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An Interview with Ron Marchini
by Robbie Augspurger
As one of the founders of B-Movie Bingo, I have a never-ending obsession with the forgotten films and filmmakers of the mid 80s and early-to-mid-90s. This was a time when film distribution companies would snap up any kind of action fare they came across—and the film rental industry was exploding. Mom and pop shops as well as big boys like Blockbuster would stock their shelves full of these titles. Movies would fly off the shelves based on the cover art alone, and the more extreme the better. Only years later can I admit that yes, even I, was one of those lonely souls rifling through the over-stocked video store shelves, looking for plastic gold. To meet this demand, low-budget film production companies would crank out a seemingly endless supply of whatever insane action movies they thought would sell, domestically and often more importantly… abroad.
Enter martial artist, actor and producer Ronald L. Marchini (pronounced Mar-Kee-Nee). Hailing from Stockton, CA, Ron Marchini was a competitive martial arts champion in the late 60s and early 70s—whose main foe in the ring was Chuck Norris (though they were friendly out of the ring). Upon retiring from the fighting circuit in the early 70s, he was offered roles in low-budget foreign-produced exploitation kung-fu films with titles like YELLOW FACED TIGER (aka SLAUGHTER IN SAN FRANCISCO in the U.S.) (1974) and MURDER IN THE ORIENT (1974). Frustrated with the shoddy productions and shaky financing situations he witnessed, he started producing his own films starting with DEATH MACHINES in 1976 and ending with KARATE RAIDER in 1995. Over the span of almost twenty years in independent film, he produced films that were straight-to-the point action movies intended to satisfy a niche market thirsty for guns, fighting, and general mayhem. Things like dialogue and story were an afterthought. There was no time for such luxuries.
After all, he was the Omega Cop, the last cop on Earth. He was the Forgotten Warrior, hunted in the jungle. Making movies quick and dirty for foreign markets… flying by the seat of his pants. Below is a transcript of a rare interview conducted with me in May 2015.
Robbie Augspurger: First things first: as a martial artist and a martial arts actor, how important is it do be able to do the splits?
Ron Marchini: (Laughs) Well, doing the kicks—if you want to have high kicks—it definitely helps to be able to do the splits. And it kind of depends how practical it is—just doing high kicks—it may look good, but for effectiveness, it's not really that effective.
RA: Fair enough. I'm going to come back to this topic in a bit, but first, let's talk about your movies. After you retired from tournament fighting, you pursued a film career. The earliest screen credit of yours I could find was playing a "henchman" in YELLOW FACED TIGER (1974), also known as SLAUGHTER IN SAN FRANCISCO. This movie is famous for featuring Chuck Norris in his first starring role, as a bad guy. I saw this movie many years ago, but when I found out you were in it, I re-watched it last night, and there you were, henching it up. How did this you get this part, and what did you think of Chuck's dubbed voice?
RM: (Laughs). The [production] company came over from Hong Kong to shoot a picture in San Francisco, and they were looking for somebody, and they ran down to Black Belt Magazine. The magazine called me up and asked if I wanted to be in a movie. Of course, I didn't know anything about it, but I'd seen a few movies. I said, "What?! You know, I don't know. I'll try it." So I went for the interview, and it was for an older person, for supposedly the captain of the police force. So, when I went for the interview they said I was too young. But they wanted to use me anyway. So what they did was make me the brother of Chuck Norris' character. We were in the park, and it shows us attacking this girl. But, we really weren't because we were just friends trying to harass the cops.
While in the middle of filming that picture, I got offered another film in the Philippines which ended up being MANILA GOLD, which later came out as MURDER IN THE ORIENT. So I left there and went to the the Philippines, signed the contract, and then came back. So if you watch the picture, I'm in the beginning, but not in the end. (Laughs).
RA: I did notice that—you had that police run-in scene, and a couple other scenes like the one in the restaurant harassing the waiter.
RM: Yeah, sitting there playing the typical goon! You know, the big thing I learned from that picture—that was the first experience—we learned how to make pictures really cheap. Everybody that worked on the crew worked in front of the camera, you know? I mean, one guy who acted in the film—he was the cook! Another guy was the one that paid the bills. Everybody had multiple roles in making that film. So that was the first chance I had working with a Hong Kong company and finding out. And then I went to the Philippines and things really got weird! (Laughs)
RA: You're referring, of course, to MURDER IN THE ORIENT (1974). I couldn't find out much about this one, other than that's the first movie on which you worked with Paul Kyriazi, director of OMEGA COP.
Yeah, MURDER IN THE ORIENT was the first one I shot overseas in the Philippines. Post production was done in Hong Kong… it's just that the way they do things—their dubbing and everything like that—was a real problem. So, when I brought it back here to the States, I met Paul and I watched what he had done on one of his earlier pictures. And I got him to work on it, on editing. That led to me hiring him to do an actual picture after that, DEATH MACHINES, which was the first one that he directed for me.
RA: How did you and Paul actually meet, and what was your working relationship like?
RM: You know, I can't even remember, but Paul is an easy person to work with. He's not temperamental—he's very dedicated to his art. That was his whole thing. It's kind of like what people say in the industry, "He'd sell his soul to make a movie, ok?" (Laughs). That's Paul. We've had a good relationship. He came over, I guess it's been over a year now. He's a very dedicated person. Always thinking, always doing things—writing and stuff.
RA: I saw that the thing he does now is a "Live the James Bond Lifestyle" series of seminars and books.
RM: Right, yes. Live the James Bond life.
RA: I'm going to ask a few questions about acting now.
RM: (Laughs).
RA: Sometimes actors go too deep into their characters and get lost. How did you keep your own identity separate from the characters that you played?
RM: Have you ever made a movie—a low-budget movie? (Laughs). You don't have the luxury of spending a lot of time developing your character. It's made for a certain audience, and if you don't catch them right away—they want the action, they're not interested in the dialogue—because they don't speak the language anyway, and you have to dub it into their language, using it to sell to all these countries. On low-budget pictures you don't have the time to develop characters. We're lucky that we got a script to work on—I'm serious!
I'll tell you first hand—MURDER IN THE ORIENT. When we went and did that, it was called MANILA GOLD. After the first day of shooting Leo Fong—I don't know if you know that name—but he had done low-budget pictures and we had done other things together. I called him up and I said, "Hey Leo, I think we're trouble." And he goes, "Why? I thought it was good today!" And I said "You do?" And he said "Yeah!" And I go, "Wait, I don't know about you, but I know I'm not that good, and I didn't do any re-takes today." (Laughs) You know how you do takes, and then you do another one?
RA: Yeah.
RM: Hey, this is one shot and go! All right? If you didn't get a chance, whatever it was, it was. That first experience in the Philippines on the first day of shooting. It was just like, "We're in trouble." Develop a character? My God, we're lucky if we had a script!
RA: How did you prepare for your roles? What was your approach?
RM: What did I think was going to sell? You've got to realize, I just didn't act in the pictures, I came in with the story ideas. I'd get some people to try and put it together and write it as a story. You know, so I was with it from the pre-production, the production, and the post production. And Garrick [Huey, the editor of OMEGA COP among others] did editing on all these pictures. So it was really run like a business. Anybody can make a good picture if you can just keep shooting, because you can keep shooting until you have what you want. We used to make these movies for what other people spent on their craft services! You know what craft services is, right?
RA: Yeah, uh-huh.
RM: That's the break food—the food you get during your break. So, we were really lucky to make as many pictures as we did with the kind of budgets that we were doing. Then we'd go to the film markets ourselves, even though we'd get people to handle it depending on who did it in the United States, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium… we've practically sold to every country in the world. That's the way we did it. It wasn't looked at so much from an artistic standpoint—I didn't have the luxury of doing that.
The worst thing I could have done is sit there and make a drama with the dialogue and the emotional stuff. Who we were making the picture for—that audience wouldn't watch that picture. And those buyers that were buying for those countries, because you know, all these countries—they would send their buyers to the film markets, whether it's MIFED in Milan [a well-known international film market] or the Santa Monica Film Festival or Cannes, any of these—they buy for their market. We couldn't compete with the A-movies, the great big pictures, and the dramas and the ones like that, it just wasn't even feasible to get into that game. It was a niche market.
RA: In OMEGA COP we see a reference to Clint Eastwood, during the old west style "shootout in the streets" scene. Were there specific actors that you tried to emulate, or was it more like you said, flying by the seat of your pants than trying to emulate somebody?
RM: (Laughs) Yeah, it was more "flying by the seat of your pants", like you said, than trying to emulate somebody. Maybe that's what Paul was looking at or was emulating. Because he was the director, and he's the one who's setting the shot up. So, looking at it now, he probably did, with the cutting back and forth.
RA: Like the "Ecstasy of Gold" scene at the end of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY where they were all squinty-eyed staring at each other.
RM: Yeah.
RA: Recently I watched part of an unfinished Elvis Presley martial arts documentary called THE NEW GLADIATORS (1974). I watched most of it but didn't see you in it, though you are rumored to be – what do you remember of that, and did you meet Elvis?
RM: Okay, first of all: personally talking to Elvis? No. Did I see him? Yes. Did he come and see me? Yes. He came and saw me in Hawaii when I was competing in the Hawaiian championships. It was Elvis and his wife Priscilla. They came and sat there while we were competing. My friend George Waite actually produced and put the thing together. Elvis financed it—he talked with him and he put up the money for it, and we went and did the picture. The team that goes to Europe—I'm in that. At the beginning, not the stuff in the United States, but the team that's there in Europe, in Belgium.
RA: The footage of Superfoot Bill Wallace was impressive. I've seen some of his movies. His characters were really intense.
RM: Oh, Bill? Bill's a nice guy. He really is.
RA: Let's talk about DEATH MACHINES. In DEATH MACHINES (1976), you're credited as "White Death Machine".
RM: (Laughs)
RA: Your character was one of three martial arts fighters injected with an evil serum that made you zombie-like assassins.
RM: (Still laughing)
RA: It's true! The three assassins were credited as "Asian Death Machine", "Black Death Machine", and "White Death Machine".
RM: Yeah!
RA: I noticed a favorite kill move of yours was driving large vehicles into people and things, and blowing things up with bazookas – how did it feel to drive through that restaurant?
RM: That was actually one of my barns, out at the ranch. We had big doors that slid open, and they built the restaurant inside that. Then we drove the truck down the road, through the open the doors, and crashed into the set. It's fantasy! Everything you see is not real—but that's how that was done.
One of the big mistakes in that movie was that the guys didn't talk—the three killers. If I had that to do again, we wouldn't have done that.
RA: I noticed in that scene where you were getting shot in the face repeatedly, you screamed at the end of that, and that's the only sound I heard any of you guys make.
RM: Yeah, yeah. (Laughs) You noticed that.
RA: Yeah, that guy kept shooting you in the face, and he was incredulous that you kept getting up. And finally you screamed, I don't if you had a crisis of conscious or cognitive dissonance about what you'd become—like the serum was wearing off or your true personality was trying to break through, like the gun shots were waking you up, almost…
RM: Yeah…
RA: It was funny at the end how you guys all teamed up and went to the airport—"Welp, let's fly to Manila!"
RM: (Laughs) Hey, I can honestly say I had nothing to do with that script at all! That's probably the only picture I regret… of course that was the first picture I produced, that I put together.
Even though MURDER IN THE ORIENT, or MANILA GOLD, was the first picture I did, I didn't go in to produce, I was just there supposedly to act. But they got things so screwed up, that to finish it I had to bring it back to the United States and that's when I had Paul edit it—that's how I met Paul. And then I had him do DEATH MACHINES, and he had some guy who wrote the script, and it was just… I don't know. The poster was great!
RA: Yeah, the poster is awesome! I thought it was some future movie like DEATH RACE 2000.
RM: Oh yeah, yeah.
RA: What made you want to start producing? More control?
RM: Yeah, that was the thing. If you only act, you come in, do your part, and then you're gone. People don't realize actors very seldom work. Probably seventy percent of the time at least, they're not working. Then when they come in there, if the picture takes a couple months to shoot, or three months—not that any of mine did—the actor isn't there all that time. You really don't have any control. They bring you back for any dubbing you have to do or things like that. So I was wanting to get into everything—I'm doing the pre-production, the production, and the post-production. Everything from making noise for the footsteps, making sounds for the hits, things like that.
So I was involved in it completely and in the sales of it. And I realized if it was going to be successful, I had to keep control of it. And I learned this in the first picture, DEATH MACHINES. I gave it to Crown International, and I learned a lot from that. If you're going to be successful with this, you have to control it. The movie industry is all an illusion, and they'll promise you everything, and tell you everything you want to hear. If you think you're going to make some money on a picture, you better control it yourself. And that was why I able to make as many movies as I did, because I did control it. I knew what type of picture I was making, I knew what I could make, and what I couldn't.
You know, so many people talk about making movies—very few ever even start. And out of those that start, the number that finish is really high. But if you can complete it and keep coming back after doing a few, that's the test of time. That means that you made some money at them. Practically anybody can get enough money to shoot their first picture. Talk to all your friends and acquaintances. Then when it gets done, is it going to make money? Everybody that goes into this thinks, "Oh, I'm going to make my movie, and I'm going to give it to them and they're going to give me a million dollars!" It doesn't work like that!
RA: This brings us to the JUNGLE WOLF/Steve Parrish films, the films you made leading up to OMEGA COP and KARATE COP. Who was your character, Steve Parrish?
RM: Steve Parrish was the FORGOTTEN WARRIOR, and that was another experience where a person had me come to the Philippines—I was just hired as an actor. It was actually called YANK CRAZY and he starts as a prisoner of war with him escaping and staying over there. He meets a girl, gets married and has a child. Two guys who were with me in the service who were kind of turncoats came back to find me—not to save me, but to kill me. So, that was FORGOTTEN WARRIOR, and that was the start of the Steve Parrish character.
RA: After that, did you kind of take over the character with the JUNGLE WOLF movies?
RM: Yeah, because FORGOTTEN WARRIOR was an overseas production, and they had some problems financially when they were doing it… so, I took it over to finish it. We brought it back to the States and we put it together, and it sold, so then I went in to do JUNGLE WOLF.
Then in JUNGLE WOLF 2, which was actually the third picture, we had Adam West, who was Batman. We brought him in for a cameo role to help with sales. He was a really nice guy—very polite and very congenial.
RA: Yeah, everybody pretty much loves Adam West. So, what was KARATE COMMANDO: JUNGLE WOLF 3? Was that part of the series?
RM: Now that… it depends on where the movie is sold. Distributors, when they buy in their countries, they buy them and change the titles. So it can be real confusing. I think its… KARATE RAIDER..
RA: So, it sounds like KARATE RAIDER (1995) was actually renamed KARATE COMMANDO: JUNGLE WOLF 3 in some countries?
RM: It could be, but I don't know. JUNGLE WOLF 3… I've never seen that, but I could tell if I saw a little bit of it.
RA: You're wearing the same yellow tank top outfit in the first JUNGLE WOLF as you are in FORGOTTEN WARRIOR – was that just for continuity of character, or were they shot concurrently?
RM: Yeah, that was the character… that was the identity as I guess you might say.
RA: To make it easier for audiences in foreign territories to identify Steve Parrish.
RM: It makes him stick out.
RA: "Hey cool, it's the Forgotten Warrior! He's back!"
RM: (Laughs)
RA: Let's talk about OMEGA COP (1990). I've often wondered about this movie – did you have a part in writing the story?
RM: A little bit, but not a whole lot. I'd come up with the story outline, with what I wanted to see, and somebody would work on the dialogue. I knew what I could do— what we could film and make. I wasn't going to be able to make a scene where we have six cars crashing on the Golden Gate Bridge or something like that, and it's just not feasible. I've had people that have given me scripts, and that's what they'd have! They'd have these great car crashes and stuff—they'd say they want to do "action" and that's what they'd come up with.
RA: When we first watched this back in 2007 or so, we thought that John Travis lived in a baseball dugout with a skeleton. Is that where he lived… or where did he live?
RM: I don't know where he lived. We never got to that point. Apparently that's someplace that he knew was a safe haven for when the three of them went there. Why Paul put the skeleton there.. you'd have to ask him. (Laughs).
RA: What was the situation with the guy that played Wraith? Was his character supposed to be some sort of Village People creep, or was that just personal flair of the actor that played the role?
RM: Was that.. all right, yeah. Katzakian or something like that—I think his name was in the credits. He didn't act much, he just did some local stuff around town, and we used him. I don't know, I think we had a little problem with him speaking.
RA: He couldn't deliver a line?
RM: Well, they couldn't understand him. So that's why, if you notice in that group, it was the other guy, the shorter guy who did all the dialogue and he was all hyped up… he was his henchman.
RA: Now I'm going to say some of your film titles, and you tell me what you remember about them:
RM: Made in the Philippines.. it's dubbed completely. We did post-production in Hong Kong during the ninja craze, and it's ironic that quite a few people seem to like it just because it was a ninja-type film.
RM: KARATE COP, yes. That's probably one of the better ones of the ones that I've done. I think it had more things going on that made a little sense—it's got a story and you can kind of follow it along. The ones that I liked best would be KARATE COP and JUNGLE WOLF.
RM: (Laughs) ARCTIC WARRIORS is one of those pictures—I think the Germans maybe dubbed it and changed the title. That might be FORGOTTEN WARRIOR.
RA: Your last film was KARATE RAIDER (1995), which you also directed, at least partly. Why did you ultimately decide to let this film be your swan song and leave the business?
RM: The market was changing, up to that point. With the video thing I just kind of saw the writing on the wall. It was getting harder to get distribution for the films. The VHS business, as you could tell by what happened with most of the big video houses, was just changing. I just decided that it wasn't fun anymore.
RA: One great thing about KARATE RAIDER is the presence of Burt Ward. You've been in movies with both Batman and Robin! That's pretty cool.
RM: Yeah! Burt was a really, really great guy, too. And it's funny, when I first met him, he came to set and he goes, "I used to follow you all the time when you were you fighting in the 70s!" (Laughs).
RA: What did you do after you retired from the movie business?
RM: My wife's family is into farming, agribusiness. Even though I was doing movies from the 70s on, during the summer months I would sell onions, on the telephone and stuff. And then I ended up kind of managing the business in the 90s. Then we switched and made a transition into almonds. So now what we do is we just grow almonds. Have you ever heard of Blue Diamond almonds?
RA: Do they sell them at Fred Meyer and Safeway and places like that?
RM: Oh yeah, everywhere!
And I wrote books all through that time too. Martial arts books: Power Training for Kung-Fu and Karate, Advanced Power Training, and The Ultimate Martial Art 1, 2, 3, and 4.
RA: Whoa, cool! I didn't know that. This seems like a good segue to talk a bit about your illustrious martial arts career. How did you get interested in competitive martial arts?
RM: Well, I started martial arts in August of 1964, and very few people were involved in it then. There were a few judo dojos and stuff like that, but there wasn't kung-fu stuff and there weren't many karate schools, if any, around. A guy came back from the service and he became the sheriff, and he had trained in Japan and started teaching a couple nights a week. I went over there and tried it, and I just liked it. And after I competed in my first tournament, I won first place and grand champion, and it kind of went on from then.
RA: You had a lot of success as a fighter – in 1969 you were ranked No. 1 competitor in the United States.
RM: Yes, Black Belt Magazine. 1969, and then again in 1970. In 1968 I was ranked 3rd in the magazines. In the Black Belt Magazine yearbooks they would come out with listings of the top fighters in Europe, the top fighters in the U.S., and the top fighters in Asia.
RA: What do you think gave you the competitive edge? One thing I read in Black Belt was that you're 5'8", so maybe with your compact frame you could be quicker than your opponent.
RM: Yeah, I think maybe what helped was a good sense of distancing—you know, the distance between competitors and being able to close the distance and separate the distance. My timing I guess was pretty good. Because yeah—it definitely wasn't my size! (Laughs).
RA: I read that the only opponent who gave you trouble was Chuck Norris. What was it like competing against him?
RM: Yeah, that was just one of those things. He was probably my nemesis. Even though he was a great guy, we got along fine and stuff. In 1966 at an all-star tournament I lost by half a point.
RA: To Chuck Norris?
RM: Yeah, for the grand champion.
RA: Was all of his body hair distracting?
RM: (Laughs). No, he had on his gi, his uniform. Chuck was very congenial person, and he was a good sport.
RA: The landscape of competitive martial arts has changed a lot since you were competing. Mixed martial arts competitions are incredibly popular and many of the top competitors train in multiple arts–especially grappling arts like wrestling, judo, and jiu-jitsu. If you were actively competing in the martial arts world today, would you maintain a pure karate background or would you cross-train in other disciplines?
RM: First of all, I trained in Judo also, before people were even talking about that, doing mixed martial arts. And a lot of the guys—Chuck did Judo, a lot of them. Then it came with the jiu-jitsu… mixed martial arts, that's a money-making thing. That's why they're pushing that.
But no, I'd still do the same things. It is different, definitely. I mean there's traditional martial arts and then there's this mixed martial arts… it's significant too that we were doing it on hardwood floors and they're doing it on matts, so it's a spongier thing, and you don't see as much kicking because you're trying to get them down.
RA: Okay Ron, one last question. In the 80s and 90s many action and martial arts stars had workout tapes. David Carradine made tons of them. Did you ever consider making one of these?
RM: (Laughs) Well, we shot some stuff for local television, but that was live. I did some with my wife. But we never considered doing actual workout tapes, not so much.
RA: Well, that was probably my most pressing question, and that about wraps it up for me. Thanks Ron!
RM: All right. Hey, thank you!
Special thanks to Paul Kyriazi for helping make this interview happen.


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Jan. 25, 2010
Senior Nick Johnson (Windsor, CT) earned his second player of the week award this season as he won the award for games through January 24. The Pioneer forward netted three goals and two assists as the Pioneers earned three points in a conference series with Canisius. Johnson currently leads the conference and ranks second in the nation with 18 goals.
Johnson, who has 32 points this season, posted five points in a win and a tie against Canisius over the weekend. His performance propelled the longest unbeaten streak in the nation and school history to nine games at 7-0-2.
In the series opener Johnson scored the Pioneers first goal at the end of hte first period to tie the game at one just befoe the first intermission. He also notched the empty net game winning goal to seal the SHU victory Friday night with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Johnson also posted the first Pioneer goal Saturday night in a 5-5 tie. The senior also earned assists on Sacred Heart's second and third goals, both coming in the first period.
The Pioneers will look to continue their unbeaten streak Tuesday night as they take on the AIC Yellow Jackets on the road at 7:05 pm.

subset: commoncrawl


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Case Study
Our client had bought this house ten years ago, and decided to invest in the property to better suit their changing needs. They embarked with us on a journey to maximise its volume with side, loft and rear extensions, turning the house into something fabulous. An extended basement saw introduction of a Utility Room and Cinema, while a Rear Extension created a modern kitchen/dining/living space. Materials continue from inside to outside, with minimal sliding doors to accentuate the connection from the house to the garden.


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On a balmy May evening, the din of the crowd at Cafe Deux Soleil is palpable from a block away. The venue is a well-loved place where the local community gathers nightly for improv, poetry, live music and for this night a story telling game show and podcast.
The premise is simple, listen to stories, pick out the liar, win fabulous prizes!
The show's creator and host Jo Dworschak sat down with me for a quick interview on a hot sunny afternoon. I got to pet her bunny rabbit.
LM: What is the inspiration of Story Story Lie?
JD: I moved to Vancouver and Vancouver didn't have the variety of shows that I thought it should have. After travelling to Chicago to study with Second City I came back and thought about the type of show I wanted to do. My son and his friends had a game where they would tell two truths and a lie and it seemed like the best way to get storytellers involved.
LM: What is your selection process?
JD: I scout through shows in the area. I go to a lot of them and then sometimes I get recommendations.
LM: If you could have any person on the show living dead real fictional, who and why?
JD: My two personal icons! Who are Frida Kahlo and Leonard Cohen. They are just so inspiring to me.
LM: Who would be the worst person on your show?
JD: A Lawyer… *nervous laugh* actually not them because I am trying to get an online divorce attorney to sponsor the podcast.
LM: How do you get the cool and very practical prizes for the show?
JD: I buy random things off of Craigslist!
LM: What would be your Hogwarts House or Star Trek Shirt Colour?
JD: Ops Gold
LM: If you were in an airport and you had time to waste and 20$ what would you spend it on?
JD: I wouldn't buy a thing, but I would go get a quick pedicure and ask the person for their story.
If you are able to attend the next show June 10th at Cafe Deux Soliel please do. This is the type of show and cultural experiences that are awesome.


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Merchants Bonding Company has been named a 2015 Economic
Impact Award winner by the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Now in its 33rd
year, the Economic Impact Award commemorates the influence recognized companies
have had on the local economy in terms of job creation, capital investment and
facility expansion.
Fellow recipients of the 2015 Economic Impact Award are American
Enterprise Group, Delta Dental of Iowa, DuPont Pioneer, Microsoft, Principal
Financial Group and Wells Fargo.
The Greater Des Moines Partnership will honor area companies
with Economic Impact Awards at a luncheon on Wednesday, November 4, 2015. The
awards program will take place at the Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel, from
11:30am – 1:00pm and will also honor
recipients of the Celebrate Business awards.


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Baptism is a recognition of God's love and mutual response making a difference in the world. Celebration of the sacrament of Baptism is a commitment to faith, to God, to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit, demonstrated through a desire to belong to our faith community. Baptism implies commitment for further congregational involvement of the families seeking baptism, thus allowing the congregation to live out their promises to support and encourage the faith journey of the baptized individual and their family.
Baptisms are held periodically throughout the year during Sunday Worship.
Baptism of Children: Parents seeking Baptism should speak to the Office Manager regarding our preparation process. Commitment to faith, demonstrated in church attendance and the Baptism preparation are prerequisites for the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism.
Adult Baptism and Membership: is preceded by conversation with the minister and participation in a Confirmation class.
Parents or Adults seeking baptism should contact the Office Manager regarding our preparation process.
Information on St. Paul's United Church usage can be found here.


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Several types of material can be used as a fireplace mantel or around the fireplace, including brick, stone, granite or marble. While most of these materials are heat-resistant, burn marks might occur if embers from the fireplace, a lit match is set down or any other form of heat transfer occurs. Removing burn marks from marble will require some household tools.
Step 1
Wet the area with warm water.
Step 2
Mix together 1 cup ammonia with 1 cup warm water and apply the ammonia mixture to the burn mark.
Step 3
Let the ammonia solution soak into the burn mark for five minutes.
Step 4
Scrub the ammonia mixture into the mark with a soft brush and repeat until the burn mark is removed.
Step 5
Try a paste made out of baking soda and water if the burn marks are still visible. Apply the paste to the burn mark, let sit for three hours and then wipe away with a clean, damp cloth. Repeat as needed.


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When supporting our AFS participants and their families, it is important to be familiar with the chain of communication at AFS-USA. You can find a pdf version of this chart by clicking here for the hosting version and here for the sending or study abroad version.
The Hosting Chain of Communication:
The Study Abroad Chain of Communication:
Who's who in the support chain of communication
- Hosted Student
AFS-USA hosts approximately 2200 students annually
- Host Family
Many host families have hosted AFS students in the past, have been on an AFS program, or have a family member who has participated on an AFS program abroad
- Liaison
Each student and host family is assigned a local volunteer or liaison. Throughout the student's program, the AFS liaison will initiate separate contact with both the student and host family each month. It is not necessary for the student to wait to be contacted by the Liaison, in fact, we urge students to ask for assistance at any time, before difficulties and misunderstandings escalate to a less manageable situation
- AFS Chapter or Team Support Coordinator
The liaison will keep the Chapter and/or Team Support Coordinator apprised of any important matters concerning the student and host family. Support Coordinators serve as a resource to help resolve any support issues or questions. The Team Support Coordinator can also assist natural families of U.S participants who go abroad. Many teams have Liaison Coordinators or Associate Support Coordinators to help with support in the team
- AFS National Service Center Staff
The AFS National Service Center is located in NYC, NY. By calling 1-800-876-2377 between the hours of 9am – 5pm (EST) on weekdays, you will be automatically connected. In most cases it is best to contact the Team Support Coordinator or the Team Chair before contacting the National Service Center
- National Service Center Support Staff
The AFS-USA National Service Center provides overall coordination of support throughout the U.S. to ensure that support efforts across the U.S. are in line with AFS International standards, policies, and procedures. The National Service Centers also ensures that AFS-USA remains in compliance with the U.S Department of State and CSIET (Council on Standards for International Educational Travel, the two external regulating bodies for J-1 secondary school exchange programs in the U.S.
- AFS Duty Officer
After hours and on weekends AFS has a 24-hour duty officer system in place. To reach the AFS Duty Officer in case of emergency, call 1-800-876-2376. You will be connected with an answering service, which will take your information and forward it to the AFS Duty Officer on call at that time. The AFS Duty Officer will then be in touch with you directly as soon as possible
- AFS Staff in the U.S. and Partner Country
AFS staff in the U.S. and in your student's home country work with volunteers in their respective countries to resolve issues and questions that cannot be resolved at the local level
- AFS Volunteers in the Home Country
The volunteer structure varies around the world, but in every AFS partner country you will find volunteers who serve as a bridge between the parent/guardian of the student and the staff in the partner office
- Natural Family Members
Like host family members, natural family members abroad may have been exchange students themselves, or have hosted an AFS student. Some may even ben hosting an AFS student while their child is in your home
In most situations, AFS volunteers follow the chain of communication and work directly with the AFS Support volunteers in their team and/or chapter. However there may be situations where you may need to communicate directly with the AFS Participant Support Staff.
You can find and communicate directly with your team's Participant Support Staff via MyAFS in the Team Directory widget. Please see the sample Team Directory widget screen shot below:
In addition, there maybe situations when you will need to contact the Participant Support Staff in another AFS team, for example in cases where you have information about an AFS student in another team. There also maybe situations where you will need to contact the Participant Support Manager. In these cases, we have attached the following Staff Organizational Chart for the AFS-USA Participant Support Department. Click here to download the org chart


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Sunday, April 12, 2015
Black and White Sunday:
The WENDY LECTURE.... and so it begins.
Cosmo find a comfy chair, this is gonna take a while.... Girl has lots to say...
And all this because... daddy said Wendy was special...
3 comments:
- Dolly theDoxie said...
We're sure you're very special too! Love Dolly
- April 12, 2015 at 10:36 AM
- M. K. Clinton said...
You are all special. ♥
- April 12, 2015 at 2:08 PM
- Jeanne Pursell said...
Awww 'vie...we know you are very special as well!
xo Chloe and LadyBug
- April 13, 2015 at 5:35 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Select a topic or year
As population rates rise, civic leaders face an unprecedented series of challenges, including massive urbanization, stressed infrastructure and economic crisis. The project from Pace University, for example, "Across Cities for Cities," involves teams of students in New York working with students from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Delhi, India, and Dakar, Senegal, developing mobile and smartphone applications for transportation, health care and education, with the solutions being implemented in each city for evaluation and improvement. These solutions will tackle problems such as identifying the closest public transportation to a specific destination or finding the nearest emergency room.
IBM created the $10,000 awards to help universities develop innovative new curricula that address the global challenges of transportation, health care, water, energy and other systems. The new courses will prepare students for future leadership in a variety of industries by exposing them to Watson-like technologies in the classroom, sparking collaboration and innovation.
"We need to focus on developing more advanced skills so that students around the world are equipped to tackle real-world issues when they enter the workforce," said Jim Corgel, general manager of IBM Academic and Developer Relations. "The work of these 50 award recipients should help change the face of education by enabling students to work on pressing issues facing cities today – and at the same time prepare them for leadership in industries like healthcare and transportation."
Each year American drivers waste an estimated 3.7 billion hours, the equivalent of five days each, sitting in traffic burning 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. Students at the University at Buffalo are analyzing U.S. border control data to learn how advanced technology solutions may help improve the sustainability of the transportation system. The project focuses on local highway traffic and reducing congestion around the three U.S. and Canadian border crossings in the region.
City infrastructures that deliver vital services can now rely on a wealth of new information and technologies enabling them to sense and respond intelligently to the needs of their growing populations. RMIT University in Australia is helping students explore how advanced technology and sensors can play a role in building a smarter, interconnected city. Working together with students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, students are using local real-world examples to evaluate new urban planning and development options for vital city services such as transportation, healthcare and energy.
These new classes are being taught in the 2011-2012 school year. Find out more about the award winners at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/university/smartplanet/awards. Additional videos of select award winners are available at www.youtube.com/IBMFacultyAwards.
Editors' Note: Photos are available via the Associated Press Photo Network and on the Internet at Feature Photo Service's link through www.newscom.com.
Fall 2011 Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Awards Now Open for Submissions
The fall 2011 Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation awards are now open for submissions of proposed curricula to support Smarter Commerce, Smarter Communications and Smarter Energy.
For more information on IBM's university initiatives, visit www.ibm.com/press/university.
Related resourcesImages
Fordham University students Abhishek Mehra, left, and Allison Murray, right, join Fordham Prof. R.P. Raghupathi, center, winner of an IBM Smarter Planet Faculty Award, to discuss how university students around the world are working on projects to improve cities, transportation and healthcare. Since it bested Jeopardy! quiz show champs in February, IBM Watson has captured the attention of students around the world. By bringing Watson-like technologies into the classroom, IBM and the winning faculty members are sparking innovation and encouraging students to look at society's tough challenges from a fresh perspective. (Bob Goldberg/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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News about IBM solutions for K-12 and higher education
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The Footin.com Photo Contest is now open for voting! Entries and votes will be accepted up until June 15th. Voting is allowed once per photo. The top three voted photos on June 15th at 10pm Central Time will be selected as winners. First place get's a Footin.com barefoot suit!
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Economists and CEOs offer lots of advice on steps to improve economy
Question: What one thing, if any, can the new mayor of San Diego do to keep local companies from leaving the county for economic reasons?
Marney Cox, San Diego Association of Governments
Answer: Analyze companies' complaints
Unfortunately there is not one thing that would apply to all businesses that would prevent a local company from relocating to someplace "better." Rather a four-step process: First, find out what the biggest complaints are; second, using the responses, identify and meet with business leaders that have articulated an issue with broad implications to better understand an acceptable solution; third, devise a strategy to address the top concerns under a reasonable timetable; and fourth, repeat as needed, because solving problems is not a one-time thing, and report back to the public in the annual state of the city address about the progress.
Can the new mayor of San Diego do to keep local companies from leaving the county for economic reasons?
Yes 65% (30)
No 35% (16)
46 total votes.
Phil Blair, Manpower
Answer: Be consistent
Convince me your administration will not suddenly raise taxes, increase the minimum wage, force livable wages on my firm, rezone the area of my business, jack up environmental requirements or raise water/electricity rates. I can plan for gradual, staged increases in just about anything but the potential of sudden hikes in anything makes me very nervous and my business environment very unstable. I have enough competition out there, I don't need erratic behavior from my city, county state or country.
Kelly Cunningham, National University System
Answer: Allow more housing to be built
Residential construction plummeted over the course of the recession. Although units now being constructed are rising again, amounts remain far below needed levels to accommodate population growth. Already among the most expensive and least affordable housing market in the nation, it is difficult for San Diego businesses to attract and retain the rising labor force, especially those wanting to establish families and raise children. Over the past decade, while San Diego's overall population increased 11 percent, the number of 30- to 44-year olds actually declined and apparently took their children with them as children 15 years and under also declined.
Gina Champion-Cain, American International Investments
Answer: Promote business incubators
A diversified economy is the best economy, and San Diego's small business emphasis lends itself well to that. However, it needs a talented workforce from which to build. Therefore, the mayor needs to promote and sustain local programs which will develop San Diegans for careers of the future. Efforts need to be focused on providing local businesses with access to talent. He needs to focus on putting measures in place that support business incubators, programs for the development of our youth, and promoting entrepreneurship. Local companies will stay if they have the resources required to be successful and profitable; a talented workforce is a huge part of those resources.
Alan Gin, University of San Diego
Answer: Maintain the quality of life
Websense got a reported $5 million to relocate to Texas. Unless California and San Diego are willing to go to that extent to bribe private firms to stay or relocate in the region, there is not much that can be done. This has been a problem that has existed for decades in the area of local economic development, where companies play local communities against each other to get big subsidies. One thing San Diego and California can do is to maintain the quality of life that is attractive to some entrepreneurs, including environmental quality (we don't have exploding fertilizer plants!).
Stephan Goss, Zeeto Media
Answer: Promote fresh-air thinking
A lot of damage was done in a relatively short period of time with the former mayor. The only thing consistent was his inability to work with people, even in his own party. Mayor Faulconer will be a breath of fresh air to local companies and potential companies thinking of moving to San Diego.
James Hamilton, University of California San Diego
Answer: Promote sustainable growth
Development fees should be reduced and the permit process streamlined. For example, the linkage fee is effectively a tax on job creation and has not achieved its stated objective of making San Diego housing more affordable. The growth in facility benefit assessment fees also needs to be restrained. At the same time, our long-term development vision needs to promote higher population density, use of mass transit, and water conservation to put us on a sustainable growth path.
Jamie Moraga, intelliSolutions
Answer: Don't raise minimum wage
At the city level, don't raise the minimum wage and don't increase the linkage fees. Both are deterrents to businesses wanting to remain in the City of San Diego. Unfortunately there is only so much a mayor can do to keep local companies from moving to other more business-friendly states. It really is at the state and governor level versus the city level. You see it in spades with Gov. Rick Perry from Texas with his roadshow for the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). The TEF is wooing companies with cash, capital investments, low regulations, and no state income tax. California is one of the worst states to do business in because of the regulations, high taxes, and increased costs of doing business. Keeping businesses here, luring new businesses from other states, and encouraging start-ups has to come from the state level. Congratulations to Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer and a big thank you to interim Mayor Todd Gloria who stepped up and did a fantastic job leading our city.
Gary London, The London Group Realty Advisors
Answer: Focus on construction
Usually there is not much a mayor can do to prevent a company from leaving, because those reasons are wrapped up in broader business factors that are, frankly, beyond the purview of the mayor. But we can certainly do more to attract new companies and to help them expand. Mayor Faulconer might start by focusing on construction and entitlement: eliminate the disincentives to construction here, including the waste of time, bureaucracy and excessive fees. He can also eliminate disincentives to co-locating businesses and residences by encouraging mixed-use development, density and infrastructure improvements to support new growth. And he can manage the city well through good fiscal stewardship.
Jim Plante, Pathway Genomics
Answer: Provide aggressive incentives
A near term solution is to provide aggressive incentives to local businesses to overcome the high taxes and regulations in California. Local governments and private employers are suffering the cumulative effect of failed state and federal policies of high taxes, needless regulations, reckless overspending, and failing schools.
Three large local companies have recently announced they will relocate to Texas resulting in job losses of more than 5,000. The new mayor should become a ferocious advocate, along with other like-minded mayors nationwide, to reform regressive policies for taxes, education, regulations, and intelligent infrastructure investment.
Norm Miller, University of San Diego
Answer: Not much
Once a firm is based here, the reasons they leave are mostly driven by state-level taxes, labor laws and getting fed up with regulatory hurdles and extractions. Local politicians at the margin can't do much about this, other than reducing local regulation and permit delays, although political rhetoric suggests they have magical powers. In the long run what could really help maintain business competitiveness would be to hire someone like (education reformer) Michelle Rhee, eliminate 5 percent of the worst teachers in the protected public schools and try and provide a competitive workforce.
Rick Sanborn, Seacoast Commerce Bank
He is not participating this week.
Lynn Reaser, Point Loma Nazarene University
Answer: Listen to companies
The new mayor needs to have a clear understanding of which city laws, policies, and procedures are the most costly for companies and causing some of them to consider other locations. Businesses constantly complain about the regulatory burden but we need specifics. San Diego should conduct a comprehensive survey of all the businesses located here to determine which particular regulations are the most onerous in terms of cost or delays. These could then be prioritized and analyzed in terms of achieving certain public objectives but at a much lower expense to our economy. Information is power.
John Sarkisian, Pro Performance Sports
Answer: Issue a plan
Mayor Faulconer can publish a long term plan for the City of San Diego and region that addresses the high cost to do business in the city of San Diego. Begin by eliminating fees, taxes and regulations that are duplicative and unnecessary. Build a thoughtful and 21st century plan to address the shortage of housing by focusing on smart development in urban areas that minimizes auto traffic and clusters people close to work, schools, and services. Show leadership in developing public facilities, including a new multi-purpose athletic facility for the Chargers and to host world-class events as well as a new civic center to replace the outdated and inefficient current complex. Create a world-class city and business will not leave.
Dan Seiver, Reilly Financial Advisors
Answer: Spend on infrastructure
San Diego's greatest "pull" factors are: fantastic climate, beaches, and other year-round recreation options, and an educated workforce with strong universities. The greatest "push" factors are the high cost of living, high taxes, and congestion. The mayor has very little control over these. But we have an enormous amount of deferred capital projects which must be funded to maintain "quality of life" pull factors. Spending on roads, sewer, water, etc. is vital. Capital projects should be funded with bonds, and it is the mayor's job to get San Diego a high enough credit rating to issue lots more bonds at a reasonable cost.
Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health
Answer: Streamline regulations
The mayor needs to use his position to help streamline burdensome regulations and fight fee increases on business. Failing to do so could force even more companies to leave for other locales, and hobble those that remain. It is business that creates jobs -- and a weak business community cannot build and sustain the high paying jobs that drive our economy. I see the effects of fee increases and regulations first hand in my industry -- health care. And as one of the largest employers in the region, what affects health care affects thousands of jobs and the San Diego economy as a whole.


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Microsoft Screws Over Nokia
There will be a lot of stories analyzing the Windows Phone 8 which appears on the heels of Phone 7 hitting the streets. Apparently the most aggressive features on Phone 8 will not run on the latest Nokia Lumia phones, thus not allowing an upgrade for users.
This Nokia-Microsoft thing is rather weird since everyone thought that the connection between the two companies was tight. After all, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop came from Microsoft, where he was in charge of the business division. How he manages to keep his job at Nokia is amazing and we all should assume that Microsoft is doing all this to buy Nokia outright. I guess Redmond would rather buy Nokia in shambles than buy it healthy. It's cheaper.
Nobody has managed to ask either Nokia or Microsoft a simple question: Did Nokia have any sort of long-term warning that this new smartphone OS would not run on the just-released Nokia phones? I was under the assumption that the two companies worked closely together, thus Nokia would come out with a phone coincident with this new OS. The last in the line of Lumia phones, the 900, would have been ideal for this. "If you want the latest and greatest, we have the 900 running Windows Phone 8!"
In fact it appears as if Nokia had zero knowledge of this weird announcement. If they did, then you really have to wonder why Nokia now looks flat-footed.
Let's ask another question: Exactly what is the Microsoft marketing department thinking with this announcement? The Windows Phone 7 platform is getting no traction and Microsoft wants people to pay some attention to it. So they decide to submarine the whole OS with a new version that isn't immediately available? Was this a move to sell more Windows phones by Nokia? Really? Are they that brain-dead?
After pulling this stunt, Microsoft hopes to get other vendors on board with the Windows Phone OS? What company would ever do it? In a panic move, Microsoft has killed Windows Phone. They've killed it dead. You watch.
So the new operating environment will be a desktop computing environment and a high-end pad computer both running what amounts to being a Phone OSMetro.
Wow. I have never seen anything like this, ever. It's as if someone gave a fully loaded automatic pistol to a seven-year-old and told them to go play outside with their friends and didn't expect anything bad to happen.
What's also weird is the fragmented nature of this announcement and how it falls on the heels of both E3 and the Los Angeles event for the launch of the Surface pad machine. There are ways to combine all this. What's the point of running the media ragged? Go here, go there, go here, go there.
This phone situation has now become a full-blown fiasco. Microsoft has got to pull back from this mania. First it must realize that not everything that goes on outside the company is designed to screw the company. Microsoft is still reacting as if it is 1995 and everyone is out to get it. Nowadays, nobody even cares about Microsoft. The company just makes a lot of money and this will continue if it just produces updates for Windows and the Office suite while adding needed features.
The company obviously went nuts over the Apple iPhone taking over the smartphone market long before Microsoft could get any traction whatsoever. Microsoft was also early in the game with tablet computing, to no avail. So what? Instead of just saying, "We were way off base and should leave that market to people who understand it," Redmond goes nuts trying to prove that it is just as smart.
But it is not just as smart. Rolling out Windows Phone 8 and screwing over its only real partner proves that.
You can Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter @therealdvorak.
More John C. Dvorak:
Go off-topic with John C. Dvorak.


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No Glare Outdoor Heaters
- IP Rating Remove This Item
2 Item(s)
How do no glare infrared heaters work?1
No glare infrared heaters produce no visible light and are ideal for those who find the glow of a quartz heater distracting, or harsh on the eyes. On the electromagnetic scale, no glare heaters use a longwave form of infrared which has a longer wavelength but lower frequency than the shortwave forms of infrared found in quartz heaters. The lower frequency feels less intense but is more easily absorbed by the body, so although it feels less intense, it will keep you warmer over a longer period of time.
Do I need a no glare or a low glare infrared heater?1
No glare and low glare patio heaters use different types of infrared radiation to distribute heat.
Low glare patio heaters use shortwave or near infrared radiation. Near infrared is close to the visible light portion of the infrared spectrum, so low glare heaters give off an orange glow when they reach full operating temperatures. Near infrared has a higher frequency but shorter wavelength than far infrared, which means the heat is more intense but less easily absorbed by the body. This higher intensity heat is useful in exposed outdoor locations because it helps the heaters compensate for the chilling effects of the weather.
No glare patio heaters use longwave or far infrared radiation. Far infrared is much further away from the visible light portion of the infrared spectrum, so gives off no visible light. Far infrared has a higher frequency but longer wavelength than near infrared, which means the heat is gentler but more easily absorbed by the body. Because more heat is absorbed, this lower intensity heat is actually more efficient over time, so no glare patio heaters are usually the best choice for less exposed areas that require prolonged heating, such as warehouses, workshops and garages.
No glare heaters also make a good choice in areas with sensitive aesthetics where a more discreet heating solution is preferred. However, if you want the intensity of near infrared with the subtlety of far infrared, you might prefer an ultra-low glare heater, such as our Burda Term 2000 heaters. Ultra-low glare heaters use the same form of near infrared as low glare heaters, but use special coated elements which considerably reduce the light output – a useful compromise in stylish outdoor dining areas.


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Moroccan Baked Lamb With Saffron Rice
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:16] Source: 0Digg Digg
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:16] Source: 0Digg Digg
1 1/2 lbs. of Mutton (Lamb or Goat)
3 medium Onions (thinly sliced)
1 oz. of Almonds (Baadaam)
4 cloves of Garlic (Lasan)
1 oz. of Coriander Seeds (Dhania)
1 tsp. of Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirch) (or to taste)
Mutton Steam Roast Raan #ratingval# from #reviews# reviews Print Recipe Type: Main Author: Chef Zakir Bakra Eid Special Ingredients 1 mutton leg 3tbsp ginger,garlic paste ½ bunch fresh coriander 4tbsp papaya paste 250g yogurt 1tbsp garam masala powder 1tbsp cumin powder 1tbsp chat masala 1tbsp khatai powder 1tbsp crushed cumin … Read more
Eid ul Adha is almost here and people are in search of some exotic recipes for the meat they had after sacrificing animals. Here are some scrumptious mutton delicacies that one can enjoy on Eid. Peshawari Mutton Karahi Ingredients * 1/2 kg ( 500 gms ) mutton * 3 tomatoes … Read more
Mutton Bhuna Gosht
Recipe type: Main
Author: Chef M Ikram
Mutton cubes cooked with spices, yogurt and milk, served with zeera rice.
Mutton 1 1/2 lb
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Dry red chillies 20
Coriander seeds 3 tbsp
Garlic cloves 20
Sour curd 1/2 pint
Okra(Ladyfinger), fresh 1 kg
Lamb / mutton, pieces 1 kg
Tomato, peeled 1 kg
Onion, small 1
Corn oil, for frying 1 tbsp
500 gms Lamb Mince(Keema)
Brown Color
3/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Garlic (Lasun) paste
1 tblsp Raw Papaya Paste
1 tsp Ginger (Adrak) Paste
Mutton heart 2
Mutton kidneys 4
Mutton brain 2
Garam masala 5 gms
Fenugreek leaves 2 gms
Green chilli 8
Mutton with bones-1/2 kg
Rice (sela)-2 cup
Yogurt-1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste-2tbsp
Plum (dry)-1/2 cup
Garam masala powder-1tbsp


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The Student AVMA is seeking hosts for its exchange program.
Each year, dozens of veterinary students from universities across the globe apply for veterinary externship positions in the United States through the International Veterinary Students' Association Hosting Program. The SAVMA fields applications and places foreign students at U.S. veterinary clinics and hospitals that have expressed interest in serving as host practices, matching foreign students with participating veterinarians on file. Once a practitioner accepts a student, the SAVMA international exchange officer gives the host veterinarian's contact information to the student. The student and host veterinarian arrange the details of the exchange and create an experience that is educational yet comfortable for both participants.
A veterinarian who wishes to become a host can fill out a practitioner participation form at https://www.avma.org/About/SAVMA/Events/InternationalExchange/pages/become-an-ivsa-host.aspx. Additional information is available through the SAVMA Web pages at www.avma.org/savma. For access to SAVMA members-only sections, AVMA members may enter their AVMA identification number and password.


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The new jobline allows job seekers to create and manage your own profile and resume. Companies can also register now and post and manage their job postings. To access the full features of the new Jobline you will need to create your account and login the box to the right. You do not have to login to see or search current job postings.
Please select how you would to access Jobline


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Balmain pops up at Printemps Haussmann
Robin Driver
today Jan 11, 2019
As it looks to mark the beginning of each new season with a different guest of honour, Parisian department store Printemps has revealed its newest invitee: Balmain, which has been given carte blanche to set up shop in the atrium of the chain's Boulevard Haussman store.
From 17th January to 10th March, the label led by designer Olivier Rousteing will present visitors with a space taking its inspiration from the architectural codes of a Parisian hôtel particulier, featuring baroque accents, mouldings and mirrors, interspersed with neon lights and antique busts. The brand's new logo, which was revealed last month, will take centre stage thanks to a mirror installation which reflects the new monogram into infinity.
The space will also serve as a pop-up store as a new exclusive collection has been conceived especially for the event by the brand's creative director. Based around blue and white stripes, this line celebrating the label's French roots is made up of a dozen pieces, ranging in price from 95 to 1,190 euros. For women, the classic marinière is revisited through a vest featuring red rhinestones and a dress in striped tweed, while the menswear offering leans more towards athleisure, with jogging pants and two t-shirts. Accessories, including a cap, a bag, flip-flops and a bandana complete the collection.
Clearly in the midst of intensifying its activities in the French capital, Balmain will open a new location on Paris' Rue Saint-Honoré in early February, taking over from Zara at number 374. The brand is already announcing the opening with a giant ad plastered over a building on Boulevard des Capucines. The house will also be presenting a runway show during the city's menswear Fashion Week on 18 January, as well as on 23 January, when it will participate as an invited member in Paris' Haute Couture calendar.
Copyright © 2019 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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May 27, 2015 0
Microsoft ranked #4 Holder of Pervasive Neurotech Intellectual Property*
By: SharpBrains
Microsoft Corporation is a worldwide leader in software solutions for businesses and consumers. In addition, Microsoft has expanded into entertainment, gaming, tablets, phones, and other communication technology. To provide the ideal experience for users, Read the rest of this entry »


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Both the characters and the tone have been updated as a new generation of Grizwolds hits the road for a raucous holiday, eliminating the darker edges for a sillier, ruder romp. After the four madcap Vacation movies from 1983 to 1997, the focus moves from Chevy Chase's patriarch Clark to his now-grown son Rusty. As with the earlier films, there are so many jokes flying at the screen that some are bound to make us laugh.
Ed Helms is the fifth actor in five films to play Rusty, and now he's got a family of his own. So he decides to give them a holiday to remember, retracing his childhood trip from Chicago to Wally World in California. His wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) isn't so sure about this, but gamely goes along with it, while their bickering teen sons James and Kevin (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) settle into the back seat for the long drive. Along the road, they stop at Debbie's old university and learn a few things about her wild reputation. They also visit Rusty's sister Audrey (Leslie Mann) in Texas, where she's married to a swaggering rancher (Chris Hemsworth). And they drop in on Rusty's parents (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo). In between, every stop brings a new moment of crazed mayhem.
The script is set up as an homage to the original movie, playfully riffing on the structure and set-pieces. Here, the comedy highlights include a dodgy natural hot springs and a death-defying bit of white-water rafting. All of this is infused with a surprisingly warm family dynamic amid constant gags about excrement and genitalia. Miraculously, writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein never get cynical about the Grizwolds. Rusty and Debbie are still hot for each other, while James and Kevin's vicious rivalry only reveals how much they look out for each other. All four actors are solid, with terrific comical timing and likeable performances.
Continue reading: Vacation Review
This generational drama strains so hard to be serious that it's almost laughable. Its big themes are only superficially addressed, while the bloated nearly two and a half hour running time could easily have been cut down simply by eliminating all of the emotive close-ups of actors with tears welling in their eyes. In other words, while there are the bare bones of a decent movie in here, it's been badly compromised to turn it into Oscar bait.
At least it starts well, with a sequence centred on Hank (Robert Downey Jr), a slick Chicago lawyer with a precocious daughter (Emma Tremblay) and an angry trophy wife (Sarah Lancaster) who has had enough. Hank's cold-hearted ways are a legacy of his estranged relationship with his father Joseph (Robert Duvall), the no-nonsense judge in a small-town Indiana town. Then Hank is called home when his mother dies, comforting his brothers Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), whose injured hand ended his baseball career, and Dale (Jeremy Strong), who is mentally challenged. He also rekindles his youthful romance with waitress Sam (Vera Farmiga). Then Joseph is arrested for murder, and Hank steps in to help inexperienced lawyer CP (Dax Shepard) defend him against the shark-like prosecutor (Billy Bob Thornton).
There isn't a single subtle element in this film, as the script is carefully constructed to pull our sympathies back and forth even though both Hank and Joseph are deeply unlikeable grumps. Downey and Duvall are good enough actors to make them watchable, but director David Dobkin (The Change-up) hammers every sentimental scene home with far too much force. And the script is so simplistic that it chickens out before anything interesting happens. Even the court case lacks something compelling to draw the audience in. It certainly doesn't help that the characters are all deeply contrived. Just one example: there's a disability for each of the three brothers: physical, emotional and mental.
Continue reading: The Judge Review
David Dobkin's movie 'The Judge' is the opener at Toronto Film Festival - a slot not traditionally associated with high quality.
David Dobkin, the filmmaker best known for his classic comedy Wedding Crashers, brings an altogether different film to the Toronto Film Festival this week. His legal drama The Judge, starring Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall, opens this year's festival on Thursday (August 4, 2014).
Robert Downey Jr [L] and Robert Duvall [R] in 'The Judge'
"I hadn't had an opportunity to really dig in and do something like this in 20 years," Dobkin told the Canadian Press of his foray into drama. "There are a lot of intense scenes in the movie. You would think that comedies are more fun to work on and they're not always as fun as they come out. This movie was strangely cathartic."
Continue reading: Downey Jr And 'The Judge' Set To Open Toronto Film Festival
Hank Palmer is a ruthless but excellent lawyer, despised by many of his peers for his habit of representing often blatantly guilty criminals. One day mid-trial however, he receives a call from home informing him of his mother's recent death. Reluctantly, he ventures back to the town of Carlinville, Indiana where he grew up to convene with his family ahead of the funeral. As he expected, the greeting between himself and his father - the local Judge Joseph Palmer - is particularly frosty. As a young college graduate, Hank was desperate to leave the harsh and unfriendly grasp of his father but when the town's sheriff tells him that Joseph is now a murder suspect, he begins to feel a grudging obligation to cast their differences aside and help him protest his innocence.
Continue: The Judge - Trailer
We may sigh heavily at the thought of yet another fairy tale blockbuster, but the filmmakers and cast here demand a bit more attention. And sure enough, it's refreshingly smarter and funnier than we expect. There are still the problems of unnecessary 3D and far too many digital characters, but the restless pace and the witty performances make it a lot of fun to watch.
It's Jack and the Beanstalk with added action mayhem, as orphaned farmboy Jack (Hoult) sells his horse for a bag of supposedly magic beans. When one inadvertently gets wet, a massive beanstalk manages to propel Princess Isabelle (Tomlinson) into the realm of the giants, reawakening a legend that had died off centuries ago. So the King (McShane) enlists Jack to join a rescue team of guards (including McGregor, Marsan and Bremner) and Isabelle's intended, the shifty Roderick (Tucci). Up above the clouds, they encounter two-headed giant Fallon (Nighy) and his nasty horde. But rescuing Isabelle is only the first problem they face.
The freewheeling plot zips along without pausing for breath, encompassing massive set pieces and more gritty battles as well as small moments of drama and romance. Meanwhile, Jack and Isabelle cast lusty glances at each other, even when they're in physical peril. Director Singer brings out the energy of the characters to keep us involved, playing on the vertiginous angles of the settings while playfully deploying fairy tale imagery in the sets, costumes and landscapes. it's understandably why he decided to digitally create the giants rather than have actors play them, but this leaves a hole where the monsters should be. Aside from Nighy's more obviously performance-captured face, all of them look like dead-eyed cartoons, which essentially turns the film into a medieval Transformers movie.
Continue reading: Jack The Giant Slayer Review
While Dave (Bateman) has become a successful lawyer, complete with gorgeous wife Jamie (Mann) and three kids, his childhood friend Mitch (Reynolds) is living like a slacker with a string of random women. One night they wish they had each other's life and the next morning they wake up in each other's skin.
Of course, after the initial wackiness, Mitch is going to have to learn how to take Dave's responsibilities seriously, while Dave will need to discover how to relax and live a little. But how can they return to their own bodies?
Continue reading: The Change-up Review
David Dobkin - Director David Dobkin Westwood, California - 'The Change-Up' Los Angeles premiere held at The Regency Village Theatre - Arrivals Monday 1st August 2011
Mitch and Dave were the best of friends when they were younger but over the years, they have slowly grown apart. After running into each other on a night out, both men are jealous of the other's lives. Mitch is single and lives on his own, with a number of beautiful women for his pleasure. Dave meanwhile, has a modest pay check from working at a high status law firm, a beautiful wife, Jamie and three adorable kids, whom Mitch likens to 'mini drug addicts'.
Continue: The Change-Up Trailer
David Dobkin - Monday 19th November 2007 at Empire Leicester Square London, England
One scene will stay with me for the next six Christmases. Vince Vaughn, playing Santa Claus' dishonest brother Fred, attends a support group for second-banana siblings. Frank Stallone is there, sheepishly admitting that his faith in brother Sylvester faded with each new Rocky movie. Roger Clinton explains how difficult it was being "the First Brother." Fred tries to get a word in edgewise but ends up shouting at Stephen Baldwin (who is great, though we also would have accepted Daniel or Billy in the part).
Fred Claus needed two or three more thinking-outside-the-box scenes like this to help it become more than what it actually is: a fragile premise stuffed with hollow Christmas jokes that would collapse in a holiday heap if not for Vaughn's demonstrated charms.
The disgruntled older brother of jolly old St. Nick (played with warmth and patience by Paul Giamatti) isn't a character so much as the Vaughn persona we've seen in Wedding Crashers, The Break-Up, Old School, and Swingers. Dan Fogelman's script imagines an excuse to get Fred to the North Pole -- he needs $50,000 to open a bar, but Santa refuses the loan unless Fred works a few shifts in the family toy factory. Once in the winter wonderland, Fred avoids his judgmental mother (Kathy Bates), coaches an elf (John Michael Higgins) on how to woo one of Santa's beautiful helpers (Elizabeth Banks), and makes life difficult for an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who is threatening to shut Santa's operation down.
Fred falters because director David Dobkin never definitively chooses between making a kid-friendly money maker or an edgy comedy aimed at our inner teenage boy. The PG rating suggests the former, with tall Vaughn looming over pint-sized co-stars and sleeping in undersized beds (too bad his buddy, Jon Favreau, already milked similar visuals with Will Ferrell in the superior Elf). But the concept of sibling rivalry, the outsourcing of elfin labor, and the need for an intervention will fly over the heads of young ones like Santa's sleigh above snow-covered rooftops on Christmas Eve. Ho, ho, oh well. Maybe next time.
Try a Rolaids.
Melting Vinyl brought local talent to the fore as it showcased a set by Tokyo Tea Room on the day of their latest EP release, 'Dream Room'.
The Who, Stormzy and more coming this month.
For the Nottingham date of Feeder's Tallulah tour, you just know before it even starts that it's going to be a banging show.
Holy Moly & The Crackers journeyed down from their hometown of Newcastle Upon Tyne to play in Canterbury, where they thought they'd be playing to...
Check out their single 'Wild Thing'.
Both the characters and the tone have been updated as a new generation of Grizwolds...
This generational drama strains so hard to be serious that it's almost laughable. Its big...
Hank Palmer is a ruthless but excellent lawyer, despised by many of his peers for...
We may sigh heavily at the thought of yet another fairy tale blockbuster, but the...
The director of Wedding Crashers and writers of The Hangover get together for a body-swap...
Mitch and Dave were the best of friends when they were younger but over the...
One scene will stay with me for the next six Christmases. Vince Vaughn, playing Santa...


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Good old Don passed away 2 (maybe 3) years ago at about this time. A great guy and the only human I ever knew that could stand to be around Dirtybill for more than 30 seconds.
Anyway, does anyone recall the link of LMD day rides he had made a site for? Was going to pass it on to a new-to-the-LMD rider.


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A peer review of economic studies on Hobby Airport expansion concludes that having two international airports in Houston will be good for the city, according to a press release from the mayor's office.
Carol Abel Lewis and Charles R. Glass of Texas Southern University reviewed studies commissioned by the Houston Airport System, as well as an opposing report prepared by United Airlines. It is their conclusion, according to the press release, that the preponderance of the available evidence of impact on jobs, airfares and passenger volumes supports the recommendation to permit Southwest Airlines to add five gates and a customs facility to Hobby so it can begin flights to Latin America.
Among the findings, according to the release:
- Existing fares for some Houston routes "seem high compared to other locations."
- The projections and estimates of passengers in the HAS study are "defensible."
- Positive job growth is achieved even when allowing for possible overestimation in the original HAS report.
The city study forecasts that more than 10,000 jobs will be created by Hobby expansion. United predicts that the Houston region will lose a net total of 3,700 jobs.
Mayor Annise Parker released a statement on the report:
While we believe the independent study the City commissioned was solidly based and built on other studies done around the United States and worldwide, I concluded that it would be helpful to this process to have a peer review of our own independent study and the ones presented by United and Southwest. This peer review was done totally independent of the airlines involved and used the material provided by our own studies and the material provided by the Airlines.


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Belize Christmas Holiday Special Souvenir Gifts
Belize Gift Package
For those who have been to Belize... but now back in the
real world of bailouts, home foreclosures, high gas prices, bankruptcies, layoffs and... bosses we don't like (if you still
have a job that is!)... here is the Belize Gift Package. Hey, it's the next best thing to actually... Going Back To
Okay, here is what you will be getting when you order this
(1) CD, "What We Belize In" ... this is the essential CD
for those who have been to Belize. It's got em all. Everything from "Drinking Belikin Beer" to "You Better Belize
It". And yes, it does include: "Going Back To Belize".
(2) CD, "Tequila Tonight, Tomorrow We Ride! ... this is a
tropical rockin' CD full of songs about life on the beach, tiki bars and "livin' on Island Time". Plus, it's got:
"In Belize, It's A Breeze".
(3) T-Shirt, "What We Belize In" caption with colorful sailboats
and nautical flags. This cotton tee come is size Medium, Large and X-Large (be sure to specify size in the comment section
of your order).
(4) Belikin Beer Coasters... yeah Mon! These
are the "All The Girls" collection which come is a set of 5 coasters. These coasters have become collectables so be
sure to treat em right when you get em!
(5) A Belize one dollar coin
and a Belize two dollar bill. Yeah you can spend em next time you're in Belize!
Your order will be processed quickly and securely
by PayPal and you do not have to be a member to use this service.
GUMBOLIMBO is a PayPal verified merchant.
We only have a limited quantity of the Belikin beer coasters. If we run out of them we'll provide a three dollar
rebate to your order instead of the coasters. The T-Shirts are available in Size: Medium, Large or X-Large. Please
specify size wanted when completing your order. Thanks, and remember... "You Better Belize It".
Thank you so much for visiting my Belizean
Christmas Gifts website. This has been an exciting year for me in that my new CD, "Tequila Tonight, Tomorrow We
Ride!" has become very popular among those who enjoy folk style rock with a tropical theme. The title track has also
been selected to be included on a complilation CD being produced by "Meet The Phlockers" and proceeds from the sale of
the CD will be donated to MDA. Additionally, I have been selected by "Bookbag Santa, Inc." to be their official musician
for 2010. As such I will be accompanying this nonprofit organization to Belize for charitable causes. I consider
this an honor and will do my best to help this organization as best I can. Please see their Link at the bottom
of this page to learn more about what they do and how you can help if you care to become involved in a good cause.
Calypso Bertrand


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Miller School Pediatric Researchers Find Children with HIV Benefit From Exercise
Children and adolescents infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can benefit from a structured exercise program, according to findings by pediatric researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The new NIH-funded research was published in the March issue of the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
"It's been well documented that physical activity contributes to positive health outcomes in adults with HIV, but limited research has been done to see if an exercise treatment program can help children and adolescents who are HIV-infected," said Tracie Miller, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the Miller School and lead author of the article titled "The effect of a structured exercise program on nutrition and fitness outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children."
"We wanted to determine if a hospital-based exercise training program followed by a home-based program for children and adolescents with HIV is feasible and safe, and if it improves their fitness, strength and changes body composition."
Children and adolescents with HIV are at risk for cardiovascular problems as a result of their highly active antiretroviral therapy, and a sedentary lifestytle may worsen their abnormal cardiovascular risk profiles. With HIV now considered a chronic illness, it has become more important to find safe and effective lifestyle interventions to reduce risks linked to long-term treatment.
Between 2001 and 2007, HIV-infected children who were 6 or older and followed by the University of Miami Pediatric Special Immunology and Adolescent Medicine Programs and the University of Rochester Pediatric HIV Program, were invited to participate in the nonrandomized exercise intervention study. The participants took part in 24 supervised exercise training sessions in a medical campus gym over a 12-week period; then they were prescribed an unsupervised home-based maintenance program.
Outcomes measurements included muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, aerobic fitness, body composition, and lipids. All 17 participants who completed the hospital-based intervention saw an improvement in their cardiovascular risk factors. The 12 participants who then went on to complete the home-based program were able to sustain their cardiovascular improvements.
"This is one of the first reports in kids with HIV infection that shows, given the right infrastructure, they can complete an exercise program and benefit from the intervention," said Gwendolyn Scott, M.D., professor of pediatrics, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and an author of the study. "The results clearly show that working with them upfront in a structured environment helps them sustain the effort when they transition to a home-based exercise program."
"Improving cardiac health in these children may be associated with enhanced quality of life, overall health, and school performance," said Steven Lipshultz, M.D., professor and chairman of pediatrics and associate executive dean for pediatric health affairs at the Miller School. "The next steps will be to see if lifestyle interventions, such as exercise and physical activity, can positively affect these outcomes in children living with HIV and, if so, to make these interventions more widely available to children in the community."
The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Green Family Foundation and the Micah Batchelor Award for Research Excellence.


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Spirit Airlines has added fees for carry-on bags, effective immediately for travel on or after August 1.
Here's the fee breakdown:
- Personal item: Free
- Carry-on bag, paid online; $9 fare club members: $20
- Carry-on bag, paid online, on the phone, or at check-in; non-$9 fare club members: $30
- Paid at the gate: $45
Items such as umbrellas, strollers, and car seats are also free.
Spirit is concurrently lowering its checked bag fees for $9 Fare Club members:
- First bag: Old fees $19 online/$25 airport; new fee: $15 domestic, $20 international, $45 checked at gate (domestic or international)
- Second bag: Old fee: $25 online or airport; new fee: $15 domestic, $20 international
- Third through fifth bag: Old fee: $100; new fee: $75 domestic, $80 international
For non-members, some checked bag fees have actually gone up:
- First bag: Old fees $19 online/$25 airport; new fee: $25 domestic, $30 international, $45 checked at gate (domestic or international)
- Second bag: Old fee: $25 online or airport; new fee: $30 domestic or international
- Third through fifth bag: Old fee: $100; new fee: $85 domestic, $90 international
For an up to date listing of airline fees and charges, check out our Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees.
Bottom line: You will pay for bags on Spirit no matter what. This is obviously not a development many travelers will be happy to see, but hopefully the concept of carry-on fees stays relegated to the realm of the ultra-low-cost carrier.
My question now is, why on earth would anyone fly Spirit?
Update: Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I have a pet peeve about airline press releases that go to extraordinary lengths to be as vague as possible about unpopular news. Well, Spirit should get some sort of award for the following bit of linguistic gymnastics:
"In order to continue reducing fares even further and offering customers the option of paying only for the services they want and use rather than subsidizing the choices of others, the low fare industry innovator is also progressing to the next phase of unbundling with the introduction of a charge to carry on a bag and be boarded first onto the airplane."
I'm almost impressed.
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Tipu's (in)famous "mechanical clock organ" tiger, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Source: http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/dmpeers/Tipu's%20Tiger.JPG
(downloaded Aug. 2005)
"In 1819 Keats went to the London offices of the East India Company in Leadenhall Street to inquire about becoming a ship's doctor on an Indiaman. While there, he saw on display Tippoo's Tiger, the famous mechanical beast manufactured for the Sultan of Mysore and captured by the British some twenty years previously. Life-sized, it stands menacingly over its latest victim, a prone Redcoat about to receive the coup de grace. It is part comic, part scary; part vast toy -- an internal organ produces tigerish roars and human shrieks, while the victim's arm flails to fend off the beast.... Keats was so impressed that he put it into his satirical poem "The Cap and Bells":
... That little buzzing noise...A later and much more unexpected visitor to Leadenhall Street was Gustave Flaubert, in London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Flaubert explored the great industrial bazaar at the Crystal Palace, but as Frederick Brown, his latest biographer, reports, 'apparently nothing under that stupendous roof delighted him more than Tippoo's Tyger at the East India Company Museum.'"
Comes from a plaything of the Emperor's choice,
From a Man-Tiger-Organ,
prettiest of his toys.
-- by Julian Barnes, New York Review of Books, May 25, 2006, p. 12.
*A cannon of Tipu's, in which the end of the barrel has the form of a tiger's open jaws*
Source: http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/dmpeers/Mysore%20cannon%203.JPG
(downloaded Mar. 2007)
Two can play at the symbols game: the British Lion is shown as overcoming Tipu's tiger
Source: http://search.sothebys.com/jsps/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=4FGPZ
(downloaded May 2005)
" SERINGAPATAM MEDAL, 1799: an extremely fine English striking in bronze (as awarded to non-commissioned officers), by C.H. Küchler, depicting the British Lion overcoming Tipu Sultan's Tiger, the reverse with a view of the fortress of Seringapatam, bronze suspension. CATALOGUE NOTE: inscription: asadullah al-ghalib, "The Lion of God is Triumphant"; khodadad seri rang patan ra 28 dhiqa'da (sic.) 1213 ba hijri; "Khodadad (God-given), Seringapatam, 28 dhi'l-qa'da 1213 of the hijra / (3 May, 1799)."
The British also returned the favor by demonizing Tipu: "The troops of Tippoo Saib pillaging Madras" (an engraving from 1861)
Source: ebay, Aug. 2006
== Indian Routes index == Indian Routes sitemap == Glossary == FWP's main page ==


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NewEnergy cools off with dual-core Sun boxes
A data center crisis sparked consulting firm NewEnergy to reconsider its IT infrastructure. It turned to Sun and its line of boxes powered by AMD's new dual-core Opteron processor.
NewEnergy Associates, an Atlanta-based power consulting firm, analyzes power supply data for utilities. Recently, the company began using the Monte Carlo method, a statistical model using numerical parameters to forecast energy usage, which increased its computational power needs dramatically.
The company tripled its server count over six months, and the data center staff found itself with a problem it never anticipated would become its most pressing -- heat.
Packing 50 servers into a space that had held just 17, NewEnergy soon found its ideal temperature goal for both the front and back ends of its racks -- 78 and 85 degrees, respectively -- nothing more than a pipe dream. Back-end temperatures reached as high as 105 degrees during peak usage, not good news for a data center with a thermal sensing system designed to shut down the grid at 90 degrees.
With an overloaded data center, it would have only taken a little nudge to spark a crisis.
Then, dirty water shut down the air conditioning systems.
With its cooling capabilities on the fritz, the data center was hitting 130 on the thermometer within an hour. IT management flung the doors to its highly secure server farm wide open, flanked the entrance with extra security guards and set up large blower fans not much more sophisticated than the ceiling fan in a local diner.
At that point, NewEnergy knew that heat had replaced rack space as its primary data center concern -- a concern that had become too expensive to ignore.
"If our data center is off line, we're losing money," said Neil Tisdale, NewEnergy's vice president of software development. "I always knew air conditioning was a concern, but you never thought of it as your most expensive first boundary condition."
The massive spike in the amount of servers helped cause NewEnergy's cooling headache, and the company turned to Sun Microsystems Inc. for an alternative. This is one of the first major customer wins for Sun's new Opteron dual-core processor servers.
NewEnergy will deploy Sun Fire V20z and Sun Fire V40z servers running the Solaris 10 operating system over standard Linux distributions as part of its high-performance grid infrastructure. It has already brought in eight Sun servers to complement 42 Dell boxes, and the company plans to send the Dells packing and replace them with 30 Sun boxes equipped with virtualization technology in the next 12 months.
The key component in NewEnergy's decision to switch to Sun lies in the dual-core processor. The new chip, released in mid-April by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), was built to increase computational power and maximize system efficiency while providing up to 30% lower heat output than competing alternatives, essentially because both cores can exist in the same thermal pocket. It can also be run at a lower frequency because there are two chips to draw power from.
Gordon Haff, an analyst with Illuminata Inc., said chip makers are setting the trend toward cooler processors.
"[Cooling] is one of the most important concerns facing chip designers, which in turn is a matter of great interest to CIOs and so forth," Haff said. "[Dual core processors] are clearly the direction things are going, and AMD has given us the first instance of that [in the x86 space]."
Dell is one of the only major vendors that do not support the AMD offering.
Tisdale said NewEnergy's cooling nightmare has to be tackled on two fronts -- the servers have to generate less heat, and the air conditioning system has to control that heat more efficiently. To that end, NewEnergy is looking into a redundant air conditioning system running independent of the company's water system.
Data centers that think they can get away with a shaky cooling system are skating on thin ice and, according to Tisdale, the issues that are causing heat waves in server farms are only going to exacerbated by the current trend toward smaller yet more powerful boxes.
"Density accelerates the problem. You can get more in a data center now," Tisdale said. "Over the past two years, in talking with CTOs and CIOs, it's the same story. AC is the problem all over."
Let us know what you think about the story; e-mail: Luke Meredith, News Writer


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And here's another set of extras for you. =)
All I ask is please do not alter, resize, add names,
brushes, elements or anything else to these tags,
nor rip them apart in any way to make new tags.
Thank you. =)
Just click to view full size then save to your computer.
Thank you and enjoy these extras! =)
I hope you enjoy the extras. =)


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Warren Buffett: willing to partner with 3G again on 'very large' deals
Warren Buffett tpdau said Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) would team up again with 3G Capital on more transactions, perhaps very large ones, despite criticism of the Brazilian firm's slashing of too many jobs at HJ Heinz & Co.
"I think 3G does a magnificent job of running businesses," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting. "We're very likely to partner with them, perhaps on some things that are very large."
Berkshire contributed $12bn toward the more than $23bn purchase of Heinz, but gave 3G day-to-day control of operations. Some critics have said 3G's cuts do not reflect Berkshire's typical values toward people who work at companies it acquires.
"We have not enforced, or attempted to enforce, nor do we wish to enforce, a strong discipline in every subsidiary as to whether they have a few too many people or not," Buffett said. "A great many don't."
Online Editors


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Andreas Spörri
Illustrator & Graphic Designer
This portfolio focuses on illustrations. Please visit the website of Badesaison to find various work in the field of graphic design.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2016
A coloring-drawing for the stage play «Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren» by the young theatre of Basel, printed on a A3 programme flyer.