text:
Intelligent solutions offer insurers big returns
July 23, 2018
July 23, 2018
Intelligent solutions offer carriers the opportunity to meet customer experience demands of the future and to achieve the levels of efficiency they need to compete in a digital world. Insurers must not only think smarter but execute smarter by embedding intelligence into every business process. In order to achieve this, insurers must be ready to take the technologies out of the lab and deploy them at scale.
Unleashing a potential $10 billion to $20 billion profit boost for North American carriers.
Leading insurers that use intelligent solutions to reinvent the customer experience and to drive human-machine collaboration are achieving returns in excess of 10 times their investment in the technology.
*L&A: Individual Life and Individual Annuity segments only. Based on Accenture Analytics estimates.
*P&C: All Personal and Commercial lines. Based on Accenture Analytics estimates.
But most insurance organizations remain relatively immature in their use of intelligent automation and have yet to scale and industrialize their intelligent solutions deployments. Their challenge is to move beyond using intelligent solutions for incremental process improvements, towards completely reimagining their business processes and customer experiences.
The proven ability of intelligent solutions to deliver fast, measurable bottom-line results makes investing in intelligent solutions a smart choice. Register to view the report to learn more.
About the Authors


text:
It is funny how technology changes the way that we think about things and has also redefined what we call objects over time.
Lets do a quiz – what is this?
Question: Do you think it's a floppy disk? Or do you think it's the button you press to save things you your computer?
How about this?
Question: Do you think it's a digital camera? or a camera?
Last one, define one of these:
Question: Is it someone you trust with your secrets or a button your press on a social networking space?
I think that language and how we refer to things is really important. It is one of the reasons that I get annoyed when we still refer to e-learning, e-assessment and e-safety.
It is 2011 and the digital words completely surrounds us. Is it not time we just talked about learning, assessment and safety. 'Digital' and 'electronic' can no longer be bolted on if we want to provide the very best for our children in a rapidly evolving and complicated globalized world.
I belive that common language is also one of the keys to keeping our children safe on line. Words like 'friend' have been re-defined. We must to talk to young people using new definitions but at the same time explain our traditional and ethical values.
If you want some more evidence of how technology is moving on really quickly. Watch this lovely YouTube Video below – it is sub-titled in English but I loved how one of the young children thought that the kitchen weighing scales might be 'a bomb!'
Thanks to Anthony Salcito, at Microsoft for pointing out this video to me on his blog.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Cishek feeds off adrenaline of closing out games
Marlins righty enjoys the roller-coaster thrill ride that comes with his role
MIAMI -- Closing big league games can often be a wild ride, which is perfectly fine with Steve Cishek. The unassuming Marlins closer thrives on the rush of pitching with the game on the line.
"I'm an adrenaline junkie," Cishek said.
Not to the point of jumping out of airplanes, but the thrill of the ride gets Cishek going -- on and off the field.
On Miami's just-completed road series against Texas, Cishek spent the off-day on Monday at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. For fun, he went to the amusement park with teammates Mike Dunn and Chris Hatcher.
The roller-coaster ride that got Cishek's blood flowing was the Titan, which ramps up to 85 mph and has a 255-foot drop.
"It was crazy. We were trying to describe it," Cishek said. "It would be like a dog sticking its face out of a car window going like 85. You can't even close your eyes, it's like pinning your face back. It was awesome."
A night later, Cishek took the mound and worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out Shin-Soo Choo to lock up the Marlins' 8-5 win over the Rangers.
Cishek now has converted 15 of 16 save chances, and he has not allowed a run in 21 of his 27 appearances.
Like a roller coaster, the art of closing is an adrenaline rush in its own way.
Miami has been one of the surprise teams in the league this season. The Marlins are in the hunt with the Braves and Nationals in the tightly-contested National League East race. The Mets and Phillies are also still within striking distance.
Every game right now is energy-packed.
"Right now, we're playing for first place," Cishek said. "Every game, I'm going in fired up. I guess you can say it is similar to going down the Titan, when you know you're going to go down about 85 mph."
When it comes to his craft, you don't hear a lot of bluster out of Cishek. The Falmouth, Mass., native doesn't draw any unnecessary attention to himself. Yet, he's quietly emerged as one of the best closers in the game since he took over the position from Heath Bell after the 2012 All-Star break.
Since then, Cishek has converted 94 percent of his save chances (63 of 67). Only San Diego's Huston Street has a higher conversion rate, at 95.3 percent (61 of 64).
Cishek's 63 saves also are tied with Philadelphia's Jonathan Papelbon for 12th most in the Majors since the All-Star break of 2012. Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel has the most saves in that span, with 85.
The common bond all the top closers possess is the ability to channel their emotions to get those final outs.
"If I don't have adrenaline, that's when I'm usually in trouble," Cishek said. "The velocity is the same, but the conviction behind the pitches isn't the same."
Deeply religious, part of Cishek's routine is to read a Bible verse before he throws his first pitch. He keeps the script card in his back pocket.
"It helps me relax," he said. "Then I'm dialed in. If I'm dialed in, that means I'm not hearing anything around me -- none of the fans wearing me out or anything."
At that point, Cishek's focus is on the signs of the catcher -- Jeff Mathis or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
"All I see is Jeff or Salty throwing down the signs, and I'm going to work," Cishek said.
The Bible verse is the same one Cishek has read to himself ever since he broke into the big leagues: Colossians 3:23.
"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."
"For me, it makes it easier," Cishek said.
Despite his successes, Cishek, who turns 28 on Wednesday, still remains a relative unknown. One reason is Miami hasn't been particularly good in recent years. The Marlins have finished in last place three straight seasons and lost 100 games in 2013.
"He's been very consistent. And I think if he's not as well known as he probably should be, it's because we haven't been able to get him the ball as much as we probably should have," manager Mike Redmond said. "I think people understand how good he is. He may not get talked about as much as some of the other closers, but, man, we sure are lucky to have him. I feel good having him down there and knowing what he brings to the ballclub and how important he is."
Cishek holds the Marlins' record for most consecutive saves converted. It reached 33 from June 8, 2013, to April 25, 2014, when the Mets snapped it with a ninth-inning comeback at Citi Field. Since then, he has been perfect again.
Cishek's consistency and performance should gain him recognition as a possible All-Star. Fans don't vote for pitchers. The players, managers, All-Star managers and Major League Baseball combine to select the starters and relievers.
Cishek certainly is worthy of consideration. The lanky right-hander has never been an All-Star. In 2013, he was part of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and he felt the Midsummer Classic would be a similiar experience.
In recent years, Cishek has spent the All-Star break at Universal Studios. This July, however, he isn't planning on going to the amusement park because his wife is expecting their first baby. If he is an All-Star, Cishek's plans could change, because he may be heading to Target Field in Minnesota.
Whether Cishek winds up an All-Star or not doesn't diminish his value to the Marlins.
"You talk about how important it is to have a closer," Redmond said. "When you have opportunities to win a ballgame, and to be able to bring that guy in and lock down that win, that's huge."


text:
Automotive Tech Guide
TomTom GO 2050 (World)
Pre-installed with the latest maps including but not limited to Hong Kong, Australia, and Europe, it incorporates technologies like IQ Routes, Voice Control, and Bluetooth hands-free calling. The intuitive UI 5-inch screen responds intelligently and sensitively to your touch.
Tags: tomtom, gps device


text:
Go to any prerace party or postrun potluck and you'll see legions of runners twirling forks in huge plates of spaghetti. And why not? Carbs are king, right? Except you may be missing out on another essential running nutrient, especially if you've been following the government's dietary guidelines. In September, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) released a position paper by nine researchers in the field of protein and exercise. Their message? People who engage in regular exercise, like runners, don't just need more calories than desk jockeys, they need more protein.
"With every footstrike, a runner carries two to seven times his or her body weight," says Douglas Kalman, Ph.D., R.D., who has done extensive research on the effects of protein in athletes. "Protein is what keeps your body healthy under all that strain." Adequate protein intake accelerates muscle growth and speeds recovery by helping rebuild muscle fibers stressed during a run. Since protein helps muscles heal faster, runners who consume the right amount are less likely to get injured. The reverse is also true, according to the authors of the ISSN paper: Athletes who get insufficient amounts of protein are at a higher risk of injury.
What's more, high-protein intake has been shown to help maintain a strong immune system. "After an intense bout of exercise, your immune system is weakened for about four to five hours," says Richard Kreider, Ph.D., one of the ISSN study's authors and head of the Exercise and Nutrition Laboratory at Baylor University. "Protein stimulates white blood cells, which helps shield against upper-respiratory problems." Military research studies show that Marines who ingested high amounts of protein had fewer medical visits than those with lower protein intake.
Just How Much?
The USDA's Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is .8 grams per kilogram (or .36 grams per pound) of body weight. But that's not enough for athletes, according to the ISSN, which says endurance athletes like runners need 1.0 to 1.6 grams per kilogram a day (or .45 to .72 grams per pound). That translates into 75 to 120 grams of protein daily for a 165-pound runner. Don't worry about "overdosing" on protein. While some reports claim that high-protein intake is linked with kidney problems and calcium loss, the ISSN says it's not a concern for healthy athletes.
Lean meats and other animal products, like eggs, milk, and whey (a by-product of milk), pack a lot of protein. Four ounces of chicken breast, for example, contain about 32 grams of protein. The fat in food interferes with the rate of protein absorption, so limit your intake of high-fat foods, such as rib eye or prime rib. Vegetable-based sources, such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy, aren't as protein-dense--a half cup of black beans, for example, has about eight grams--and they fall short on all nine essential amino acids, the chemical building blocks of protein (the exception is soy). Runners who avoid animal products can make up for this deficit by eating a variety of the most protein-rich vegetables and grains, such as soybeans, oats, and quinoa. "Not all the protein in a food is easily absorbed by your body," says Kalman. "But you'll probably get enough as long as you eat a lot of different kinds of food."
So before you get in line for another serving of spaghetti, take a hard look at your plate. Chances are you should add some grilled chicken.
For an example of protein intake for one day, read the next page.
A Powerful Day
A 165-pound runner needs between 75 and 120 grams of protein daily. Spread intake throughout the day, eating some at each meal, to ensure your body has a steady supply.
7 a.m.
3/4 cup oatmeal + two scrambled eggs + six ounces orange juice + cup of coffee with skim milk = 25 grams
10 a.m.
Banana + two tablespoons peanut butter = 8 grams
11 a.m. (prerun)
Half a bottle of protein sports drink (about four grams of protein per serving) + 12 p.m. (postrun)Second half of the sports drink = 8 grams
1 p.m.
Two slices whole-wheat bread, four ounces sliced turkey, one ounce sliced reduced-fat cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard + six ounces fat-free yogurt = 40 grams
6 p.m.
Mixed-greens salad with peppers, cucumber, and tomato; one tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette dressing + four ounces grilled salmon + 1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli and cauliflower + one medium baked sweet potato = 33 grams
Protein Total=114 grams


text:
MU Study Tells Women to Eat Bigger, Fewer Meals
COLUMBIA - Researchers at the University of Missouri debunked the mass media and said eating several small meals throughout the day will not boost your metabolism, especially for obese women.
MU's Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology studied how meal frequency affected blood-sugar and blood-fat levels in eight obese women throughout two separate days. All of the women consumed 1500 calories each day, but in different doses.
On the first day, the women ate three 500-calorie liquid meals. On the second day, the women ate six 250-calorie meals. Researchers tested the blood-sugar and blood-fat levels every 30 minutes. The data showed that women who consumed three meals had significantly lower fat in their blood.
More than one-third of Americans are obese and are at a higher risk for heart disease. Currently, heart disease is the the leading cause of death in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ultimately, researchers said the newfound information could help those in the medical field develop strategies to improve the health of obese women.


text:
A few of us have been discussing, among other things, soil fertility, pastoralism, deforestation, reforestation, agriculture (of course) and permaculture-type solutions for restoring the ecologies impoverished by this culture over on this Leaving Babylon thread. Here's my most recent contribution on the topic of soil fertility vs. conservation:
I've been thinking lots lately about this issue of soil fertility. On the one hand we're living through a period of extraordinary fertility thanks to the nitrates and phosphates in petroleum-based fertilisers – 'more atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by man (as fertilizer) than by all natural sources combined' (Ken Thompson, No Nettles Required, p.160) – and all gardening and farming is geared towards maintaining or increasing this. And on the other hand we have a legacy of plant and animal species uniquely adapted to the impoverished soils resulting from hundreds/thousands of years of intensive, organic farming, grazing and forestry; a biodiversity that dies out when the soils get too fertile or specific management practices are discontinued. Here's Michael Allaby writing in the Woodland Trust's Book of British Woodlands:
The trees that are coppiced regenerate and go on regenerating for a very long time: far from injuring them, coppicing seems to extend their lifespans, so they become an almost perpetual source of wood. Chemically, the wood is composed of substances obtained from the air and soil, like any part of any plant, and cropping removes those substances. Livestock grazing among the trees returned some plant nutrient, but they, too, were removing vegetation by their grazing. The overall effect is a slow but steady export of plant nutrient and a decline in the fertility of the soil. This makes it sound as though the coppicing system is harmful, but harmful to what, or whom? Some plants are better than others at exploiting rich supplies of nutrient. Feed them well and they grow vigorously and, in relation to the plants around them, aggressively. On a fertile soil, therefore, the natural succession by which plants colonise an area will proceed fairly quickly to a situation in which a small number of aggressive species dominate the vegetation.
On a less fertile soil this cannot happen, because the aggressive species are denied the nutrients they need for more vigorous growth. This allows the less vigorous species, with more modest requirements, to thrive. The final result is a great diversity of plant species. The ecological rule-of-thumb is that the greater the fertility of the soil, the fewer plant species will establish themselves on it; and if you prefer a great diversity of species you need a poor soil. Over the years coppicing produces poor soils, and so coppiced woodlands tend to have a rich diversity of plant species. The greater the diversity of plant species, the greater will be the diversity of animals feeding on them, and since the arrival of herbivorous animals is followed by the arrival of predators and parasites of those animals, the entire ecosystem is enriched. (p.106)
So what direction do we pull in? Obviously the petro-fertiliser era is a blip which is going to end in short order, yet I'm less-than-convinced about the longterm viability of the systems that preceded it. Intentionally working to impoverish the soil? Surely sooner or later that will starve the ecosystem to death (although I'm not aware of any coppice rotations that have been stressed to breaking point in this way, even when supplying charcoal for industrial purposes). I think I agree that we have a responsibility to do right by the species we've in effect provided the selection pressure for over all these centuries of domesticating the landscape, whether that's helping them adjust to the changing circumstances or, if that's not possible, allowing them to die out with dignity. But I think the conservationists are wrong about greater fertility equating to lesser diversity. Maybe this would be the case in the short term, but after a while I expect it will simply be a different kind of selection pressure leading to an explosion of diversity in the more nutrient-hungry plants. How many different hybrid forms of Bramble, Nettle & Dandelion are there already in existence?
Fire-setting is another case in point. From what I've read it sounds like N American Indians burned grasses and forest understory purposefully to release the nutrients locked up in the standing dead plants, changing them into a form that was bio-available to the herbs, shrubs and annuals that would be growing on that spot by the next season. This was also an active selection for plants that provided edible, medicinal and other uses for the Indians (and, I assume, for the wildlife they shared the habitat with). It would be interesting to know the mix of woodland plants in Paleo/Mesolithic NW Europe – whether fire management caused this to differ in a similar way. A local conservationist has told me to look for Nettles and Brambles growing in places where our group had previously set fires in old coppice woodland, due to the nutrients released in the wood ash.
Over all it seems to be the case that humans are associated with enriched fertility in soils. That's one line of archeological evidence for habitation by prehistoric man – at least in Europe you find seeds or pollen grains of Nettle, Plantain, Goosefoot and other associated 'weeds'. We pitch camp somewhere for the season, eat, shit, do some burning and maybe a bit of gardening before moving on. My best nettle crops have come from places disturbed by people (the very best being where those people fenced off special areas in parkland for their dogs to come and do their business in the times before the ubiquitous small black plastic bags – mmm, dog poo nettles…) Anyway, the main problem with coppicing and other woodland management seems to be the same old civilisational problem of exporting resources far away from their point of origin. If people lived in the woods, building homes, cutting fuel, crafting necessary artifacts from the trees around them, and letting it all rot down on site, I think that could lead to a thriving & enriched ecosystem, supportive of a wide variety of plants and animals.
Tags: biodiversity, conservation, coppicing, ecology, fertiliser, fire management, soil fertility, woodland


text:
Date(s) – September 16, 2019
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Ghastly Studio,
2512 Boothbay Ct,
Raleigh, NC, United States
after school, art lessons, Arts, arts and crafts, ceramics, Drawing, Gallery, lessons, Painting, pottery, sculpture, visual arts, year round classes
Ghastly Studio is currently accepting new students! Art Lessons are a great way to learn a new craft, experiment with new hobbies, or develop current technical and creative skills. Sessions range from one to two hours and can be scheduled year round. All Art Lessons are one-on-one sessions created to fit the needs and goals of each individual student. The starting rate for sessions is $50 per hour. Contact Ghastly Studio today to set up your free 15-minute meet and greet session to check out the studio and meet the instructor!


text:
Morton's Home Hamburger
National Hamburger Day is May 28
Yields 6 burgers
4 lbs. ground beef (80/20 mix)
4 eggs
6 oz. tomato juice
1 T. salt
2 T. salad oil
6 hamburger buns
Garnishes (optional)
Tomato slices
Onion slices
Place the ground beef in a bowl and break it up. Add the eggs, tomato juice, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients together with your hands.
Portion the meat into 6, approx. 10 ounce balls. Spread the oil onto a sheet pan. Gently mold the meat into patties on the oiled sheet pan. When all 6 burger patties are done, using the back of a knife, crisscross the patties pressing the knife about 1/8th inch deep into the patties.
Setup your grill and wait until the coals are very hot. Clean the grill grate. Season the burger patties and place them, crisscross side down on the grill grate. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the burgers over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Place the buns cut side down around the edge of the grill to toast them. Add cheese to the burgers if desired. Remove the buns when they are toasted. Place the burgers on a plate and let sit for a couple of minutes.
Then, Build your burger! Add any garnishes you'd like and enjoy!


text:
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- No damage or injuries were reported Sunday from a pair of magnitude 3.9 earthquakes in Southern California near the town of Valle Vista, geologists said.
The first quake happened at 12:47 a.m. and began from a depth of 11 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The epicenter was 66 miles northeast of San Diego, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The second quake was centered near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, at 8:24 a.m.
A week ago, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded at 1:40 p.m., 4 miles from Blue Lake, 208 miles east of Sacramento, the USGS said.
The Valle Vista quake Sunday happened 3 hours after a magnitude 7.7 quake struck off Canada's west coast, briefly triggering a tsunami warning in Hawaii.


text:
Chivas USA just hasn't run out of ways to avoid misfortune. It hit the Goats again Saturday night.
An apparent crackdown by Major League Soccer to prevent goalkeepers from holding the ball too long led to one goal, and nothing else went well as the Philadelphia Union ended their week on the West Coast with a 3-0 victory at StubHub Center.
Forward Conor Casey converted a penalty kick in the 28th minute and added another goal midway through the second half as Philadelphia bounced back from a 4-1 drubbing by the Galaxy on the same field last week.
How did Casey get the penalty kick? After goalkeeper Dan Kennedy made a diving stop of a crossing pass, referee Allen Chapman ruled that Kennedy held the ball for longer than the five seconds allotted, which has been a recent point of emphasis for officiating crews.
"That was a first," Kennedy said. "I don't even know what to say. … I'm certain if you see the play, I'm not trying to delay the game. I'm actually trying to get a player to open up. Somebody said (Tony) Lochhead was open so I turned and threw it, then he makes the call."
The call gave the Union a free kick inside the penalty area, and Chapman then ruled that Cristian' Maidana's shot was played by the arm of Chivas midfielder Martin Rivero.
Casey blasted his penalty kick into the right corner.
That lead was likely to hold up against punchless Chivas, but matters took a wild turn in the second half. Chapman got busy with his whistle and at one point handed out three yellow cards in a two-minute span, two to Chivas players.
Then Chivas' makeshift back line finally broke when the Union strung together four consecutive passes moving downfield.
Maidana made the final one from the left side, and Casey headed in the shot at the far post for a 2-0 lead.
Chivas was without its starting central defense pairing of Bobby Burling, who was sitting out on a suspension after being red-carded in Wednesday's loss to Portland, and captain Carlos Bocanegra, who was out with a hamstring irritation. Kennedy served as the captain.
In the 77th minute, the Union struck again, and once again Chivas protested. Maidana took a low shot from the left that went through the legs of a teammate as Kennedy scrambled to find the shot.
Kennedy protested that the Union were offside on the play, to no avail.
"The linesman said it was the center ref's call, and he wouldn't talk to me," Kennedy said.
"For me, the key right now is how can we manage just to avoid little mistakes right there that can cause PKs, red cards, six-second rules and fouls that are going to give options," Chivas coach Wilmer Cabrera said.
Chivas will meet the Galaxy next week on the same field but it's a Galaxy home game, which is fine for Chivas (1-5-1 at home this season).
"We're going to be the visitors and that's a positive thing that is coming right now," Cabrera said with a smile.


text:
Join us this evening at 7:00pm for Nicoline van Harskamp's Expressive Power Series Part 1: Max Bonner on the Phenomenology of Speech, a New Silent Series event. This new performance builds upon an expansive body of work focused on politics and language. This ambitious, hour-long theatrical piece centers on an Interpersonal Dynamics consultant named Max Bonner and members of his audience, including a human rights activist, an academic, and a dogmatic anarchist, whom he attempts to convince of popular psychological models for social persuasion that are used variously by the Pentagon, corporations, and NGOs worldwide. The evolving discussion demonstrates, in the artist's words "the impossibility of political consensus by way of verbal interaction"—a situation that is here framed productively, with generative meaning to be found in points of dissonance, paradox, and negotiation. Cast includes Greg Shapiro, Liz Bolton, Mark Bellamy and Sheila Evans.
Last week, we published an interview with van Harskamp in which she discusses Expressive Power Series and her practice. Read it here.
Friday, June 18, 7pm
at the New Museum
$10 Members/$12 General Admission


text:
|System: Xbox 360*, PS3, PC
|Dev: Codemasters
|Pub: Codemasters
|Release: May 28, 2013
|Players: 1-12
|Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p
Multiplayer, however, is another story. The two modes are completely separate, meaning you can't bring your single-player cars into multiplayer races. Instead, you'll have to race online in order to level up and earn cash. Unfortunately, this is a horrendous grind, with cash merely trickling in. It takes multiple races to increase in level. You'll unlock cars very slowly in multiplayer, which is frustrating because you will have already experienced them in the single-player mode. If anything, this is kind of a multiplayer deterrent, which is a shame because online racing is pretty fun. It's just too much work to grind your way up to the car you really wanted to be racing with in the first place, especially since you have to buy your paint job and car graphics. That's just needless padding.
There's one thing that GRID fans probably want me to talk about, and that's the lack of a cockpit view during races. Yes, this view is entirely absent from GRID 2, and fans of it will probably be upset. Honestly, the dashboard/hood view works just as well if this is your viewpoint of choice, but it lacks the same level of immersion that the hands-on-steering-wheel view provides. In addition, car damage looks pretty bad up close. While the cars themselves look like beautiful recreations of the real thing, a damaged hood or tire looks like a faulty model from a PS2 era racing game. Once again, it's a minor annoyance, not enough to make you stop playing the game, but it's worth noting.
All bells and whistles aside, GRID 2 is a pretty fun game. It delivers on the promise of a solid, balanced racing experience. Though the tracks get repetitive, the multiplayer is a grind, and you'll be forced to race with an in-front-of or behind-your-car viewpoint, these flaws are insignificant compared to the huge payout that is GRID 2's campaign. It's easily one of the better racing games to come out this generation, and if you are a racing fan, you shouldn't pass this one up.
Angelo M. D'Argenio
Contributing Writer
Date: May 29, 2013
Game Features:


text: Baby Baby Sleep Baby Sleep Training As every new parent knows, it can be challenging to put your baby to bed, let alone ensure he gets a good night's sleep. Developing good bedtime habits is crucial, especially around the four-month mark. This is where he needs you to provide structure and consistency with your sleep patterns. Sleep TrainingYour baby will get used to sleeping wherever you put him down. If he falls asleep in your arms or in your bed, then that's where he'll expect to be accommodated all night, every night. So it makes sense that if you want him to sleep in his own bed, put him down there while he's sleepy, but still awake. Clear the areaYour baby's sleeping area should be free of: Pillows Blankets Bumper pads Stuffed animals and toys Mattresses with too much space between them and the bed frame SmokeDevelop a routine As a newborn, your baby did cycle through light sleep every two to three hours, but by four months he should be learning how to fall back into deep sleep on his own. Research shows that by four months, a baby's brain is mature enough to sleep for six to 12 hours without really awakening. Your bedtime routine might include: a bath a cuddle in a special chair a song or lullaby* reading a story a snuggle with a special blanketOnce your baby discovers his own style of settling himself back down during the night, both of you will sleep much better. So, hard as it may be, stay in bed instead of jumping up at the first whimper. Give him time to fall back to sleep on his own. Of course if he doesn't settle then try to soothe him. It will take a few nights but he will quickly get the hang of it. The sooner you can start sleep training your baby with a good bedtime ritual, the sooner your baby will know what to expect. About lullabies Did you know that lullabies around the world have similar musical characteristics, even though the lyrics, language and melodies differ? To help calm your baby before bedtime, sing him a lullaby. You might also like:


text:
A baby pygmy hippo jumps into the water for the very first time in a delightful video posted by an Australian Zoo, proving that even pygmy hippos start small.
The little hippo's name is Obi, and he dives into the pool at the Melbourne Zoo with his mother, Petre, in video posted in June, when Obi was three weeks old.
U.S. & World
Quite the natural, Obi tries to hop on his mother's back and even nuzzles her snout while splashing around.
"He loves the water and spends hours in the small pool," Wild Sea Manager Justin Valentine said in a Melbourne Zoo press release posted after Obi hit the waves.
Pygmy hippos are found in West Africa – Obi means "heart" in Igbo, a language from Nigeria – and are much less aquatic then their larger cousins.
"Its nose and ears close underwater just like a hippo's do, but its head is rounder and narrower, its neck is proportionally longer, and its eyes are not on the top of its head," according to the San Diego Zoo.
Calves, like Obi, can't walk well in their first few weeks of life, according to the San Diego Zoo. But pygmy hippo mothers have a sneaky solution: tucking the calf away in bushes while she feeds.


text:
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Elzybells ATC
I just love this ATC for Taylor's swap and had to share it with all of you! I hope it makes you smile! Who can resist these adorable images??? The word was created with Karen Foster's snap together letters. The tree was made with Martha's new holiday punches. The bling is Hero Art. Have a happy day! ((hugs))
22 comments:
This is the cutest "Dang" card I have ever seen!!!
- November 15, 2007 at 2:28 PM
- Catherine said...
too cute...love that punch!
- November 15, 2007 at 3:58 PM
OHHHH SO CUTE Kristina! I'm bumed I'm not in your group. **wink**
{{HUGS}} Tracy
- November 15, 2007 at 6:38 PM
- Melissa said...
Hahahahahaha! That's too cute!
- November 15, 2007 at 6:45 PM
- Nancy said...
Kristina.....this is so darling & I love what you did with the punch! Hmmmm....I wonder if I'm in this group?
- November 15, 2007 at 9:20 PM
Yeah! I'm in your swap so I will be getting one :-)
Very cute...
- November 15, 2007 at 11:41 PM
- Mary said...
Cute,cute,cute! I love the Elyzbelle stamps so much so that I picked up a couple of them. Your ATC is adorable Kristina. :)
- November 16, 2007 at 2:20 AM
What a super cute ATC! So nicely colored and laid out so perfectly. Not to mention - very clever!!
- November 16, 2007 at 6:46 AM
- Pegi Taylor said...
Kristina . . . my dear friend . . . first of all I want to say that I am happy you found the time to blog. You've been a busy girl! And . . . this ATC is just to "dang" cute. I wish I was in your group, but I don't have any Elzybells yet. I know I am going to have to pick some up though. Does Artsy Tartsy have them? I just may have to find my way over that direction soon.
Big stamping hugs. Can't wait till tomorrow.
- November 16, 2007 at 7:38 AM
- kathleenh said...
This turned out so cute! I love how you used the punch to create the illusion of a Christmas tree branch.
- November 16, 2007 at 8:52 AM
- Unknown said...
cute! Love the branch.
- November 16, 2007 at 11:04 AM
- Unknown said...
Love what you did with the branch! I have had my eye on that punch...very, very cool :) Hope all is well for you...Take care :)
- November 16, 2007 at 4:49 PM
- Diane said...
Absolutely adorable!! I'm not a big
Martha fan...but I love that branch punch!!!
- November 16, 2007 at 5:31 PM
hey darling.
This is darling. Oh yah baby...bella or bust. My Elzybell/A Muse order will be arriving tomorrow. Good luck at the craft show. I hope you make lots of dinero woman!!! hugs. Miss Wood I sent my ATCs to CA!!
- November 16, 2007 at 10:16 PM
- Stacey said...
How TOTALLY ADORABLE is THIS!!! LOVE IT!!!!!
- November 17, 2007 at 9:36 AM
Very, very cute Kristina. I hope you made more than the 10 for Taylors swap and bring some to stamp club to trade! I made extra of my Stampendous ones. See you the 7th.
Wendy L.
- November 17, 2007 at 4:53 PM
- Jules said...
Very, very cute card!
- November 17, 2007 at 11:34 PM
- Corie said...
This is just FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely love it!!
- November 18, 2007 at 9:34 AM
so cute! i love how you built up the tree with the punch!
- November 18, 2007 at 10:03 AM
- Tandra said...
DANG thats hilarious!!!
And YES Ill trade one of mine with you!! LOL
- November 18, 2007 at 9:50 PM
- kathleenh said...
Hey lady you have been nominated for the Encouraging Blogger award. Check it out on my blog!
- November 19, 2007 at 7:39 PM
- M. said...
oh my goodness! that is such an adorable card!
- January 5, 2008 at 11:23 PM


text:
Mr. Speaker, the government has an awful record of being scandal ridden. In the unity fund, there were $725 million unaccounted for. In the sponsorship scandal, there were $250 million unaccounted for. Now the millennium bureau has $150 million for which the accounting is absent, deliberately hidden by Gagliano and his Liberal gang.
Does the Prime Minister expect Canadians to believe that, as finance minister, he knew nothing at all about this hidden Liberal slush fund?


text:
Tabular gem releaseDecember 15th, 2009
There's quite a bit of messy, "hey guys, I'm learning Ruby!" text-parsing code in Racing on Rails. Users must wrestle with a fussy and inflexible interface, and developers can't improve the code without making more of a mess.
To my surprise, clean-up required more than just plugging in FasterCSV. While nice for parsing CSV, it doesn't handle tabbed-delimited files well, nor does it like any data changes after parsing (my plan had been to just shove Spreadsheet-parsed data into FasterCSV, because I like FasterCVS's API).
So, I need something more: support for tabs and Excel, data manipulation, and formatted output from a common interface. More concretely: read race results and event schedules from Excel and text files, and then massage data before saving it all with ActiveRecord. I also need to turn a list of race results into pre-formatted text.
You'd think someone would have been done this before, but my Google skills failed to find them. And, there were some decent, well-tested ideas mixed in with my lousy Ruby code.I took a whack at extracting the code into its own gem. Voila, Tabular: http://github.com/scottwillson/tabular


text:
Call To Book
The La Quinta Inn & Suites Birmingham - Homewood has been awarded the 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award. The La Quinta Inn & Suites Birmingham Homewood is south of Birmingham, just minutes from the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, and the famed 16th Street Baptist Church. All regional hospitals are close including the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital and Brookwood Medical Center. If you are in town to visit students, we are in close proximity to Samford University, Birmingham Southern, and the University of Alabama Birmingham. We are directly next to the State Farm corporate office and approximately 15 minutes away from Regions and Blue Cross Blue Shield corporate headquarters. For any major conventions, concerts, or sporting events, the Birmingham/Jefferson County Convention Center is only a short drive from our hotel. While you are here, visit the Zoo/Botanical Gardens. Enjoy events at the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre and McWane Exhibit Center/IMAX Theatre. Meeting facilities at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Birmingham Homewood are popular for weddings, baby showers, and family reunions. We have a well-equipped fitness center, and a beautiful seasonal swimming pool open April - August. Our spacious rooms come with a coffee maker, hair dryer, and free high-speed Internet access. Popular Suites and king rooms have a microwave and refrigerator. We also have 32 inch flat screen HDTV's for you to enjoy your favorite programs. Our courteous staff sets up a free Bright Side Breakfast in the lobby every morning (there is a variety of chain and local restaurants nearby). We are located on the I-65 corridor to Birmingham at Lakeshore Dr. (exit 255).
Rooms for you and your pet are available. An extra charge may be applied.


text:
Acorn Earrings
These earrings for your bridesmaids boast BFF-worthy qualities (they're hip, handmade, and look expensive) -- yet they cost just a few dollars.
The charming illustrations for the backing were created for us by Virginia-based illustrator Katy Jean May. If you like the style but want something different, you can commission her to draw something for you. Reach her at 215-356-9513.
Ours are sized to fit into a 2-1/8- by-3-inch jewelry box. The images are designed to have the larger white space toward the bottom of the box.
Tools and Materials
12-millimeter yellow jade beads, Fun2Bead
Acorns, Dry Nature Designs
1 1/2-millimeter gold ball pin, 24-gauge fish hook earring, both Toho Shoji N.Y.
PDFs (Tree Card 1, Tree Card 2, Tree Card 3)
Stiff paper or card stock
Craft knife
Metal straightedge
Small Japanese hole punch
3-by-2-1/8-by-1-inch Natural Kraft jewelry box (stock No. 6K), Nashville Wraps
Acorn Earrings How-To
1. With a pushpin, poke hole through acorn cap from underneath.
2. Slide bead and cap onto a jewelry finding called a head pin.
3. With needle-nose pliers, make a loop just above the cap, and cut away extra wire.
4. Slide a hook on.
Backing How-To
1. Download the PDFs ( Tree Card 1, Tree Card 2, Tree Card 3), and print onto stiff paper or card stock. Use a craft knife and metal straightedge to cut between the crop marks; do not cut all the way to the edges of the paper, but leave them intact to preserve the crop marks for subsequent cuts.
2. Use a small Japanese hole punch to make two holes along each branch for the earrings.


text:
A follow-up to the International Conference on Cultural Heritage Management and Urban Development, which was held in Beijing (China) in July 2000, this 2nd international conference will be aimed at increasing institutional understanding of tools for managing and developing cultural heritage.
Through plenary and working group sessions (cultural management, tourism and heritage financing) the conference will provide an opportunity for some 150 leaders and decision-makers, from local, provincial and municipal government levels, to discuss local experiences, international best practice, and practical strategies and tools for the management and sustainable development of heritage sites in China. Mayors and directors of the Finance Bureaux, the Development and Reform Commissions, the Ministry of Construction Commissions and the Tourism, Cultural Heritage Bureaux have also been invited.
The main objective will be to provide key decisionmakers in China with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the issues in:
- planning for effective cultural heritage conservation and protection
- developing and managing sustainable cultural tourism
- establishing long-term financing mechanisms to support heritage conservation.
There will be three separate but interrelated themes presented at the conference and presentations and case studies will address a broad range of situations from urban to rural settings and from single relic to mixed-use sites on:
- Strategies for Successful Heritage Conservation
- Management & Monitoring;Sustainable Tourism as a Tool for Heritage Conservation
- Long-Term Heritage Financing and Revenue Generation.
Organizer: State Administration for Cultural Heritage (SACH) of China, the Ministry of Construction of China, UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the World Bank.


text:
Two little-known Russian and American cities, the places where the nuclear superpowers began their bomb race more than a half-century ago, were separately catapulted into the news last weekend by a coincidence of unrelated events.
Two little-known Russian and American cities, the places where the nuclear superpowers began their bomb race more than a half-century ago, were separately catapulted into the news last weekend by a coincidence of unrelated events.
One suddenly became ground zero for a celestial occurrence. The other was victimized by subterranean happenstance. Together they are A Tale of Two Nuclear Cities, a Cold War tragedy that serves as a reminder of the unintended consequences that can make Americans and Russians 21st-century victims of the nuclear mistakes of a long-past era.
In Chelyabinsk, Siberia, a speeding meteor produced a shock wave that shattered windows and injured more than 1,000 people Friday. Experts (who are more into info than irony) announced that the blast was equivalent to the energy produced by more than 20 atomic bombs of the size the United States dropped on Hiroshima.
In Hanford, Wash., officials revealed that an old underground storage tank holding radioactive liquid has been leaking at the Hanford nuclear reservation, America's most contaminated nuclear site. Authorities estimate that between 150 to 300 gallons have leaked into the surrounding land and groundwater. Officials are concerned about similar deterioration of some of the other underground tanks that also store waste from nuclear reactors.
Beginning in the mid-1940s, Chelyabinsk and Hanford were the sites of highly secretive nuclear-weapons plants that were the first engines of the nuclear-arms race. The facilities ended up polluting surrounding land and water with massive amounts of radioactive contamination. Local residents of these bucolic settings were unaware of the dangers their governments introduced - even as nuclear radiation contaminated their bodies, their rivers, their lands and brought genetic disability and early death.
In 2003, I wrote about these nuclear sites and their victims for a book ("Avoiding Armageddon"). There was, for example, Milya Kobirova, who was a child in the 1940s, living with her family in the village of Muslyumovo, on the banks of the Techa River, an hour's drive downriver from Chelyabinsk. She said her mother had a government job - sampling the river water - and she was happy to help. They put the water into containers and stored it beneath her bed.
Kobirova said her family and friends died early of cancer and related causes. "My mother and father died, and then two of my brothers passed away," she said a decade ago. "No one is left." She recalled that 10 villages were moved by the government to more distant locales, but 28 villages were left in place. Only after the Soviet Union collapsed did she and other residents learn that scientists at the Mayak plant in Chelyabinsk had been monitoring local residents to assess the effects of radiation on humans.
Today, Russia has closed its aged bomb-making plants, but it still stores plutonium at Mayak. There have been no reports of damage to that facility, nor of damage to the nearby chemical-weapons facility at Shchuchye.
Half a world away, folks who grew up in picturesque Hanford - on the Columbia River, which is famous for its salmon - told similar stories of parents who worked at the nuclear plant and died in their 40s. Now, Hanford residents and officials headed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee are demanding action.
"I am alarmed about this on many levels," Inslee told reporters Friday. "This raises concerns, not only about the existing leak ... but also concerning the integrity of the other single-shell tanks of this age."
The leakage problem at Hanford involves 149 older metal tanks that consist of just a single shell. Many date back to the 1940s; they were not designed to be in service this long. Hanford also has 28 newer tanks that have double shells and are not believed to be leaking; but they are reportedly almost full. Inslee said the state was assured years ago that problems such as leakage from older tanks had been dealt with. He added that the prospect of federal spending cuts would increase the risks at Hanford.
Today, it is tragic testimony to the superpowers' shared nuclear folly that neither ever attacked the other with any of the thousands of nuclear bombs each rushed to produce at the Chelyabinsk and Hanford facilities. But the products of those facilities wound up inflicting death, disease and disfigurement upon many of their own citizens.
Martin Schram writes political analysis for Scripps Howard News Service. E-mail him at email@example.com.


text:
The error appears to be the image: there's sufficiently many out there with incorrect CRCs that I think Oricutron declines to check them (?). A quick run through my DSK CRC fixer reports 2720 CRCs checked, 952 fixed. A correct DSK image is attached.iss wrote: ↑Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:59 pmCool! ... and it works!
Nice RGB and composite emulation.
All my DSK images are running fine, but I found that original Blake's 7 (v1.1 - English) fails to boot, there is error after each sector was read: CRC error; terminating Maybe the problem is in the image (Chema?).
Oh, sure. I didn't realise it was applicable. I'll see what my options are. I like to add things only so as not to increase complexity, so I will need to add some logic to distinguish an Oric image from other kinds of image. I admit that with the Oric DSK being platform specific I've not had to look at that at all really.
The situation is quite different for tapes: the emulator allows CSWs to be mapped to any supported platform by content inspection, and if it's launching an Oric then it decides between BASIC 1.0 and 1.1 through disassembly.
Yes, true. Apologies for failure to mention that.


text:
Tecumseh Sets Its Course
A very different kind of CNC software paves the way for creating an integrated manufacturing environment.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."
This ancient Chinese proverb is good to keep in mind when thinking about how a factory begins to move toward a plant-wide electronic production monitoring system. The vision of the future destination may be luminous and compelling, but turning this vision into reality is no hop, skip and a jump. It has to be taken earnestly and carefully, step by step.
Featured Content
In the end, plant managers will be able to access the system and get instant, up-to-the-moment reports summarizing the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) rating of the whole plant, separate production lines or even individual machine tools. Analysis of the collected data used to calculate this rating will pinpoint where problems or opportunities for improvement appear.
Here is an example of what is to come when a production monitoring system is in place: Managers are alerted to a report showing that a certain machine in one of the machining lines needed an average of 3 minutes cycle time during the last shift when it should have been closer to 2 minutes at programmed feed rates and spindle speeds. Reviewing the log of events that occurred during this shift shows that a grinding wheel was not cutting as aggressively as intended and had to be replaced at 50 percent of its expected life as a result of excessive wear. A recent change in wheel grade is recorded in notes entered by the manufacturing engineer. At the start of the next shift, a message to the cell operator gives instructions to install a harder grade wheel. Cycle times monitored during the day show a return to the required output. Problem solved.
This vision is not new. It's been talked about and dreamed about for years. In fact, the software and hardware to make it happen not only exist, but they also have a proven track record. What is becoming clear is that making the transition to this future state will be neither quick nor effortless. The first steps are the toughest, but that is where the journey begins, as the proverb reminds us.
Tecumseh Products' compressor plant near Tupelo, Mississippi, has taken those first steps, and the benefits are already clear and substantial. The plant has installed software-only CNCs on several "bottleneck" machine tools and is running key portions of a bidirectional production monitoring system that integrates the CNCs with the plant's existing computer network and ERP software. Plant management is taking the results of these initial installations as proof that these steps are definitely moving in the right direction.
Under Pressure
Although Tecumseh Products is best known for its small engines found on leading brands of lawn mowers, snow blowers and similar products, the company is a major producer of compressor motors for refrigerators and air conditioners. Consumers are not likely to be aware that the reason these products run so quietly and efficiently is the unseen presence of a Tecumseh–built compressor inside, yet the reliable performance they enjoy is dependent on the quality of those compressors. Because many of the major brands of refrigerators and air conditioners have moved production offshore, Tecumseh has had to redouble its efforts to maintain profitable operation of its compressor plants in the face of the cost pressures brought on by the severe contraction in U.S.-based appliance manufacturing.
In Tupelo, Tecumseh operates three main machining lines that feed an assembly line on which the various compressor models are built in a mix that is determined by a schedule of firm customer orders. This plant houses about 100 active metalcutting machine tools. A shop control system that relies on manual data entry allows managers to monitor production, but the information is at least 1 day old by the time it is available for analysis and response. The system tells managers basic information about labor input, machine output and scrap rates. This gives them a somewhat sketchy picture of where the bottlenecks are and when part shortages may affect the assembly line. It is adequate to tell them how to react but rarely helps them anticipate and avoid shortages that hamper the assembly line. It can't tell them what is happening inside each machine to reveal the causes of bottlenecks.
"What we have in place is now the framework for a much more capable production control and communications system," says Joe Kulovitz, a manufacturing engineering manager.
The system will eventually supplant the existing one and provide a much more detailed picture of machine performance in real time. The new system has two main elements, both from Manufacturing Data Systems, Inc. (MDSI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One is OpenCNC, an open-architecture machine control that replaces OEM-installed CNCs. The other is MaximumFactory, a suite of software modules that collect and analyze real-time data generated at machine control units. This software suite is tailored for the ability of OpenCNC to extract data, but the software can also be interfaced (although less conveniently) with proprietary legacy CNCs.
"Our first step was to identify the bottleneck machines in each machining line and address the limitations created by outdated hardware and control technology," says Mr. Kulovitz.
The best example of how the plant is systematically tackling these bottlenecks is in the grinding cells dedicated to machining the main compressor bearings for Tecumseh's best-selling compressor model. These parts are critical to compressor performance. Flatness of the main bearing surface, its perpendicularity to the bore of the bearing shaft ID, the straightness of the bore center line and the roundness of the ID are all closely toleranced to ensure leak-free operation and long life of the bearing shaft. The part comes in three variations, depending on the length of the bearing shaft bore.
Originally, the cell consisted of six Bryant grinders that were automatically loaded and unloaded. Today, four grinders match the production of the original six. One of these machines has been retrofitted with OpenCNC and integrated to the network via MaximumFactory. It is largely because of the increased efficiency and uptime of this upgraded grinder that the cell remains viable.
David Clayton, the Tecumseh manufacturing engineer responsible for this retrofit, explains the situation: "The existing CNC on this machine was prone to failure because of its age. Repair parts were getting hard to find. And even when it was running, the interface with the parts loader ran slowly, killing our cycle time." Mr. Clayton oversaw installation of the new control in 2000. He says that the grinder now has a much better record than the other grinders, reporting that the retrofit grinder produces 50 parts per hour compared to the 40 parts produced on each of the other machines. The retrofit machine typically runs 9 out of 10 hours in its normal shift, whereas the other machines average 4 or 5 hours in the same period.
According to Mr. Clayton, the improved performance of the new CNC on the retrofit grinder is entirely attributable to its special software. The CNC hardware is "special," too, but only because it is simply a standard office-grade personal computer mounted in the electrical enclosure of the machine.
"The PC handles everything—one processor closes the servo loop in real time, runs the operator interface, drives the I/O and acts as automated data collector and transmitter," Mr. Clayton says. No proprietary motion control card or other device not available off the shelf is involved.
An Early Adapter
Tecumseh Products, which has its corporate headquarters in Tecumseh, Michigan, was an early customer of MDSI. Having installed the software-based CNCs on several machines in its Michigan small-engine plants, Tecumseh saw the advantages of this approach to machine control. However, the main appeal was more than the value of CNC technology. The company saw that from the beginning, MDSI was dedicated to enhancing overall factory management, with the software-based CNC being just one piece of enabling technology. A CNC that could record the electro-mechanical happenings that occurred during the execution of a machining program would automatically create a database for distribution across a plant-wide network. This database would then be the basis for monitoring and actively controlling shopfloor production on a real-time basis.
Top managers at Tecumseh also recognized the larger value of such a plant-wide system. In fact, the concept of a software-based CNC as the basis for plant-wide monitoring and control were deemed so essential to Tecumseh's long-term strategy for revitalization that the company acquired MDSI as a subsidiary. Todd Herrick, president of Tecumseh, says that by acquiring this CNC and factory integration developer, his company was guaranteed access not only to the technology, but also, and more importantly, to the larger vision of an integrated factory management system. Of course, the acquisition was also seen as a sound business investment: As a Tecumseh subsidiary, MDSI continues to develop and market its software products for the general manufacturing industry.
"Our goal is to put in place a global, Web-based platform running the same production control software worldwide," Mr. Herrick says. "We have the source of that software in MDSI."
Events Happen
Joe Petsche, an MDSI software engineer who has been involved in the Tupelo installations, puts the practical aspects of reaching this goal into perspective. "We believe that effective factory integration hinges on two key insights. One is that the most important information about production is generated right in the CNC itself. Second, the CNC has to be structured to make this data readily available to the network software." Limited access to the data from the machine tool will hamstring other approaches to factory monitoring and control, he warns.
The grinder in Tupelo is a case in point. Software running in the PC keeps a continuous log of events that occur during operation. This feature, which MDSI calls Significant Events, allows the user to program the CNC to detect the occurrence of a machining event, give it a readable label and mark it with a date and time stamp. Machining events can be just about anything the machine tool does on command, such as opening and closing a relay, changing a tool, starting or finishing a machining cycle and so on. Moreover, by inserting a simple macro routine in the part program, the programmer can make the CNC send messages across the network when a certain predetermined event occurs.
For example, the grinder automatically keeps track of each time the main grinding wheel is dressed. When a preset number of dressing cycles is reached, a pop-up window automatically appears in the display panel, reminding the cell operator to change wheels. The grinder will automatically shut down if the wheel has not been changed before another set limit is reached. The CNC can also be set up to send an e-mail message or activate a pager signal, notifying a supervisor of a production stoppage.
With a software-based CNC, collecting and distributing data from the machine tool in real time is an automatic result of running the machine. Data collection does not require operator intervention or specialty hardware and software, which are important cost considerations at the Tupelo factory.
Out To The Network
Although a log of machining events is useful to a non-networked machine tool, getting the data on a network unlocks its full potential. According to Mr. Petsche, because the Tupelo plant had an existing Ethernet network in place, connecting the new CNCs to that network was simply a matter of connecting the network cable to the PC's standard communications port and the Ethernet card inside. Working with Mr. Clayton on installations, Mr. Petsche loaded a MaximumFactory application program called MAXOmni into the PC memory and set it up to launch whenever OpenCNC is launched.
MAXOmni runs in the background while a CNC part program is being executed. It categorizes events being logged and transmits the data to a central database server. This application software at the CNC also reports to the operator, displaying messages and alerts as needed. The operator also uses this software to enter inspection data from the gaging station located in the grinding cell.
The central database server runs other application software to organize and summarize incoming data from all OpenCNC units on the network. This software generates reports formatted in HTML, the language for displaying information as a Web page on the company's intranet and the Internet. This makes the information accessible to any user authorized to log in with a password.
Currently, Mr. Kulovitz can log onto the network from his desktop PC and access a variety of reports summarizing activity at the grinder, or at any other machine tool interfaced with the network. One of these reports calculates the Overall Equipment Effectiveness for the grinder. OEE is a formula that combines the machine's availability (a measure of uptime), its performance (a measure of usable output) and quality (scrap rate). If the OEE is not as expected, he can look at reports representing the various OEE factors to pinpoint the cause. He can "drill down" further into the database to review the log of events to find a possible problem, such as an excessive number of wheel changes.
Eventually, when all of the machine tools are interfaced with the production monitoring system, Mr. Kulovitz and other production managers will be able to track OEE at the plant level, on any of the machining lines and on the assembly line. Because the most troublesome bottleneck machines are already being monitored, the assembly line has had far fewer stoppages resulting from the machining lines not being able to meet production goals.
Other Prongs
Tecumseh's Tupelo plant has more than this transition to an integrated production system going on. The plant is also implementing lean manufacturing and Six Sigma in a three-pronged approach to factory revitalization. Lean manufacturing is a systematic effort to remove waste from all plant operations. Six Sigma is a systematic effort to remove variations from the output of plant operations.
MaximumFactory will enable plant managers and corporate executives to measure and relate the results of these other two initiatives in a coherent, meaningful way. More importantly, the software provides a tool for identifying areas where the best opportunities for further improvement exist.
"We'll have a sort of current state map that is truly current," says Mr. Kulovitz.
As of October 2005, the plant had 12 machine tools equipped with the software-only CNCs and interfaced to MaximumFactory. This number represents mostly grinders, including a large creep feed machine, but several lathes and milling machines have also been added. More machines are slated for updating as soon as a re-engineering of certain compressor models is completed in the near future.
Although many factory managers are talking about tapping into the data that is created by CNC machine tools and other automated production equipment, Mr. Kulovitz's plant is actually doing it. At times, it seems that the plant has only scratched the surface, he says, but there is nothing superficial about how far or how deeply the planned integration can go. "We know how to capture the data we need and how to use it to make the plant more efficient and productive," he says.
This confidence is a real boost. In short, this factory's first steps toward total integration are giving it a running start and the momentum to keep the progress going.
Related Topics
6 Steps to Take Before Creating a CNC Program
Any time saved by skipping preparation for programming can be easily lost when the program makes it to the machine. Follow these steps to ensure success.
Key CNC Concept #3—Understanding CNC Motion Types
Effectively commanding motion on most CNC machines requires more than describing how the CNC machine determines the end point position for each motion.
CNC Intro-The Key Concepts Of Computer Numerical Control
Today, computer numerical control (CNC) machines are found almost everywhere, from small job shops in rural communities to Fortune 500 companies in large urban areas.


text:
You are here
Washington, D.C. - In a speech at the National Press Club, U.S Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that the success of China and other countries in clean energy industries represents a new "Sputnik Moment" for the United States, and requires a similar mobilization of America's innovation machine so that we can compete in the global race for the jobs of the future. Secretary Chu outlined efforts underway at the Department to give America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers an edge through investments in clean energy innovation.
"When it comes to innovation, Americans don't take a back seat to anyone - and we certainly won't start now," said Secretary Chu. "From wind power to nuclear reactors to high speed rail, China and other countries are moving aggressively to capture the lead. Given that challenge, and given the enormous economic opportunities in clean energy, it's time for America to do what we do best: innovate. As President Obama has said, we should not, cannot, and will not play for second place."
With 17 National Labs and world leading scientific and computing resources, the Department of Energy is on the front lines of America's effort to lead in clean energy innovation. Clean energy technologies developed and deployed in the United States will create American jobs that stay in America.
Secretary Chu detailed a number of promising research efforts now underway, including:
- Revolutionary Electric Vehicle Batteries -- 500 Miles on a Single Charge. With the help of Recovery Act funding, Arizona-based Fluidic Energy is working with Arizona State University to develop a new generation of "metal-air" batteries that can store many times more energy than standard lithium-ion batteries. Metal-air batteries contain high energy metals and literally breathe oxygen from the air, giving them the ability to store extreme amounts of energy. To date, the development of these batteries has been blocked by the limitations of using unstable water based solutions that break down and evaporate out of the battery as it breathes. Fluidic Energy's innovative approach involves ionic liquids - extremely stable salts in liquid form -- using no water at all. If successful, the effort could yield batteries that weigh less, cost less, and are capable of carrying a four passenger electric car 500 miles without recharging, at a cost competitive with internal combustion engines. Read the fact sheet on the project (pdf - 264 kb), which is part of DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
- Converting Sunlight Into Usable Fuel. Through a newly established Energy Innovation Hub led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers are working to create an integrated system modeled after photosynthesis that can convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into usable fuels such as gasoline. The goal is to create a system of artificial photosynthesis that is ten times more efficient than traditional photosynthesis in converting sunlight into fuel -- paving the way for a major expansion of America's biofuel industry and reducing our dependence on oil.
A New Sputnik Moment
Secretary Chu said that China's investments in clean energy technologies represent both a challenge and an opportunity for the United States. While China's experience with rapid, large scale deployment of technologies makes it an important global testing ground and creates opportunities for scientific partnerships between our two countries, it also means that America cannot afford to take our scientific leadership for granted. Secretary Chu stressed that our economic competitiveness depends on jump-starting the next round of American innovation in clean energy.
Specifically, Secretary Chu highlighted several crucial technologies where the United States must innovate or risk falling far behind, such as:
- High Voltage Transmission. China has deployed the world's first Ultra High Voltage AC and DC lines - including one capable of delivering 6.4 gigawatts to Shanghai from a hydroelectric plant nearly 1300 miles away in southwestern China. These lines are more efficient and carry much more power over longer distances than those in the United States.
- High Speed Rail. In the span of six years, China has gone from importing this technology to exporting it, with the world's fastest train and the world's largest high speed rail network, which will become larger than the rest of the world combined by the end of the decade. Some short distance plane routes have already been cancelled, and train travel from Beijing to Shanghai (roughly equivalent to New York to Chicago) has been cut from 11 hours to 4 hours.
- Advanced Coal Technologies. China is rapidly deploying supercritical and ultra-supercritical coal combustion plants, which have fewer emissions and are more efficient than conventional coal plants because they burn coal at much higher temperatures and pressures. Last month, Secretary Chu toured an ultra-supercritical plant in Shanghai which claims to be 45 to 48 percent efficient. The most efficient U.S. plants are about 40 percent efficient. China is also moving quickly to design and deploy technologies for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants as well as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
- Nuclear Power. China has more than 30 nuclear power plants under construction, more than any other country in the world, and is actively researching fourth generation nuclear power technologies.
- Alternative Energy Vehicles. China has developed a draft plan to invest $17 billion in central government funds in fuel economy, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric and fuel cell vehicles, with the goal of producing 5 million new energy vehicles and 15 million fuel-efficient conventional vehicles by 2020.
- Renewable Energy. China is installing wind power at a faster rate than any nation in the world, and manufactures 40 percent of the world's solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. It is home to three of the world's top ten wind turbine manufacturers and five of the top ten silicon based PV manufacturers in the world.
- Supercomputing. Last month, the Tianhe-1A, developed by China's National University of Defense Technology, became the world's fastest supercomputer. While the United States - and the Department of Energy in particular - still has unrivalled expertise in the useful application of high performance computers to advance scientific research and develop technology, America must continue to improve the speed and capacity of our advanced supercomputers.
View Secretary Chu's presentation (pdf - 6.4 MB)
Media contact(s):
(202) 586-4940


text:
Tagged: Jayson Nix
Sox Sweep, Brace for God's Gift, Promote Viciedo, Designate Nix
Don't say things aren't popping around the White Sox these days. Check this out:
Sox Split with Rays; Jayson Delivers in Nix of Time
Sergio Santos is Living the Dream, Reaches the Majors as Sox Announce 25-Man Roster
After failing to get a sniff of the major leagues as an infielder with five organizations, Sergio Santos is finally a big-leaguer–as a relief pitcher. He earned that distinction with a fine spring and today the 2002 No. 1 draft pick of the Diamondbacks was named to the White Sox 25-man roster heading into Opening Day. And he's only been pitching since last year.
The other roster question was also answered as Jayson Nix made the team as a utility infielder/outfielder.
The final cuts were infielder/outfielder Brent Lillibridge, outfielder Alejandro De Aza, pitcher Dan Hudson (Charlotte) and hurlers Greg Aquino, Erick Threets and Charlie Leesman plus catcher Donny Lucy (assigned to minor league camp).
The Sox will go into battle beginning next Monday with the following roster:
Pitchers (12): Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia, Bobby Jenks, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena, Randy Williams, Sergio Santos
Catchers (2): A.J. Pierzynski, Ramon Castro
Infielders (7): Paul Konerko, Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez, Mark Teahen, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel, Jayson Nix
Outfielders (4): Juan Pierre, Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin, Andruw Jones
The dream comes true for Sergio Santos
With Opening Day a Week Away, Ozzie Says: "I'm Glad With What I Have"
The truth is that spring training records mean little. Of course any time they're keeping score you want to win, but getting the regulars ready for the season and the liberal use of secondary players and youngsters to see what they can do is the main purpose. And there is really no proof that a winning record in Arizona or Florida will mean a winning season or vice versa. For the record, the Sox went 14-18 in the spring of 2005.
The Sox brass is reportedly meeting today to make decisions on the 25-man roster. The big issue appears to be whether or not they keep 12 or 13 pitchers or an extra infielder. It seems like Sergio Santos would be the 12th pitcher with Greg Aquino and Dan Hudson vying for the 13th spot. If 13 hurlers go north, it could spell the end of Jayson Nix in a Sox uniform since he's out of options.
Sox notes of note: Despite yesterday's two losses, there were some bright spots. In the 10-8 loss to the Royals at Camelback Ranch, Mark Teahen continued his resurgence. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI, lifting his spring average to .277…Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz each pitched a scoreless inning against K.C….The Sox were blanked 5-0 by the Rangers in Surprise, but Paul Konerko's two hits brought his spring average to .327 and Gavin Floyd gave up only a pair of runs with six strikeouts in six innings of work…John Danks makes the start tonight at home against the Angels.
When Hitting a Home Run is Not a Good Thing and Other Notes From Spring Training
* After receiving an alert on my BlackBerry yesterday that Brent Lillibridge (above) smashed a home run in the Sox 5-3 loss to the Padres, it dawned on me that I couldn't remember the last time a home run was a negative for the player hitting it. There certainly have been times when a home run meant nothing–for instance, in a blowout game–but this was rare. Why? because Ozzie has been preaching to Lilli that he shouldn't try to be a power hitter and he's much more suited to play small ball. So, instead of the Sox brass liking what they saw, it very well could have been the straw that broke the camel's back in Brent's quest to win a roster spot in his tug of war with Jayson Nix.
* Speaking of Nix, it looks like he's won the battle. Earlier in the spring Ozzie expressed his disappointment in both Lillibridge and Nix, but in Jayson's defense he has hit .345 to Brent's 214. A negative for both is their strikeout totals. Nix has K'd nine times, Lillibridge eight.
* Sergio Santos, the much-ballyhooed "out of options" converted infielder who is making a bid as a reliever on the 25-man roster, had his scoreless spring halted yesterday. He gave up two runs, two hits and a walk in one inning of work. Reading comments from Ozzie, it doesn't appear this blip will affect Santos' chances.
* While Santos struggled against San Diego, both J.J. Putz and Scott Linebrink pitched scoreless baseball.
* In the category of small victories, after his two-run homer on Wednesday Mark Teahen doubled against the Padres–hopefully showing he's on his way back.
* Interesting piece by Scott Merkin on whitesox.com focusing on the mentor-student relationship between vet Jake Peavy and up and comer Dan Hudson. Peavy: "To be as young as he is, he does a great job of just kind of observing and taking in everything…
Huddy has a great idea of what is going on, and I love his makeup and ability."
* Freddy Garcia and the Sox face the Diamondbacks today at their former spring home in Tucson.
The White Sox From A to Z: Notes From Spring Training
After a week at Camelback Ranch, it's back to reality. Here are my spring training thoughts from A to Z:
* A — A big plus for me was to see both Andruw Jones and Alex Rios off to great starts. Jones has hit two home runs, eight RBI and is hitting .385 with a .467 on base percentage. Rios has been nursing an injury, but is hitting .304 with a pair of homers, six RBI and a .346 OBP.
* B — The Natural, Gordon Beckham (pictured below), doesn't look like he's going to suffer from the sophomore jinx. So far in the spring, he's hitting .333 with five doubles and a homer and is getting on base 43 percent of the time. He's also been making every play at second base.
* C — is for the catching situation. A.J. Pierzynski is hitting at a .345 clip and shows no signs of slowing down. Ramon Castro is a capable backup. There was never any question that Tyler Flowers would begin the season at Charlotte, but it is a bit troubling he's off to such a slow start.
* D — One of the highlights of Sox spring training has been the play of former Florida Marlin, outfielder Alejandro De Aza. Despite being destined to begin the year with Charlotte, he is hitting .333 with seven RBI. He's an exciting player who very well might be up in Chicago at some time during the season.
* E — is for errors, which I'm happy to say will hopefully occur much less in 2010. The Sox will be a more versatile and fundamentally sound team so there will likely be fewer miscues and brain cramps.
* F — is for the Twittergate "flap," which looked for a while like it would be a major
distraction. Luckily Ozzie stopped it before it really impacted the team.
* G — Our old friend Freddy Garcia (pictured below) takes the hill this season as the fifth starter. He seems a lot older because he's been around so long, but Freddy is just shy of 34 and should give us the necessary push at the No. 5 spot in an outstanding rotation.
* H — If Freddy doesn't come through the Sox are well-protected with Dan Hudson, who pitched at every level of baseball last season and did a creditable job with the Sox in September. He looks like the real deal.
* I — I predict that the Sox will win the AL Central with the Twins, Tigers, Royals and Indians finishing in that order.
* J — Bobby Jenks has been struggling with his calf, but he says he'll be ready to go Opening Day. The Sox have some depth in the bullpen, but losing Jenks would definitely be a big blow.
* K — We need Paul Konerko to have a big year, especially with the departure of Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye. It could be Paulie's last season in Chicago, but let's hope it's one of his best.
* L — Scott Linebrink has proven himself to be a capable reliever, but you wouldn't know it from his performance a year ago. He's been up and down this spring, but he needs to rebound to max out our pen.
* M — As THE lefty in the bullpen, Matt Thornton (pictured below) is indispensible. While I was in Arizona he was perfect. The other half of the main DH platoon with Jones, Mark Kotsay, is on fire this spring, hitting .433 with a .514 on base percentage and a .500 slugging mark.
* N — Will Jayson Nix, Brent Lillibridge or a perhaps a late spring pickup win the last remaining spot among position players? Since it's listed under "N," my choice is naturally Nix.
* O — Brought to the Sox to back up and mentor Alexei Ramirez and Beckham, Omar Vizquel, who will be 43 in April, still looks perfectly capable of contributing.
* P — Jake Peavy, entering his first Sox season, J.J. Putz and Juan Pierre (pictured below) all have key roles. From what I witnessed in Glendale, Peavy's in mid-season form, Putz was up and down and it's obvious what positives Pierre is going to give us from the leadoff spot. Another "P" is Tony Pena, a member of the relief corps who has compiled a 1.59 ERA in five appearances in Arizona.
* Q — Carlos Quentin looks ready to go, even though his spring stats aren't gaudy. Health is the key here and CQ looks like he's ready for the long haul.
* R — With the help of Vizquel, Ramirez will be better defensively and that may make him more relaxed at the plate.
* S — A converted infielder and former No. 1 draft choice of the Diamondbacks, Sergio Santos has been a revelation and a real candidate for the final spot in the bullpen. He's been very impressive and brings a lot of heat. The fact he's out of options may force the Sox to bring him North.
* T — If I have one major concern, it's Mark Teahen. He's been awful so far in spring training, presumably putting a lot pressure on himself. I don't even want to think about what happens if he flops.
* U — U stands for the Sox being underrated. Haven't seen any of the so-called experts throwing compliments our way, let alone picking the Sox to win the AL Central. Hopefully I'm right and they're wrong.
* V — I've thrown around the word versatile when writing and talking about the Sox. It was certainly apparent to me that they'll be more running and bunting on this team–with players that can actually execute.
* W — Randy Williams, the journeyman reliever who has pretty much locked up the role as the second lefty in the pen, has pitched eight scoreless innings this spring.
* X — Saw a few ex-Sox in Florida, including Orlando Cabrera, Nick Masset (Reds), Josh Fields, Chris Getz and Scott Podsednik (Royals) plus former farmhand Aaron Cunningham (Padres). I saw that Brian Anderson hit for the cyle for KC and went 5 for 5 in a game during that time, but I wasn't there to witness it.
* Y — Why is Jordan Danks listed here? Because I had to find some place to give him his due, that's Y. He's big, strong, fast and will be a major element to the Sox fortunes for many years to come. We'll likely see him in Chicago with his big bro some time this season.
* Z — Z stands for the many zeroes our starting staff will throw this season. The strength of the club is definitely our rotation with Peavy (pictured below, top), Garcia, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and last but not least Mr. Perfect, Mark Buehrle (pictured below, bottom).
First Day in Arizona: In This Case, "Kissing Your Sister" Wasn't So Bad
GOODYEAR, AZ–My wife Bonnie and I landed in Phoenix yesterday, checked into the hotel and rushed over to catch the first pitch of Sox-Reds in beautiful "no clouds in the sky" weather.
Bing, Bang, Boom–23 Runs, 32 Hits, 0 Errors and the First Two Sox Victories of the Spring
It was a Saturday of epic proportion. Well, maybe not epic, but boy it was fun.


text:
Guinot Body Lait Hydrabronze
Gives a radiant tanned complexion all year round. A natural look that illuminates the skin giving a look of well being. Perfect for the body.
To Use
Apply two or three times a week taking care around dry areas of the skin.
|Product Type
|Face Cream
FREE Delivery within Ireland for orders over €39!
Orders are normally dispatched within 1-3 working days
Working days are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm (excluding bank holidays), when you order at the weekend, your order will be entered into the processing que Monday morning.
Where possible we will try to adhere to, or even better, exceed these lead times. In the unlikely event that we cannot fulfil your order in the time frame promised we will contact you immediately to inform you of the reason for delay.
Deliveries require a signature and cannot be left without one. Please keep this in mind with regard to your delivery address as selecting your home address while in work will result in a delay of your delivery.
For more information please see - Delivery and Returns


text:
City's site puts the business of government first with visitors
For example, an icon labeled "Your Tax Dollars at Work" shows where Louisville gets its money and how officials spend the tax dollars, including what they pay for new fire engines. It also outlines how Louisville spends economic stimulus law money.
Related stories:
10 revealing government websites
10 gov Web apps that get results
Great dot-gov Web sites 2009
The site also features MetroTV, which includes videos and downloadable MP3 files of city press conferences, Louisville city council programming and highlights of local performances.
Services are mapped via a 311 slide show that gives residents access to a directory for animal services and adoption; courts and jury duty; health and wellness; housing and social services; online bill payment; parks and recreation; public safety; and streets, sidewalk and trees.
In addition to links to permanent services, the slide show features seasonal or city news announcements, such as how to recycle Christmas trees, the completion of a project to deliver cleaner drinking water to Louisville and the opening of a new animal adoption center.
Last, but in the right order of civic usefulness, the site includes a media news section with a nod to city politics. It includes photos and text about Greg Fischer's inaugural address as the city's 50th mayor.
About the Author
Rutrell Yasin is is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
E-Mail this page
Printable Format
Advanced Search
Sign up for our newsletter.
I agree to this site's Privacy Policy.


text:
Good morning (French time),
I am a JBL listener since years (4311 - 4320 - 4333 and 4355) and I am reading this forum since several months now.
I also had several home made ALTEC speakers made of 411-8A woofer, 511 or 811 horns with a 806-8A driver.
I noticed quite a lot of complaints about lack of this, lack of that, willing to compare the dynamic and sound image of a 4343 / 4355, and so on.
I must say that I am working since 25 years in the amplifier market and I begin to have some knowledges about what an amplifier is.
You may not agree with me but I always thought that the quality of an amplifier is not only ascertained by sophisticated laboratory control methods.
One has to hear his performances, the human ear being the best of judges.
A sound is not only built up with technical specifications.
The only numbers I trust in are the signal to noise ratio (> 100 dB), the CMRR if you have a balanced input (> 80 dB) and the peak power!
Other numbers are just useless.
About distortion:
Add the distortion of the speaker, of the room and of your ear and you will be close to 3-4%. In such a case how important is the distortion of an amplifier? Nuts
Damping factor:
I am not the author of this theory, but if the damping factor is > then 17, what ever the number is it has no significant meaning. Never forget that the damping factor is calculated at the bottom of the amplifier and do not include the wires and the impedance of the speaker at low frequencies. As a bass reflex speaker has a bigger impedance at low frequencies, the damping factor will raise immediately.
When an amplifier manufacturer argue that his amplifier has an enormous damping factor at 8 ohms and this is very good for bass restitution, and his amplifier handles easily a 2 ohm impedance, just divide by 4 this damping factor
This is a 100% commercial number.
All those numbers and others do not make the sound quality!
There are things everybody ignores as I do, and they make an amplifier sound good!
The use of one brand of capacitors, the use of a type of capacitors, such quality of resistors, and so on is the basis of known things in the audiophile area.
After that, changing one component for an other can make an amplifier sound great, better or worse!
Let me give you several examples:
Change the bridge of your amplifier and the bass response can change radically; I did it just by changing a 20A bridge for 25A bridge from the same manufacturer and same bridge family (as I use a twin bridge in each channel for a 150W amplifier there is no relation between the needed amperes and what the bridges can deliver).
I made the same with an other brand and other models, it did not work the same.
Removing a limiter circuitry will enhance the micro information in the mids and high frequencies,
Changing an input potentiometer from one brand to an other, even if this potentiometer is set at 10 (wide open) it will change the tonality of your amplifier,
Since a year time that I now have the 4355 JBL speakers I made so many changes on my amplifier (same schematic, AB class, quasi complementary bipolar output transistors) I have now (and the job is not over and never will be) a new sound system:
I have all the low bass I was looking for,
I have more low mids,
There is no more agressivity (is it the good word) in the mids,
I have much more information in all the frequencies,
The high are also dam smooth and even more precise.
All what I did was to got the good settings in my amplifier.
This is perhaps the beginning of a long thread and I think it will be helpful for all of us and I hope I did not bore you too much with this message!


text:
Today in Ohio it is a cloudy cold day with the threat of rain. While sitting snug as a bug at home in my cozy sweats, I can't help thinking about comfort food. Which for me usually equates to something hot and sweet in the winter and cold and sweet in the summer. If you are not familiar with the term "comfort food", I define it as food that a person is instantly drawn to when feeling strong emotions – positive or negative. Wikipedia defines "comfort food" as familiar, simple foods that are usually home-cooked or eaten at informal restaurants. They are foods that are often emotionally significant to a person or group of people and are sometimes related to pleasant associations of childhood. Either way, I think you get the picture.
Never a stranger to multi-tasking, I find myself engrossed in blogging, tweeting, watching the Bengals' game while simultaneously thinking about and searching allrecipes.com for comfort food. I was excited to discover the following recipe for Indian Chai Hot Chocolate, as it appeals to my winter comfort food craving – hot and sweet to taste while easy to prepare.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- chai tea**
- 1 (.55 ounce) package instant hot chocolate mix
- Mix water and milk together
- Bring to a boil (either microwave or stove top)
- Pour liquid over chai tea and steep according to tea directions and strain
- Stir in the hot chocolate mix
** There are many chai options. Some of my favorite chai teas that I would use in this recipe are: Black Vanilla Chai from Dragonwater Tea, Original Masala Chai from Yogic Chai, or Indian Spice from Harney and Sons Fine Teas. If you are not a loose tea drinker or prefer the convenience of a tea bag, feel free to substitute for this recipe.
I hope you enjoy creating and drinking this winter treat. Please return to share your experience. Until then… Happy Tea Drinking!


text:
Davy Jones' family held a private funeral Wednesday for the former Monkees singer near his home in Florida.
Jones' wife and four daughters from two previous marriages attended the intimate service, his spokeswoman told Reuters.
Publicist Helen Kensick said Jones' body will be cremated and his ashes sent to Manchester, England, where he grew up and where a public memorial is set for next week.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
There may also be a public service in Los Angeles or New York for the former pop star, who died last week of a heart attack at age 66.
Jones rocketed to stardom in the 1960s as the youngest member of the made-for-TV outfit The Monkees.
Their television show lasted just two years and the group ultimately broke up, but they have endured with such chart-topping hits as "I'm a Believer" and "Daydream Believer."
Micky Dolenz told The Associated Press he and the group's two other surviving members have talked of attending one of the public memorials that Jones' family is planning.
Whether the surviving Monkees would perform at any of the gatherings, or at any other time in the future, is an open question.
"The three of us, Mike and Peter and I, we have never worked together just as a threesome. Mostly it was Peter, David and I and then Mike would join us," Dolenz said Tuesday of the band's periodic reunions over the years. He added the goup had been "communicating" but it was too early to say whether they would perform.
Jones' daughter Annabel took to Facebook Wednesday to thank supporters and invite fans to memorialize her father at another event Saturday called Ocupy Beavertown, Pa. at "the Church that he built for ALL of us," E! Online reported.
"Thank you for helping to make me feel less lost and bottomless, knowing you are all dotted around the Earth makes life less frightening and like if we all reached out we could hold hands and make a chain all the way around the planet," she wrote. "Dad and I connected mostly over music, songwriting and performance, that's where we understood each other. The hours I spent sitting amongst you all watching him perform are honestly some of my most precious and treasured moments. Everything was so simple while he was up there, I felt proud and close and I understood him there, as I know you all did."