer mediators who can speak Spanish and English so mediations can happen in either language.
Current and past CCCMC volunteers highlight the personal satisfaction they get from helping people productively address their conflicts, supporting difficult conversations and facilitating participants' development of creative and long-lasting solutions. Additionally, volunteers continue to point out how the skills they learn have changed the way they address their own conflicts.
The CCCMC relies on community members who volunteer their time, skills, and desire to make and keep our community more cohesive and peaceful by providing Carroll County residents mediation, coaching and facilitation services at no cost. Unresolved conflicts can tear apart relationships, families, neighborhoods, work places and communities. As a community we can preserve, strengthen and repair these relationships with the help of trained volunteers from our own community.
Please contact the CCCMC for more information on our services and volunteering opportunities at 410-848-1764 or firstname.lastname@example.com or visit our website at www.carrollcc.edu/mediation or check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carrollmediation.
Patricia Ryan is the director of the Carroll County Community Mediation Center. Reach her at 410-848-1764 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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My hometown was not a place for changes
Nor does it have museums in my name
I couldn't go to the academy
A quarter of my life that I wasted
I saw no puppets replaced in my time
Though I thought I witnessed the real world war
But the revolution would not come here
And the nation stays as it was founded
Though other aggressions made it despised
There were no movements and the wars were theirs
As I grew smarter, the traitor grew mad
I reached the pinnacle of the moment
Though the powers so despised still remained
Time to study and be a better man
But the others had already been there
They were angrier and making changes
They had peer support, were not ostracized
Now the future comes, and what does it hold?
Will I be gone and on a happy path?
A bandit on the run with no fear left
Or will I awaken and become new?
New happenchance would see me at the helm
I guess there's time to simmer and be wise
Would the path be chosen by a bridge burned
Pain and glory as one when all is done


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Halton crime gang jailed for guns and drugs offences
A Merseyside gang which "controlled illegal drug distribution" across a Cheshire borough has been jailed.
Chester Crown Court heard Jamie Barnett and Brady Cole "masterminded" the group which operated from a flat in Widnes.
Cheshire Police said the gang, completed by Dean Kenton and Lewis Gandy, "brought fear, intimidation and violence to the streets of Halton".
Cole, 24, and Barnett, 23, were each jailed for 12 years after admitting firearms and drugs offences.
Kenton, 29 and Gandy, 22, also pleaded guilty to firearms and drugs offences and were both jailed for six years.
Submachine gun
Police searched the Mersey Road flat on 27 March after forcing their way in through a reinforced door.
Officers found a loaded Colt 45 pistol, a submachine gun and a revolver, as well as ammunition.
The pistol was linked by officers to shootings in Runcorn and Halewood earlier in the year. Several shots were fired in both instances, but no-one was injured.
Officers also found Class A drugs at the flat, including heroin and crack cocaine with an estimated value of more than £7,000.
Det Insp Simon Blackwell, from Cheshire Police, said after sentencing: "Never before have we seen firearms of this type, or ammunition of this quantity, on the streets of the county."
Maria Corr, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "They were prepared to use guns and violence to pursue their criminal trade and used those firearms as they expanded that trade into Cheshire.
"These sentences mean that a group of violent and dangerous drug dealers are behind bars for some considerable time and that those firearms are no longer in circulation."


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Posting ID : A1068453422
Date Posted : 2015-08-18
Category : Lessons Tutoring
This FREE information Session is about our NO COST College Readiness Certificate Program which prepares students to succeed in college.
College Readiness Certificate Progaram FREE Information Session (AM)
Thursday10 AM-12:00 PM09/03/2015Saco LC Liis Nigol
College Readiness Certificate Progaram FREE Information Session (PM)
Thursday4-6 PM09/03/2015Saco LCLiis Nigol
Register online for this info session or call or to register or set up a meeting to discuss your future in college.
Learning Center Hours: M/TU from 8 AM - 2 PM and W/TH from 8 AM - 7 PM.
Our College Readiness program is intended to prepare students with skills that will help them succeed in college. Special attention will be paid to the application process and financial aid. In addition to these topics, attention will be given to fundamental student skills such as note-taking and study skills. Guest speakers from various local organizations and two college visits will also be included in the schedule. Students are required to be enrolled in the full College Readiness Certificate Program unless given special permission by the Program Director. At the conclusion of the program students who wish to keep their books may purchase them at the Learning Center.
BIO: Liis Nigol is the Student Services Coordinator for the OOB/Saco Adult Education program. She has worked as a counselor with elementary, middle school, high school, and college students for over 20 years.


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My favorite day in Sicily.
One day while Alberto and I were exploring the mountaintop castle-town of Erice, and the salt-centric city of Trapani, his brother and cousin flew into town. Alessandro and Stefano are awesome travel-friends. They're independent, self-sufficient, laid-back, and do their research and are full of interesting ideas. They appreciate energetic exploration as much as relaxation, and are as happy to hang out with the group as they are to do their own thing.
One morning we all woke up (eventually), and after we all made it over to our daily cappuccino and pistachio cornetto at Bar Vogue, we put our heads together. Stefano had heard of some interesting-sounding ruins, and maybe some thermal baths. Ruins? That's all I needed to hear. We jumped on our scooters with some snacks and drove in the general direction. We asked a few people along the way which way to go, and eventually found our way to Calatafimi. The heat in Sicily in August is so fierce, Calatafimi looked like a ghost town in the middle of the day. It's too hard to be outside, so everyone's tucked away in their homes (hopefully with at least a fan, as there's not much AC in Italy). We climbed to the top of the ruins and spied Segesta, our next stop.
Segesta was a town founded around 600 B.C. by Elymians (an indigenous population of Sicily) and Greeks. It also switched alliances with Carthage and Rome throughout the following few hundred years, and hosted a Muslim population during the Norman era. It was finally abandoned in the mid-thirteenth century. The town itself is nearly unrecognizable, but among the ruins stand a remarkably preserved theatre and temple.
From the parking lot, the theatre is a longish walk, and the temple a short one. It was unfathomably hot, so we voted to push on for the theatre first. Alberto sweetly insisted I go into the bathroom and soak my hair to help stay cool. I felt ridiculous doing it, but was glad I did so. We set out up the hills to the town's highest point (traditionally, the highest point should have been reserved for the temple). The walk was hard, but on a cool day would be so lovely as you see hills of farmland, grasses, and all the way out to the sea. We were so grateful to finally reach the seats and shade of the theatre.
When Alberto and I decided to go to Sicily, I immediately suggested we make visits to Syracuse and Taurmina, two great ancient theatres of Sicily. I love theatres, and I completely geek out and become giddy when I'm around one (even the tiny one I saw in Trieste last year). And Alberto immediately responded with 'Of course we can't go all the way out there, that's across the island, like a 3-hour drive, it's a completely different trip!' And I responded with 'Yeah, it's only a 3-hour drive!' This is the difference between Italian and American travelers. Italians like to see a small geographical area, and get to know it quite well, in detail. Americans like to achieve a broad geographical area, checking as many things off their list as they can. I don't think I quite fit into the second category, but 3 hours felt like nothing to me when we flew across an ocean to get to the island of Sicily.
With that being said, going to Segesta was deeply satisfying. It was quite an experience to sit in such an unthinkably old theatre, where thousands of bodies had laughed, listened, learned, empathized, and entertained. To look out on such a gorgeous and dramatic backdrop, imagining the sun setting as players 'strut and fret' upon the stage. We sat there for a little while, before pushing back out into the sun for the temple.
I paid for an over-priced, giant slice of watermelon, which felt like one of the most perfect things I've ever eaten.
We walked up a shaded path to the temple, to the thrumming of cicadas. It's quite a thing to see such a beautiful structure stand among the ruins of its town. Its very stones are disintegrating, and the structure still remains.
As we headed back to our scooters we took a vote: drive to the sea for a last dip before the sun sets, or try to find these thermal baths around the area. Thermal baths won (by my vote), and we started driving to the supposed GPS point. Alas, it landed us in the middle of a farm of fig trees. So we asked a local, then asked another local, went down a dirt side road and drove through a couple of farms, asked some farmers, then another farmer, and we finally found it. Right smack in the middle of someone's vineyard, in a stand of bamboo. The most local of the locals came here to have an evening bathe with their families, complete with shampoo and conditioner. It was a bit surreal to wade in, and I was grateful for my little Italian party. Soon enough the kids were splashing and pushing us, and we were all giving each other looks as a local mama berated and threatened her unruly child (SUCH an unruly child, and SUCH threats). We just hoped we wouldn't get spit on as the mama threatened, while her boy hid behind us.
After that wild goose chase we went on another one, to find a restaurant a local friend had given us a tip about in the neighboring town of Alcamo. By the time we made it, I was so exhausted, hungry, and desperate (a state I found myself in on more than one evening in Sicily), the pizza, beer, and salad tasted like the best dinner I'd ever had.
P.S. Next time in my Italian escapes, I have a meltdown in the streets of Palermo. Oh boy.


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Easy to use
Obscure menu system
Lousy camera, Proprietary closed operating system
'the interface looks dated.'
'No music player.'
A reliable and reasonably priced handset
Good call quality; loud earpiece; full QWERTY keyboard
'the phone was easy to open and close with one hand.'
'menu is slow in some instances.'
'The keys are large enough for big stubby fingers and are to easy find without looking at the keypad.'
'Mediocre display.'
Well-crafted design with easy-to-use controls
'Unfortunately, you don't get an exterior camera shutter.'
Numeric pad makes typing out messages awkward
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,484 products.
© 2018 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


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All-American Selection
For more information about these and other All-American Selections, check out the All-America Selections website at http://www.all-americaselections.org/
All-America Selection vegetables and flowers have been grown for the last five years at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's Smart Home garden, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.
"All-America Selections is an independent, nonprofit organization that tests new varieties then introduces only the best garden performers as AAS Winners," said Ron Wolford. "The AAS Winners offer gardeners reliable new varieties that have proven their superior garden performance in trial grounds across North America.
"The following are All-America Selections that have generated the most buzz from the thousands of visitors to the Smart Home garden."
Sunflower 'Ring of Fire'
'Ring of Fire' is a late season sunflower. It takes about 120 days to bloom from seed. It stands out in the garden with its golden petals and a ring of bright red around the brown center. It will grow four to five feet tall and makes a good cut flower. 'Ring of Fire' needs full sun for best growth.
Ornamental Pepper 'Black Pearl'
This is an outstanding plant with almost black leaves. The plant produces pearl-like shiny peppers. Eventually the peppers will turn a bright red contrasting beautifully with the black foliage. The peppers are very hot. It will grow 18- 20 inches tall and does well in containers. 'Black Pearl' needs full sun.
Zinnia 'Zowie! Yellow Flame'
'Zowie! Yellow Flame' has an unusual bicolor pattern with a scarlet-rose center and yellow petal edges. It is easy to grow from seed to flower in eight weeks and has a long bloom period from early summer to frost. It makes a great cut flower that will last for two weeks. Does well in containers and is heat and drought tolerant.
Zinnia 'Zahara Starlight Rose'
Zinnia 'Zahara Starlight Rose' has outstanding white flowers with rose-colored stripes. It is easy to grow and heat and drought tolerant. It will bloom throughout the summer and seldom needs deadheading. 'Zahara Starlight Rose' is resistant to mildew and leaf spot. It needs full sun for best growth.
Gaillardia 'Sundance Bicolor'
The globe-shaped mahogany red and yellow bicolor flowers will often cover the plant. 'Sundance Bicolor' is heat and drought tolerant and will spread 15 to 16 inches. Full sun is a must. It does well in containers and hanging baskets. No pinching or staking is needed.
Ornamental Kale 'Glamour Red'
This kale has outstanding shiny, fringed leaves. The flower head is about 10 to 12 inches across. The leaves will start to turn red when temperatures go below 55 degrees for at least two weeks. Needs full sun and will bloom from seed in 90 days. It looked great in the garden well into late November.
Pepper, Ornamental 'Chilly Chili'
This ornamental pepper is kid-safe. It has no "heat." The fruit goes from yellow to orange to red, a real kaleidoscope of color. 'Chilly Chili' is very tolerant of hot weather. It will grow about a foot tall and spread six to 10 inches. It can be used as an ornamental garnish on salads.
Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights'
'Bright Lights" has probably gotten the most buzz in the garden. The yellow, pink, violet, orange, red and white stems attract attention. It can withstand the summer heat unlike lettuce and spinach. It is easy to grow from seed and is ready for harvest in 60 days.


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Wednesday, February 11, 2015
3 comments:
- Meghan said...
That sounds fun, but do you mean mirror doors rather than glass doors? I don't understand how glass doors would help you with dance.
If you decide to continue with dance lessons, community colleges often have dance classes that you can take for a semester for very little money.
- February 12, 2015 at 9:52 PM
- KRISTIN said...
I"m struggling with this myself. I would love to take a dance class or fitness class. But, like you, I'm a working mom. I'm a college professor with aims of move towards department chair very soon. I already don't get enough time with my children (ages 2.5 and 1). How can I justify engaging in one more activity outside of my children's lives? I'd love to know your thoughts.
- February 13, 2015 at 9:11 AM
- Sara E. Cotner said...
Hi, Kristin! Luckily, my children go to bed early, so I try to leave the house after they are asleep.
But I also think it's okay to take time for yourself! Taking care of YOU is taking care of your children!
- February 14, 2015 at 9:06 PM


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Schools Challenge Quiz
The Schools Challenge Quiz, yet another educational cause has been the recipient of Sangster's bounty. Winning participants on the programme have received books donated by Sangster's Book Stores Limited. Sangster's has also been a sponsor of the National Art in Preparatory Schools competition an annual event organized by the Institute of Jamaica. This sees us providing prizes of Gift Vouchers and Crayola products to winning participants.
The Sangster's family also actively works with schools within our community to build access to resource material for teachers and students. The teams participate in Reading Fairs, Health & Wellness Expos as well as setting up book displays for any number of school events.


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The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns (who had been appointed United States Secretary of Agriculture). He won a full term in 2006. The current Lieutenant Governor is Rick Sheehy.
Governors of Nebraska must be at least 30 years old and have been citizens and residents of the state for five years before being elected. Before 1966, the governor was elected to a two-year term. The state constitution was amended in a 1962 referendum so that beginning with the 1966 election, the Governor would be elected to a four-year term; in 1966, this was further amended to place a term limit of two consecutive terms. The lieutenant governor is subject to the same limitations and runs on a combined ticket with the governor. Governors are limited to two consecutive terms but there is no limit on the total number of terms one may serve.
If the governor becomes incapacitated or is out of the state, the Lieutenant Governor acts as Governor; if there is a vacancy or permanent incapacitation, the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor. However if both offices become vacant, the next person in the line of succession is the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature.


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The Roof Deck
The hotel we stayed at was had a Moroccan theme with a very relaxed bohemian vibe. I really loved the style, bright colors set off by stark white walls and patterned fabrics. All in all, I am really inspired to figure out how to make some sort of oasis like this roof deck for myself at home. The entire place was simple yet chic and the roof was my favorite place to hang out. I was content to sit up there for hours on end reading.
I'v found that a temporary fix for wanderlust, is bringing the feel of different places home with me and I'd love to add a bit of the style and feel of the whole place to my house.


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Is this really day 31?
I think I may have messed up somewhere or something because it is only October 29.
Oh well!
Yesterday, Monday, was definitely a catch-up day! Although, I don't feel like I got caught up on too much. Little Lady E is really starting to get into playing by herself and playing pretend. Like, pretending she is going to the beach or the grocery store. Its really adorable...especially some of the things she says. She was off playing for most of the morning yesterday which allowed me some time to do a few things. I mainly got things on the computer caught up. Things I need my entire mind for that I don't usually get to do when the kiddies are awake--bill paying, budgeting, etc.
After lunch, they both napped so I got a short, much-needed nap as well. When Hubs came home, I went for a run. Since we'd be out of town it had been about 5 days since I ran, and it was a perfect evening for one. Then we ran to Kroger to pick up a couple of things that I needed to finish our dinner.
Honestly, the evening couldn't have been better.
We came home, ate a warm bowl of potato soup, got the kiddies back in the car for a secret Halloween week activity (don't worry...I'll reveal it later). When we got home from our adventure, the kiddies both got baths and into bed. I made decaf coffee for Hubs and autumn spice tea for myself. We enjoyed a couple left over brownies and Oreos while we reviewed the budget for the coming month, looked over the calendar for the week, and planned a few Christmas gifts!
We crawled into bed and I read another two chapters of Catching Fire. Seriously. How do you only read one or two chapters of a book like that? She totally leaves you hanging at the end of every chapter. Not. Fair. I really wanted to read another chapter, but I had already been reading for an hour and it was getting late. Guess we'll have to wait until tonight. I honestly think we will be done with the book before the week is over. We really are that engrossed in it. Tell me I'm not alone! And, why didn't I read these books earlier?!?
I had better go get ready for another busy Tuesday.
Thankfully this is the last Tuesday until April that we have to worry about street cleaning! Hurray! :)


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Step # 29 in the Remodelormove.com Bathroom Remodel Planner
(get your own free bathroom remodel planner – click here)
After conducting all your initial interviews, decide which ones meet your requirements and then get quotes from remodeling contractors. . You want to accomplish several things during this request for quotation step; you want to get an accurate quotation for the work and learn more about the contractor and the way they conduct their business.
You will have the best results if you give each contractor a detailed description of what you want done, the materials that should be used and any special project requirements. A list of common notes to include in your request for quote is below.
In response you will receive a variety of quote styles. The quotes can run the spectrum from an email or verbal quote that says "I can do it for $20,000" to a full presentation package with sales literature, product information, references, etc. etc. While receiving thorough information in a quotation is very helpful – do not let the presentation of the information sway your decision too much. How the quote is presented is not necessarily a representation of how the work in your home will be done. Some great craftsman and contractors choose to give estimates like "I will remodel your kitchen for $20,000" because they choose not to spend the time and money preparing a full packet of information. Likewise a company may have a great sales and marketing team that has an extensive quote package but the workers who end up coming to your home could be poorly trained and unmotivated.
Get Quotes from Remodeling Contractors
What to include in your request for quotes from remodeling contractors
A summary of the project
A list of all the items to be replaced and a list of items that will stay. For example: "Replace vinyl flooring with tile" is good but better is to have the materials specified "Replace vinyl floor with Cabot Porcelain Tile – Redwood Series with matching epoxy grout" This added detail will enable the contractor to give you a more accurate quote and you will save yourself a lot of stress by having many of these details decided early.
The list of items to be replaced / included need to be as detailed as possible. Include if possible the flooring, baseboard, wall texture, wall color, door and window trim, window and door style and mfg, cabinet design, color and door pulls, appliances, countertop. light fixtures, molding etc. etc. You will need to make all these decisions eventually so make them early in the process to avoid headaches later in the process.


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Defector tips more MPs to hop
QUEENSLAND MP Ray Hopper, who defected from the LNP to Katter's Australia Party, says he'll be surprised if other LNP members don't follow suit in the near future.
"My suggestion is to watch how this government performs over the next eight weeks," Mr Hopper said.
"And see how they feel, see if they're still happy.
"I'm talking about any MPs, I'm not just talking about old Nationals, old Liberals or city centric."
Mr Hopper announced his decision to leave the LNP on Sunday.
Yeerongpilly MP Carl Judge also looks set to leave the party, following a decision to vote against the LNP in parliament today.
Mr Hopper said the biggest motivating factor for MPs choosing to leave the party would whether they felt they were representing their electorates.
"Anyone with less than 5% is in serious trouble," Mr Hopper said.
"So they'll be one-termers only unless they make a mark in their electorate and not be shut up on the back bench."
Mr Hopper's comments were backed up by Sportsbet.com.au odds, which suggest up to eight LNP MPs could defect to the KAP before the next election.
Five or more MPs defecting between now and the next state election from the LNP to KAP heads the betting at $3.50, followed by two MP's ($4.33), one ($4.50) and three ($4.75).
No more MPs abandoning Campbell Newman is the $5.00 outsider.
"The talk is that up to eight MPs might follow Ray Hopper and join Katter's Australia Party. How many will defect remains to be seen but one thing is for certain, if you're in the akubra-making business in Queensland your business is about to boom," said sportsbet.com.au's Ben Hawes.


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Golf Articles
1: The Escalating Public Attention Towards Golfing Simulations
Golfing sims have grown to be very popular among those whom own an inside golf game business. The reason being there is a lot of cash to be created by way of this kind of investment decision. You will find a number of ways you may desire to employ these machines so as to make additional money by your enterprise.
2: The present golf news of the world is quite positive
The present scenario in the golf news is quite positive all over the world with Tiger Woods returning to play since last year.
3: Can Golf Tips Really Prove to Be Helpful
This article highlights on whether Golf Tips can really prove to be helpful to those who are interested in playing golf and help them play the game in a better manner.
4: Get Your Shot Straight With Uncomplicated Golf Swing Tips
You just cant get in to the golf course and expect that youll hit the ball nicely. You must learn simple golf swing tips and also other game fundamentals to become able to play nicely. Read this post to understand why you must take golf lessons.
5: On-line Golf Lessons: Beneficial In Enhancing Your Play Strategies
Are you new at golf? Do you want to enhance your golfing abilities?
6: Do You Genuinely Want To Take Golf Lessons?
If you're not confident regardless of whether it is necessary to take golf lessons or not, then read this write-up. It's going to provide you with plenty of details to help you determine.
7: Choosing The Right Club During the Game Of Golf
When you are trying to play a game of golf, one of the ways that you can be certain good performance will be to
have a good discretion when it comes to picking out the right club.
have a good discretion when it comes to picking out the right club.
8: India Sees A New Side Of Golf Online
If you are somebody who wants to play golf in India then you do not have to fuss about the cost the game incurs any longer.
9: Tiger Woods, the magician of golf playing in history
Tiger Woods is the most famous golf player in this world. He is an American golf player whose is ranked as the richest athlete in this globe.
10: Buying ez go golf cart parts- It's Easy
Golfers find it hard to resist themselves to stop from playing this game throughout the year. They derive pleasure from it and enjoy this game. However, it is very important on the part of a golfer who plans to play this wonderful game throughout the year to have proper maintenance of the golf cart
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Tour 18 – Between the Deserts
6 days riding
Cold Glaciers and Hot Springs
This tour takes us in the area between the two highland deserts Kjölur and Sprengisandur, exploring in detail the landscape south of Hofsjökull, the third largest glacier in Iceland. We start the tour along the glacial river Hvitá and visit the famous Gullfoss waterfall before heading north into the wilderness towards the glacier. At the Kerlingafjöll, the colorful mountain of the "old ladies", we experience the stunning contrast of glacier ice and hot springs. The Kerlingafjöll area is one of the most beautiful and interesting area in Iceland. The tour continues east towards Sprengisandur, down the beautiful cleft Laxárgljúfur to the green hills Hrunamannahreppur, and end at the farm Kaldbak.
6 nights – 6 days on horseback – 220 km. Riding distance per day: 25-55 km (4-9 hours).
Accommodation 1 night in guesthouse Eldhestar, 5 nights sleeping bag accommodation in farms and/or simple mountain huts, full board.
Departure 2019: July 16 and 26.
Please note: The last night of accommodation in Reykjavík will not be included in our shorter-, longer- and wilderness tours in summer 2019.
For a route map of the tour, please click here.
Day-by-day description
Between the Deserts
Day 1: Arrival
The tour starts in the evening. Tour members who arrive the same day to Iceland should take the flight bus from the airport to the ending bus station BSÍ in Reykjavík. We will greet you at the bus station or at your hotel/ guesthouse in Reykjavik between 17:30- 18:00 and drive you to our farm Vellir near Hveragerði. There you will be lodged at our guesthouse. We will get to know each other during the dinner at our Hotel Eldhestar. The day will end with a detailed description of the tour.
Day 2: Gullfoss – Fremstaver
We start the riding from Myrkhol and along Hvítá to our first stop will be at Gullfoss. From Gullfoss we ride into the wilderness, in a black desert of stones and sand until we come to the Mt. Bláfell, 1160 m above sea level, which gives us a beautiful view over Kjölur. We see the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Hofsjökull and the volcano Hekla and, on the right, Mt. Hlödufell and the Langjökull Glacier. We spend the night south of Bláfell in the mountain hut Fremstaver. 21 km, 4-5 hrs.
Day 3: Fremstaver – Árbúdir
We ride east along Bláfell. We cross the Hvítá River over a bridge and follow the best riding roads on Kjölur, which is the oldest road between South and North Iceland. It is mostly even and is about 700 m above sea level. We have a view over the Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers and the Kerlingafjöll mountains – Kjölur's flagship. We follow the Svartá River to Árbúdir, where we spend the night. 30 km, 7-8 hrs.
Day 4: Árbúdir – Kerlingafjöll
We continue riding along Svartá North towards Hofsjökull, the third biggest glacier in Iceland. The tour ends in "Kerlingafjöll", the"ladies" Mountains. Here, where the rivers Hvítá and Thjórsá part, you will meet the glaciers as well as hot springs. At Kerlingafjöll you have the possibility to take a bath in nice hot pots, while enjoying the view in the wilderness. 30 km, 6-7 hrs .
Day 5: Kerlingafjöll – Svínárnes
Today we are heading South from Kerlingafjöll. We are riding along the river Hvitá and see the mountain Bláfjöll on our right side. We will enjoy a great view over the entir are a below us until we reach Svinaness, our hut for the night. Svinanes is a primitive but cosy hut which has been used as an overnight place on the sheep round up for many years. 36 km and 6-7 hrs
Day 6: Svínárnes – Helgaskáli
The tour continues South along Hvítá. Here on our way we have nice scenery in all directions. Later on the day we will turn left and ride over the highlands towards Helgaskáli, our hut for the night. 30 km. 7-8 hrs.
Day 7: Helgaskáli – Kaldbak – Departure
We ride through the highland down the beautiful cleft Laxárgljúfur to the green hills of Hrunamannahreppur, and end at the farm Kaldbak. The Eldhestar bus will pick us up at Kaldbak. With a short stop at Vellir, we will finish our tour with the drive to Reykjavík. Tour members can take the bus to Keflavik Airport on their own or continue travelling in Iceland. Ca. 25 km 6-7 hrs.


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« Least Favorite Lefties! | Main | I Heart the Freeport Flag Ladies!!!! »
November 02, 2009
Y'All Suck...
And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
Posted by Cassandra at November 2, 2009 11:42 AM
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The war on the news will be televised just not on any channel anyone is watching ;)
Selling the Drama, Who's Competing For Your Attention? Cable News War.
I added a link to Rob Bartlett's Blog he put up everyone's top 5 favorite books.
I can come up with 2 so far :)
Posted by: keyboard Jockey at November 2, 2009 01:29 PM
Such brillinantly blind socio-political analysis deserves a thorough response, preferable on a bumper sticker:
"I Suck and I Vote!"
Posted by: spd rdr at November 2, 2009 01:42 PM
"...and ahhhhhh helped!"
Posted by: Hamburger Helper at November 2, 2009 02:06 PM
Um, Matt's right. I'm *not* very progressive.
Lately, all I see from progressives is a desire to take my money and give it to their favored classes.
Which, oddly enough, include plenty of progressive white men with pretty good jobs when you look at bailout nation.
Posted by: Troglodyte of Argghhh! at November 2, 2009 05:19 PM
Interesting that one of the baby blue states was Oregon.
The legislature just enacted "Green Initiatives" that will rip off the taxpayers for more than 40 times the cost that the governor claimed would be *max* amount. And *gave* tax credits to "green" companies that were worth *more* than they could be sold for to "non-green" outfits -- two particularly "shining" examples:
1. SolarWorld, of Hillsboro, sold an $11 million tax credit to Wal-Mart for $7.37 million.
2. SolarWorld also sold a $10.96 million tax credit to Flir Systems, of Portland, for $7.34 million.
Schadenfreude, baby, schadenfreude.
Posted by: BillT at November 2, 2009 11:57 PM
Mr. DeBille -
Those companies operate in, essentially, the only majorly liberal swath of land within the state of Oregon. Go outside the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Portland and you will find a completely different political bent. (btw - the state capital is located pretty much equi-distant from the other two cities.) Outside of that rectangular section of the state, you will find plenty of people asking, "WTF!?" Unfortunately, a significant enough portion of the state's population resides within that particular section of the state to make a difference.
Sucks, but that is the reality of the thing.
Posted by: DL Sly at November 3, 2009 01:19 AM
Yes, I do suck: +!++!Σ$ and beer. ;-)
But regardless of that, I "didn't buy the 'vote for charismatic inexperience, half-baked socialism and virulently anti-American foreign policy or you're a racist' line", no...
Posted by: camojack at November 3, 2009 01:20 AM
...a significant enough portion of the state's population resides within that particular section of the state to make a difference.
Same with Joisey -- the voters in the Dem enclaves in Hudson and Union counties (including all the dead voters), and in the city of Camden, outnumber the remainder of the population, which is of the same political bent as most of Texas.
To add insult to injury, those counties are where the majority of the social parasites reside, too...
Posted by: BillT at November 3, 2009 02:05 AM
So, Bill, how do you think the Joisey vote will go today??
Posted by: olga at November 3, 2009 04:37 PM
Badly, if they let Dems who have been dead for *longer* than ten years vote, too...
Posted by: BillT at November 3, 2009 11:34 PM
Bill, I guess, they did not let "those" Dems vote after all :o) Good for Joisey!
Posted by: olga at November 4, 2009 11:34 AM


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A three-year, $600,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant is awarded to MSU's RET in Engineering and Computer Science Site: Smart Sensors and Sensing Systems. This RET program is part of MSU's outreach in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and is led by Wen Li (PI), associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Drew Kim (project manager and co-PI), assistant to the dean for recruitment, scholarship, and K-12 outreach in the MSU College of Engineering, and Xiaobo Tan (senior personnel), MSU Foundation Professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The new Site builds on the success of the last RET experience -- Robotics Engineering for Better Life and Sustainable Future. It will continue to develop a strong partnership between MSU and middle/high schools in the greater Lansing-Detroit-Grand Rapids area on advancing pre-college science and engineering education by training a cadre of leaders of middle and high school teachers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The program will recruit teachers from schools in Mid- and Southeast Michigan with a focus on those serving socioeconomically challenged populations and students from groups traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering. The three-year project will train 11 teachers a year by involving them in cutting-edge research and other professional development activities at MSU. Based on their research experiences, the teachers will develop innovative curriculum materials, which will be brought back to their classroom as well as shared online through TeachEngineering.org.
Six faculty members from electrical and computer engineering, Profs. Wen Li, Andrew Mason, Nelson Sepulveda, Xiaobo Tan, Lalita Udpa, and Chuan Wang, will serve as faculty mentors to provide research opportunities and mentoring to RET teachers. The project also involves faculty members from departments of biosystems and agricultural engineering, computer science and engineering, and mechanical engineering to provide teachers with cutting-edge research experience.
The project is a collaboration with the College of Education and the Center for Engineering Education Research (CEER) in the College of Engineering. Margo Glew, from the College of Education, will serve as a curriculum development specialist. Claudia E. Vergara, from CEER, will be the program evaluator.
See more at: http://www.egr.msu.edu/news/2016/03/01/600000-nsf-grant#sthash.fvHOMhnI.dpuf


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Salty water such as seawater is usually considered not drinkable. The process of removing salt and other non-volatile impurities from salt water is called distillation. A solar water purifier uses the greenhouse effect to trap energy from the sun. The mechanism of solar water purifier also demonstrates the water cycle that naturally occurs on earth: evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
Materials you will need:
- A big bowl
- A plastic cup which is 1'' shorter than sides of the bowl
- Clear plastic wrap
- Tape or rubber band large enough to go around the bowl
- Small rock or weight
- Salty water
Step-by-step instruction:
- Put salty water in the bowl.
- Place the plastic cup (with no water inside) in the center of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and use either tape or rubber band to secure the plastic wrap. Make sure the plastics warp is tight.
- Put the small rock or weight in the center of the plastic wrap. The extra weight in the center will ensure that the evaporated water will drop into the cup.
- Place the bowl under the sun and observe how distilled water start to accumulate inside the plastic cup for every hour or so.
- When there is enough water in the plastic up, open the plastic wrap and taste your purified water.
- Can you tell whether the water taste differently from tap water? If so, can you explain why?


text: I finally finished coding an iPhone web browser but have gotten this error in Xcode in two different places. And the code the errors are referring to are.... Code: #import "Basic_BrowseAppDelegate.h" #import "Basic_BrowseViewController.h" I don't think there is supposed to be a semicolon there buy I may be wrong. Any ideas? (screenshots of errors are attached) Thanks to all help! And sorry if this has already been asked or its a stupid question... I'm new to programming.


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Give many Tri-State residents an inch, and they'll take a yard - if there's a table piled with goodies in it.
The chance to scoop up bargains and discover treasures beats most other spring and summer activities by a country mile.
Whether you call it a yard sale, garage sale, tag sale, porch sale or deck sale, it's a great opportunity to clear the clutter from your life and make extra cash.
When the sale is over, you may even have enough room to park in the garage again.
Here are some tips on having a successful sale.
- Teri Johnson, Staff Writer
1. Getting started
Rules on how often you can have a yard sale depend on where you live.
In Maryland, you can have a yard sale without a permit if you sell your own goods on your own property for up to 14 consecutive days, and you can do it once in a 365-day period, says Rick Hemphill, administrative officer and deputy clerk at the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Washington County. To have more than one sale in a year, you need a traders license from the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office.


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This mythical dragon Easter egg has been produced by artisan chocolatier Melt, who will reveal it in a special ceremony at London's Selfridges on Oxford Street. The experiential event will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2016, and will include opportunities for guests to take a selfie with the over-sized dragon egg, which measures an impressive 55-centimeters tall and weighs 15-kilograms.
The event will allow Game of Thrones fans to watch as the Melt team assembles and puts the final touches on the chocolate dragon's egg, which has taken over 25-hours to create thus far. The assembly of the dragon Easter egg at Selfridges is expected to take 2-hours, while the final product will be on display until 4PM that day.
The unique holiday event is sure to generate even more buzz around the cult television series, which is set to debut its sixth season this year.
Mythic Dragon Easter Eggs
More Stats +/-
Luxurious Easter Eggs
Fantasy Touring Stunts
Luxe Easter Confections
Nested Easter Eggs
Flower-Adorned Easter Eggs
This Game of Thrones-Inspired Chocolate Egg by Melt is in London
- By: Rebecca ByersMar 8, 2016
References: eventmagazine
References: eventmagazine


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LANSING—Sen. John Proos met with area realtors on Friday to discuss the status of the real estate industry in Southwest Michigan.
Proos took part in a legislative panel during the meeting, which was hosted by the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors at Lake Michigan College's Mendel Center.
"Home sales and property values are important to our families, schools and communities; and they are key indicators of the state of the local economy," said Proos, R-St. Joseph. "That is why I am pleased and encouraged by the news that the Southwest Michigan real estate market is recovering — with improved home sales and prices.
"It is good news for the entire region that the number of Southwest Michigan homes sold in 2012 increased by 24 percent from 2011 and average and median sale prices also were up."
According to the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, total residential closed sales increased 24 percent from 2,361 units sold in 2011 to 2,916 homes in 2012. During that time, average sale prices increased 4 percent and median prices went up 5 percent.
"These are all important signs that the economy is picking up and higher property values mean more resources for our school and local communities." Proos said. "The figures for last year are excellent, but just as important is that the growth seems to be continuing in 2013. Home sales in February of this year increased 5 percent over the same month in 2012."
Editor's Note – Audio comments by Proos are available on the senator's webpage at www.SenatorJohnProos.com. Click on "Podcasts."


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Among the 1,236 people who cracked the final civil services exam on Saturday, Hrudaya Kumar Das was one. What makes Das' case unique is the fact that he's the son of a BPL (below poverty line) farmer.
The 28-year-old from a remote village in Odisha's Kendrapara district was ranked 1,079 in India's toughest exam. Das had appeared for the exam twice earlier, but was not cowed when he didn't make it. He perseverance paid off when he was rewarded in his third attempt.
Though Das has not been educated in an English-medium school, or had access to extra help, his father had to sell off part of the 1.5-acre irrigated farmland he owned to meet with his academic expenses.
Das' father tends to his field every day to support his family, and has sent his younger son Rashmi Ranjan to study for an MBA.
While Das excelled in studies in school, his class 12 results fetched him a second class. In fact, he was torn whether he should pursue higher studies or cricket — Das had represented his district team in the Kalahandi cup inter-district cricket tournament.
"But my father advised me for higher studies," said Das to PTI. "Later I studied five-year integrated MCA in Utkal University. Since then I never looked back."
Das since then has worked as a Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF) in Jaipur, where he would interact with tribals in Naxalite areas as well as oversee implementation of poverty alleviation and welfare programmes in poorly developed areas.
Last month, he was appointed as Assistant Commandant in the Central Reserve Police Force.
"I believe that sincere labour never goes unpaid. By dint of determination and will power, I had set the civil service target," he said. "But for family support, my civil service dream could never have been realised."
(with PTI inputs)
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