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Neighborhood Inroads
In many ways, Deloris Wells is a pretty average resident of New Orleans. In other ways, she's a remarkably accomplished woman. Her family moved from rural southern Mississippi to the outskirts of urban New Orleans in the late 1950s, when Deloris was about 15. They were looking for opportunities to better themselves. When Deloris and her brother graduated from high school, her father insisted that she continue her studies, and she became the first college graduate in the family. For most of her working life, she worked for the Social Security Administration, evaluating and accepting or rejecting disability claims. Over time, she worked her way up the organizational ladder to supervisor and eventually, to assistant area manager.
As we talk, it becomes clear that Deloris Wells loves to nurture close relationships with a wide range of "youngsters," from nieces and nephews to members of her own staff. It comes from her upbringing, Wells says, which is why she signed up to be a block captain in her neighborhood. "I've always felt that I've just been given so much that it's only right to give something back. I don't mind helping out at all, especially if it means I can help my neighbors come back, because I know so many of them still want to, and if I can help, that's what I'm going to do."
I've come to talk with Deloris Wells about a program that installs radiant barriers in the attics of homes belonging to people who are rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. I'm accompanied by Tracy Nelson, executive director of the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), a post-Katrina extension of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, which stepped in right after Katrina, formulating plans for rebuilding and restoration, and engaging partners nationwide to find ways to implement those plans.
Right now, the CSED is focused on three problems: the post-Katrina lack of grocery stores in the immediate area; the restoration of adjacent wetlands; and need to create a more sustainable built environment by influencing decision makers about preserving housing stock, and by working to make the neighborhood carbon neutral. Hence, the CSED's radiant-barrier program.
Affordable, Easy, and Immediate
Recognizing that it could draw on the labor of volunteers who had come to help with rebuilding, the CSED began by installing radiant barriers in the attics of homes being rebuilt. The work was done by volunteers under professional supervision and was financed with a $12,000 seed grant from the Sierra Club. "Radiant barrier is affordable," explains CSED Resiliency Coordinator David Eber. "It's great in hot climates, and it's easy to install. We know residents need other things to really achieve energy efficiency, but it shows how a simple change can make a huge difference, because it makes the house feel obviously cooler from day one. We can say to returning residents, 'Hey, radiant barrier is just one thing you can do; we can also help you with an entire array of other weatherization and energy efficiency options.'"
We've come to talk with Deloris Wells not only because she was one of the first to participate in the CSED radiant barrier program, but also because she's a neighborhood block captain. Block captains serve as communications links between the CSED and local residents, and also act as hosts for visiting volunteers.
Recruiting Challenges
As an early adopter, Wells is also a living advertisement for the benefits of radiant-barrier installation, especially in the hot, steamy Gulf Coast region. The day we visit, the temperature outside is in the high 90s, but inside, protected by the thick barge board walls, the drawn curtains, and the heat-reflecting barrier in the attic, we couldn't be more comfortable. "Oh, I noticed it right away," Wells tells us, "from the day they installed it. I haven't had an electric bill over $100 since then. I'm the envy of all my friends. And I can keep my thermostat at 80°F all summer long, and never even notice the heat."
But she hasn't been quite as successful in encouraging others to give the program a try. Currently, the CSED covers all labor costs and asks homeowners to pay about $300 toward materials. While the CSED has installed radiant barriers in more than 100 homes so far, that's little more than 10% of the whole neighborhood, estimated at about 1,000 homes six years after Katrina. Wells says she's approached every one of the six or seven families living on her block and has had success with only one. The major hurdle, as she sees it, is the $300 cash outlay, a major investment for cash-strapped, working-class families.
However, the program has just received new funding from an anonymous donor. Tracy Nelson explains that the new funding may make it possible to extend financial assistance to residents who want to participate in the program but can't afford to put $300 cash into it right now. As we're preparing to leave, I ask Wells whether she ever gets discouraged. "No," she says with a faint smile. "Now that I know there's more funding available, I'll just go right back at it."
A Focal Point for Recovery
Like the world-famous French Quarter, Holy Cross is a unique New Orleans neighborhood. It fronts the Mississippi, 2% miles downriver from the French Quarter's Jackson Square. Unlike the very cosmopolitan French Quarter, however, Holy Cross is unmistakably rural in character. Mostly middle- and working-class African American families—an unusually high percentage of whom own their own homes—who are deeply rooted in the neighborhood, inhabit it. All this gives the one-mile-square Holy Cross neighborhood the feeling of a country village.
But Holy Cross resembles the French Quarter in another way as well. It is located at approximately the same elevation as the French Quarter. Holy Cross stands about 3 feet above sea level and probably would not have flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina if a nearby canal levee hadn't burst, sending a torrent of white water flooding through the streets of the Lower Ninth Ward. A few minutes later, Holy Cross was drowned in water 3–5 feet deep.
While not all homes were badly damaged, the entire Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, including Holy Cross, was deemed off limits by city authorities, and utilities were not restored for about nine months; this left homes vulnerable to all kinds of weather-related problems. Sheetrock walls that had soaked up 1 foot of floodwater were subject to extreme summer heat, and the houses were soon heavily contaminated with mold.
But the unique character of the neighborhood gave the people who lived there a strong sense of place and communal concern. Thirty years ago, activist residents had created the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association to lobby for neighborhood improvements. Within months of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, members of the association began meeting in far-flung locations to restore a semblance of unity to the scattered community and to spearhead a movement to restore the neighborhood.
In short order, they pleaded their case before university officials, state government administrators, and nationally recognized city planners, all of whom contributed resources and leadership to the June 2006 creation of a highly detailed and all-embracing restoration plan emphasizing energy efficiency measures and sustainability strategies. The plan gave city and neighborhood leaders a foundation for prioritizing goals and organizing restoration efforts; but it also demonstrated the residents' ability to organize meaningfully, act decisively, and think progressively. And this, in turn, attracted a steady stream of recovery support—a stream of support that continues to this day in the form of funding, expertise, and the labor of many volunteer organizations.
One of the most prominent of these volunteer groups is known as Historic Green. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council's Emerging Green Builders network of college students and young professionals created this group in fall 2007. Members of Historic Green are attracted by the possibility of marrying sustainability with historic neighborhood restoration. The organization sponsors a Spring Greening event for two weeks in March, during which teachers, students, and young professionals gather in New Orleans to engage in a wide variety of cultural, educational, social, and volunteer labor activities.
learn more
To download the succinctly written and clearly organized Holy Cross Neighborhood Sustainable Restoration Plan, go to http://davidrmacaulay.typepad.com/SustainableRestorationPlan.pdf.
Driving Demand
Thinking about my visit with Deloris Wells, I decided that hers is a classic example of the challenges now being faced by thousands of frontline persuaders in the energy-efficient home-building industry. The challenge that those frontline persuaders face is how to develop a market for home energy improvement materials and services.
From that perspective, Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements, a key report issued in September 2010 by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), also provides a clearly delineated examination of the context in which those challenges have now become the primary barriers to translating several decades-worth of gradually accumulated knowledge, expertise, and lessons learned into a fully realized energy-efficient future. (For a summary of the report, see "Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements," HE Sept/Oct '11, p. 24. To download the full report, see "learn more" at the end of this article.)Relying on an extensive literature review, industry-expert interviews, and residential-contractor surveys for background, the ultimate purpose behind the Driving Demand report is a comprehensive summary of best practices and lessons learned from case studies describing the design, implementation, and evaluation of what the report characterized as 14 first-generation residential energy-efficiency programs. But simply by employing the phrase "first generation," the LBNL report implies the energy-efficient homebuilding industry has reached a critical juncture in its evolution and expansion, having completed an initial phase while still struggling to make sufficient progress, even as the availability of resources has grown significantly.
Deloris Wells's experience provides a potential solution to that problem. In fact, I was inspired to visit Wells and to get a firsthand look at the CSED radiant-barrier program by a case study conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and published in its Gulf Coast Sustainable Economies—Resource Guide for Local Leaders. This case study, "Residential Energy Efficiency in the Lower 9," describes a partnership between CSED and Global Green USA, the U.S arm of Green Cross International (GCI), a global network with 31 affiliates around the world. Global Green USA focuses on promoting green affordable-housing initiatives; a national green-schools initiative; and national and regional green-building policies, advocacy, and education.
After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Global Green made a dedicated commitment to promote sustainable building in New Orleans. To that end, it opened an office in the city and set up three programs: a Green Schools Initiative; a Build It Back Green consumer outreach and education initiative; and an ambitious energy-efficient, affordable-housing project targeted for a single square block in the Holy Cross neighborhood. In many ways, Global Green's experience with its Holy Cross project could serve as a case study of grand ambitions meeting occasionally stubborn obstacles.
As of this writing, the organization has built five single-family homes, broken ground for a community center, and has plans to develop an 18-unit apartment building as part of this project.
One of these single-family homes serves as a LEED Platinum, zero energy model green home and resource center, while the other four have been put up for sale, but have found no buyers so far. (See "Phoenix Rising—Lessons Learned from Katrina," HE July/Aug '10, p. 36.)
Making Adjustments
Certain snags in the construction process were perhaps unavoidable. The first house was planned for modular construction, but the modular manufacturer backed out at the last minute. Other problems arose from a misplaced idealism in Global Green's construction of its model home. For every contractor and subcontractor that it hired, Global Green also contracted with a nationally recognized expert as a consultant, applying national standards for best practices to local home-building customs. It wasn't long before all hell broke loose. Global Green's New Orleans Director Beth Galante told me that for a long time she felt like a sitting duck surrounded on all sides by spirited professional crossfire.
"There were just a lot of really talented people involved," she says, "and every one of them believed in their heart that they were the one that was right."
The final four homes, finished in pairs, were built above all to be affordable. The second pair, built where a massive geothermal unit had been planned before it became obvious that the project was impractical, were built on a significantly smaller scale than the first two: one versus two stories; 900 versus 1,100 square feet. The smaller homes are being offered for $120,000–$130,000; the larger ones for $130,000–$140,000. Global Green claims that both versions reduce energy use by 80–90%.
Adjusting the Focus
In and of itself, Global Green's entire post-Katrina tenure in New Orleans would make an interesting case study. Such a study might examine the role played by an intermediary organization in translating ambitious goals into genuine achievements to build a sustainable local market for energy-efficient goods and services. With a primary focus on influencing policy at the national, state, and local levels, Global Green's national staff has worked hard to position the organization as a prominent nonprofit with international ties and a major stake in the Hollywood celebrity game. They are impressively adept at generating publicity by pumping out press releases, staging celebrity visits, and soliciting media coverage.
A Missouri native, Galante came to New Orleans to study law at Tulane University and earned her J.D. in 1991. She has on her resume service as a district attorney in New Orleans and as the deputy director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, an activist support organization whose successes eventually drew down the wrath of the state's governor. While she had zero experience in energy-efficient homebuilding, an extremely strong attachment to New Orleans plus years of experience in high-level advocacy and negotiation made her an attractive candidate for her present position. She began with Global Green in early 2006, just months after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.
Now instead of representing the interests of local residents in class-action lawsuits, she has become an advocate for local consumers of who want to adopt green and energy-efficient home-building goods and services. But from the very start, she said, the constant emphasis on maximizing publicity seemed counterproductive. "It just seemed frivolous," she is quoted as saying in the ISC case study, "when we had so many serious things we were trying to accomplish." Eventually she convinced the home office to turn down the volume where major publicity was concerned. She also learned to live with Global Green's deeply ingrained reliance on celebrity power. Now she compromises; she is quoted in the study as saying, "Identify anyone who's on the short list of people the community respects and would be inclined to listen to. Then get them to be a spokesperson for what you're trying to accomplish."
Even before I sat down with Galante, the still improvisational nature of Global Green's effort in New Orleans became apparent. The organization had set itself up in a storefront office on the fringes of a neighborhood that was slowly becoming chic—with warehouse condo developments and a healthy sprinkling of art galleries. But the block where Global Green's office is located was not yet gentrified.
When I sat down with Galante, in an office overlooking an alley and a crumbling brick wall, I naturally asked about the accommodations. "You just have to adapt," Galante told me. During the course of our conversation, I learned that the local office had successfully adapted Global Green's original six-year game plan into something more open-ended, with projects currently in the pipeline that should engineer an organization reset just in time for its own sixth-year, post-Katrina anniversary.
Global Green has already made plans to move the office to a better location—one that will unite the group with a cluster of other local nonprofits. Construction documents are in place, and a contractor has been selected, for the new Holy Cross neighborhood community center adjoining Global Green's five new single-family homes. The organization is sponsoring an Energy Efficient Home Makeover Contest to announce its participation in a low-cost loan program called WISE, for Wise Investments Save Energy. This program is being administered by the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance and funded through the current round of DOE Better Buildings program grants.
learn more
To learn more about ongoing recovery activities in the Holy Cross neighborhood and to get the latest news from the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, visit www.helpholycross.org.
To learn more about the CSED and its wide array of activities, including energy efficiency efforts in general and the radiant-barrier installation program in particular, visit www.sustainthenine.org.
To learn more about Global Green USA's New Orleans-based activities, go to www.globalgreen.org/neworleans.
To read a wide range of case studies, including the CSED/Global Green collaboration that inspired this article, download the Gulf Coast Sustainable Economies—Resource Guide for Local Leaders, sponsored and created by the ISC, at www.iscvt.org/who_we_are/publications/GCLA_Resource_Guide.pdf.
For a free download of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements, go to http://drivingdemand.lbl.gov
To learn more about the ISC Gulf Coast Sustainable Economies Leadership program, download an overview at www.iscvt.org/resources/documents/
For a more-complete picture of radiant-barrier options and installation-related materials go to www.fifoil.com. For more information on do-it-yourself radiant barriers, visit www.atticfoil.com.
Mixed Results
When it comes to funneling money, knowledge, resources, and program administration from national and regional sources to local consumers, Galante is hopeful. "Where we can add value is in refining the process for local residents," she says, "by identifying and minimizing obstacles, for example, or eliminating unnecessary paperwork and finding economies of scale to lower costs. Our job is to make energy efficiency and home improvements as simple and cost-effective as possible. And by adding access to low-cost loans, we hope to create a one-stop shopping model, offering consumers resources for everything from simple weatherizations to large-scale retrofits and whole-house transformations. "Basically," she says, "we want to provide a soup-to-nuts experience."
But Global Green's decision to take a lead role in promoting and implementing what it dubs the NOLA WISE program also signals a shift in the organization's socioeconomic focus. When Global Green decided two years ago to partner with CSED in the program that became the subject of the ISC case study, it was responding to what it saw as a significant gap in its outreach and education efforts. "It became very apparent [after four years of operation] that we were missing the low-income, disadvantaged populations most in need of our services," Beth Galante candidly admitted to the ISC interviewer."If we come in by ourselves, there's no particular reason to trust that we're sincere or that we're going to stay," she told the interviewer. "So by partnering with trusted neighborhood allies, we get immediate access to get a more receptive audience... Those organizations not only help host local events and meetings, they also help us tweak the information and variety of services we offer to make the presentation of both more relevant to their own client base. And finally, they help facilitate direct contact with specific clients they know are in need."
The Global Green/CSED collaboration, however, proved only moderately fruitful. As of September 2011, Global Green had provided one-on-one energy improvement counseling to nearly 350 residents citywide and had conducted about 125 walk-through assessments. But just 35 counseling sessions and 30 walk-through assessments had taken place in CSED's Holy Cross neighborhood. Of the residents contacted, according to CSED records, just 20 had opted for formal energy audits using blower door and Duct Blaster testing. And of those 20, just 8 had taken the next step and signed up for basic weatherization.
Tracy Nelson believes that the CSED's constituent population is unlikely to participate in the NOLA WISE program. She says that very few Holy Cross residents qualify for the scope of improvements, and the size of the loans, that this program offers. Program guidelines require improvements that will lead to a minimum 15% energy savings, and the program encourages participants to make further improvements—specifically, to install solar panels. "Those kinds of improvements are significant and important," Nelson says, "but most of our residents just can't afford them."
Neighborhood Success: Planning, Commitment, Dedication
Although they occupy different levels of the bureaucratic landscape and operate with different levels of resources, Global Green and the CSED have quite a bit in common. Both have ambitious long-term goals; both benefit from highly dynamic leadership; both continue to refine their operations; and both have a long-term commitment to post-disaster, energy-efficient rebuilding. And if Global Green enjoys international stature, Hollywood connections, citywide focus, and a multipronged agenda, the CSED brings to any collaboration its own set of unique—and perhaps crucial—advantages.
The first of these is a long-term sustainability plan, created with input from a wide variety of perspectives. This input comes from national leaders in sustainability resources; representatives of local and state government; national and local nonprofits; and a handful of academic institutions, as well as passionately engaged local residents. This thoroughly researched and highly detailed sustainability plan has provided CSED with organizational guidance and a set of operating priorities, and it will soon generate a carefully prescribed set of long-term carbon- and energy-reduction goals. (See "A Focal Point for Recovery.")
The passionate engagement of local residents—channeled through the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association—was inspired in part by residents' response to an early post-Katrina planning draft issued by city government that tentatively designated the neighborhood as one that might be abandoned or converted to nonresidential uses. This passionate engagement has contributed heavily to the CSED's ongoing motivation and long-term vision.
Equally critical has been the role of skilled and fiercely dedicated leadership. In the beginning, CSED benefited from the insistent passion and community organizing skills of Pam Dashiell, who served as a catalyst to post-Katrina rebuilding in her neighborhood and in the city at large. When Dashiell died of a heart attack in December 2009, the position of CSED executive director passed to Tracy Nelson, who served on the front lines of the post-Katrina response. Nelson brought to her position with CSED an academic training in architecture, historic preservation, and sustainable design, as well as hands-on experience in both carpentry and the preservation and management of historic landmarks.
Operating out of a tiny three-room office located in the back of a local Baptist church, with scant funding and a small but growing staff, Nelson has cross-trained CSED staff to maximize resources, making each staffer responsible for at least two functions within the organization. Nelson personally embodies the kind of grassroots dedication needed to spread the gospel of energy efficiency, and make it part of a viable neighborhood culture.
Community Organizing
The perspective of both Nelson and Wells has, in fact, altered my way of thinking about the challenge of motivating individual residents and scaling up the consumer base for energy-efficient goods and services. For all the good that national, regional, state, and local funding can do, the piece that's missing, it seems to me, is the grassroots/neighborhood perspective, where outreach, education, funding, the availability of skilled personnel, and cost-effective project management all make a difference. So it may be that what the energy-efficient movement needs right now—more than technical knowledge, large-scale funding, innovative program design, or academic insight—is just more good old-fashioned community organizing.
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Cotterelle weather in August (Haiti)
The average maximum daytime temperature in Cotterelle in August lies at 35.0°C (95°F).
On average, it is the month with the highest temperatures of the year.
The average minimum temperature is 24.0°C (75.2°F) (usually the minimum temperature is noted at night).
The amount of rain during this month is high with an average of 152mm (6.0 inchec). There are generally around 11 rainy days. If you enjoy blue skies and sunshine, then this is a great time to go to Cotterelle with 282 hours of sun during the entire month.
So what to wear in August? Visitors traveling to Cotterelle should plan on bringing a totally waterproof coat since it will often be raining. However, also bring your summer cloths because it can be very warm or even hot. With a water temperature of around 29.0°C (84.2°F), this is a great month to swim so bring your swimwear.
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For other monthly average weather and what to do in August look at the numbers below.
Monthly Averages in August
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Where to stay in Cotterelle
Where to go in Haiti in AugustFind out more about the weather in Haiti in August and which places have the best weather conditions in this month.
What To Do
We rated the following activities from 1 (least suitable) to 10 (best) to do in August.
Weather Forecasts for Cotterelle
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Weather and Climate provides you with all the information you need about the climate in Cotterelle.
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Let's Play Stump the Chump!
Send in your stumpers!
You know—that problem house, symptom or combination of symptoms that confounded the homeowner and challenged all your building science savvy to solve. Send BPI a description of the problem—and the solution, which will be kept secret. If it's a genuine stumper, it may be published in the next HVAC2HP e-newsletter. Send stumpers to email@example.com.
This stumper is reprinted with permission from BPI.
Answer to Last Month's Stumper:
Joel Key, General Manager of Healthy Home Diagnostics, was quick on the draw for last month's game. Readers will recall the problem was with a newly built house that didn't pass the building airflow standard. The blower door test revealed that the band joist area between the first and second floors, which by rights should have been inside the house, was directly connected to the outdoors. Joel's answer: "My thoughts would be that the heated garage is below a vented attic and the plywood sheathing, while going below the insulation, is not extending all the way to the bottom of the band joist and or blocking was not added to each joist bay. Air was being pulled in thru the attic vents (eve, soffit, ridge, etc) through the insulation and gap under the sheathing right into the interstitial space between the floors."
Thanks also to Macon Parker of Charlotte, NC, who sent us his solution to the problem: "Install a pressure boundary (with plywood or rigid foam) and air seal with spray foam. Additionally we have found that the insulation beneath the floor is often falling down and inadequate and we have dense packed this area with cellulose to act as a partial barrier, as it is often very cost prohibitive to remove drywall, air seal the band joist and install adequate supports for the insulation in the floor above the garage."
This Month's Stumper:
Thanks to Thomas McAteer, an Auditor Supervisor with CMC Energy Services in Fort Washington, PA, for submitting this month's head scratcher!
Thomas drew his inspiration for this stumper from baseload usage analysis and client education, two things he believes are commonly overlooked components of a comprehensive energy audit.
Thomas recalls a job in which a man and his wife had requested that CMC Energy perform an energy audit on their home. Thomas sent one of his Energy Analysts to perform the audit. The couple lived in a 1,200 sq ft, single story residential home, which was originally built in 1955, and had a baseload of 1830KwH.
The analyst surveyed the entire home. It was heated by a 2002 FHA natural gas furnace, and relies on a 2006 electric water heater without a timer. The home has a 115v, 12 AMP deep well pump that provides water. He notes that the range and dryer, which aren't frequently used, are electric. The analyst examined the utility data to determine the above baseload, seasonal increase and monthly average usage, and documented all electric devices and appliances, including a 2006 21 cu ft top-freezer refrigerator. He paired this data with a thorough customer interview to create complete usage estimates. But he noticed a problem when, after taking every appliance and number of occupants into account, he was still approximately 1000 KwH over the actual baseload. He was stumped.
What could be causing this mysterious increase in non-seasonal usage?
Think you know what the problem is, as well as the solution? Send it to firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Visonicom V4G952M/V4G952ML is a WiFi LTE mobile router 4G wireless router modem manufactured with built-in 4G LTE module sim card slot and battery. It universally supports both FDD and TDD duplex modes and multiple frequency bands:
FDD B1 2100MHz IMT,
FDD B2 1900MHz PCS blocks A-F,
FDD B3 1800MHz DCS,
FDD B4 1700MHz AWS blocks A-F (AWS-1),
FDD B5 850MHz CLR,
FDD B6 800MHz Japan Cell,
FDD B7 2600MHz IMT-E,
FDD B8 900MHz E-GSM,
FDD B9 1750MHz Japan DCS,
FDD B12 700MHz Lower SMH blocks A/B/C,
FDD B13 700MHz Upper SMH block C,
FDD B17 700MHz Lower SMH blocks B/C,
FDD B19 850MHz Japan upper 800,
FDD B20 800MHz EU Digital Dividend,
FDD B25 1900MHz Extended PCS blocks A-G,
FDD B26 850MHz Extended CLR,
FDD B28 700MHz APT,
TDD B38 2600MHz IMT-E (Duplex Spacing),
TDD B39 1900MHz DCS-IMT gap,
TDD B40 2300MHz,
TDD B41 2500MHz BRS/EBS,
also backward supports HSPA+/HSUPA/HSDPA/WCDMA[Band 1/5/8 (2/3/4/6/9/19 Optional)], CDMA EVDO Rev B/Rev A/CDMA(BC0/BC1), EDGE/GPRS/GSM(Quad Band).
With the built-in 4G LTE module SIM card slot, simply insert a standard 4G LTE SIM/USIM card, the portable LTE WiFi router 4G wireless MiFi router modem works with the downlink speed up to 150Mbps and uplink 50Mbps for fast mobile 4G internet access for sharing with 10 users (recommended, max 254 users theoretically) with 150Mbps WiFi, which is also built inside.
The Built-in Micro SD card slot support up to 32GB capacity. Simply put a Micro SD card then the travel wireless 4G MiFi router LTE WiFi router modem V4G952M/V4G952ML can also works as a WiFi NAS (Network Attached Storage) so that users can access and share the files wirelessly. No need to take a USB storage nor even a USB flash driver for travel! Low-power Energy consumption enables the endurance up to 8~10 hours
The mobile WiFi 4G router LTE wireless travel router supports 3 operation modes: 3G/4G Router, Travel Router (AP), WISP Client Router. With the quick configuration wizard, it is easy to configure and install. The new version of the firmware is upgradable through the web UI.
Key Specification and Features:
|3G/4G WiFi Router with Battery V4G952M/V4G952ML
|* Share a 3G/4G mobile WiFi connection
|* Supports TDD/FDD/TD-SCDMA/WCDMA/EVDO standards
|*Supports FDD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B6/B7/B8/B9/B12/B13/B17/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28(Customizable)
|* Supports TD-LTE: B38/B39/B40/B41(Customizable)
|* Supports WCDMA: B1/B2/B5/B8(Customizable)
|* Supports TD-SCDMA: B40/B41(Customizable)
|* Supports 2.4G WiFi standard 802.11B/G/N
|* WiFi speed up to 150Mbps
|* Supports 5~10 users at the same time
|* 3 operation modes: 3G/4G Router, Travel Router (AP), WISP Client Router
|* 1.44" LCD screen with all useful information(V4G952M only)
|* Interface: 1 x USIM/SIM Card Slot,1 x Micro SD Card Slot
|* Button: 1 x Power On/Off, 1 x WPS, 1 x Reset
|* LED indicators: 1 x 3G/4G, 1 x WiFi, 1 x Power (V4G952ML only)
|* WPS button for fast and security WiFi connection
|* SD card slot for up to 32GB optional storage
|* 2100/3000mAh battery for 10~12 hours working
|* Customized version available
1. The Duplex Modes and Frequency Bands above mentioned does not mean the portable LTE router can support all of them synchronously but some bands included only, since some of them are mutual exclusive; Also the duplex modes(FDD/TDD) and frequency bands are different from area to area, operator to operator, and with different APN settings, etc. No one can cover all frequency bands and APN settings in one device for the whole globe, but we can tailor the duplex modes, frequency bands and APN settings etc for specified operators and regions.
2. Cost floats with the technical requirement and order quantity. So when making an inquiry please make it very certain for the technical data (most important, duplex modes and frequency bands), and order demand so that both sides can go ahead efficiently. Thanks.


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November 3rd, 2012
My Take: On Election Day, proclaiming my loyalty to Jesus
Editor's Note: Mark Schloneger is pastor of North Goshen Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana.
By Mark Schloneger, Special to CNN
It seems frivolous, even foolish.
On Tuesday, as the world turns its attention to who will occupy the most powerful office of the world's most powerful nation, hundreds of churches will gather across the United States to worship a servant.
As votes are counted to elect a president, thousands of Christians will take the bread and the cup to remember their crucified Lord.
As winners are projected and the electoral map is updated, Christians of many denominations will sing their praises and proclaim their loyalty to Jesus.
It seems ridiculous, even silly.
After all, America is at a crossroads, and we are in the midst of one of the most critical presidential elections of our lifetimes. We know this because people have recited this same tired mantra before every presidential election.
How the White House changed Barack Obama's faith
Our fears, our hopes, our worries and our struggles are the currency that buys our votes. And how do politicians and their supporters acquire this precious currency? They invest billions of dollars to foment fear, inspire hope, create worry and exploit our struggles.
It's a power play. Some of us are pawns, and some of us are participants. But some of us are choosing a different part.
I initiated the Election Day Communion Campaign out of a concern that Christians in the United States are being shaped more by the tactics and ideologies of political parties than by our identity and unity in Christ. Out of this concern, a simple vision sparked the imaginations of congregations nationwide: the church being the church on Election Day, gathering at the Lord's Table to remember, to give thanks for, and to proclaim its loyalty to Jesus.
The making of a candidate: Mitt Romney's faith journey
Gathering for Communion on Election Day seems fitting, for the practice of Communion is an inherently political act. It is both a pledge of allegiance to Jesus and a declaration of independence from all other powers making claims on our bodies, minds and souls.
Far too often, the church has abandoned its first love for the siren song of political parties promising protection, prosperity and peace. Far too many times, the church has ceded the practice of its faith to the spiritual and the private while leaving others to address matters of justice. And far too frequently, the church has attempted to speak truth to power while seeking and relying on that same power for protection.
The bread and the cup are God's antidotes to our fickle memories. As we eat and drink together, we remember that all things fall under the lordship of Christ. We remember our sin and need to repent.
CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories
We remember that God has lifted up the humble, filled the hungry with good things, and chosen to reveal God's strength through our weakness.
We remember that the only Christian nation in this world is the church, the holy nation that transcends all human-made walls, boundaries and borders.
As we gather at the table, we remember that the power to redeem, to save, and to transform comes not from atop the seat of power but from within the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
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We will gather for Election Day Communion not because we think that the issues at stake in this election are unimportant or that our votes don't really matter. No, we will gather for Communion because we think that the issues at stake in all elections are far too important to be relegated to our votes alone.
The Lord's Supper reminds followers of Jesus to practice the politics of Jesus. To me, practicing the politics of Jesus means working to protect the sanctity of all human life, whether it is found in the womb, in prison, or in countries at war against us.
It means choosing the way of forgiveness and reconciliation rather than vengeance and violence. It means practicing an economy based on generosity and mutual aid.
It means offering care and compassion to suffering people regardless of their immigration status, economic class or religious practice.
It means being good stewards of God's good creation. And, most of all, it means allowing God's kingdom to break into the entirety of our lives, from the privacy of our homes to the politics we practice in public.
The bread and the cup keep calling me back to the table inscribed with memory. There, I remember God's choice for the transfer of power. There, I remember where to go with my fears, my hopes, my worries and my struggles. At the table, with my sisters and brothers, I am in the presence of the Holy.
Though I'm interested in the outcome of the presidential election, I won't be watching the projected results as they are announced. I've made a prior commitment. I intend to honor it.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark Schloneger.
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About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.


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If you're a brand new library school student, you may feel it's a little early to start thinking about internships/practicums. While I do think you need a few weeks to get settled in and feel less overwhelmed by the new atmosphere (and information overload), it's a good idea to begin thinking about internships as soon as you're able. My number 1 tip for new students is to start perusing job ads – subscribe to job lists in Google Reader, and save the ones that interest you. You don't have to have your "track" figured out yet, but if you know some of the skills you will need to meet job requirements, you will feel a bit more focused when it comes to choosing classes and internships.
LIS programs vary when it comes to internships and practicums; some are required, some are optional. At UA, internships are optional, but students are strongly encouraged to do at least one semester-long, 150-hour internship for pass/fail credit. It doesn't hurt that SLIS has an amazing internship coordinator who is not afraid to call any library – students talk to her about their interests, she names off some choices, and they go from there.
First things first: if an internship is not required, DO ONE. There are some exceptions to this. If you're already working in a library part-time or full-time, you may not need an internship. If you can't physically fit one in your schedule due to life conflicts, it's understandable. Otherwise — do it. I can't stress this enough.
Now for the other tips:
- Seek out paid internships if you can, even if you can't get class credit for them (UA students can't). You can find these advertised on job sites like LibGig and ALA JobList, but also check your school's listserv, and ask your professors for information about opportunities. My second internship was a paid SCEP position. If you know of any other great resources, please leave them in the comments!
- Whether your school has an internship coordinator or not, do some research on libraries you are interested in interning at. If you're going to be working somewhere for any length of time, it's important to know you'll be happy there.
- Talk to your friends, classmates, professors, and network — anyone who may have knowledge about these libraries and their departments. This is part of the research, but it's a lot more crucial than just looking at a library's homepage. Without personal recommendations from my classmates, I probably wouldn't have committed to driving out of town two days a week for my unpaid internship – gas money adds up!
- If you have an interview for your internship, make sure you ask questions about the library, but more importantly, discuss the kind of projects you'd like to work on, and what kind of projects they have available. A reference internship, for example, should be more than just working at the desk – you should collaborate with librarians on projects like LibGuides, marketing/social media, etc. A young adult or children's internship would be incredibly beneficial during summer reading. You want to make sure that you will get real, professional experience, and that you won't just make everyone's copies all semester.
- With that said, keep in mind that you're not going to always do the most super awesome projects of all time. You may do a couple of projects that seem tedious, but will actually teach you a lot. During both of my internships, I completed several projects that librarians would've done (they were just on the backburner), and while each had tedious aspects, I learned SO much. I didn't work on a project that I didn't enjoy and gain knowledge from.
- If this is possible to gauge from the internship interview (or hearsay from your classmates), try to find a library who will integrate you into their culture as much as possible. Even though I was a volunteer, my unpaid internship provided me with a free parking pass, a .edu email address and school ID that provided me with database access and Microsoft Outlook access, and my own cubicle. I got invited to library meetings on my Outlook calendar (and I was invited to attend any meeting I wish), and I had access to the library's Sharepoint content management system with all of their internal documents. All this is to say – I felt very ingrained in the work culture of the library, and it was such a positive, empowering experience. I want that for every LIS student!
- I mentioned this in my Dos and Don'ts of Library School post, but if possible, work on a project that produces something tangible for your portfolio/resume.
- Keep in mind that an internship is a big time commitment. You won't have to work on your internship outside of your time at the institution (unless you're doing something from a distance), but you also won't have that time to do your own work. At UA, internships are 150 hours, which roughly translates to 10 hours a week. It doesn't sound like a lot until you completely block out that time from your schedule! My unpaid internship was 12 hours a week, plus 4 hours of travel time for the week total. It was rough on my schedule but very worth it. I physically relocated to another city for my paid internship and worked 40 hours a week my last semester, but I was finished with my coursework by then.
- Absorb everything. Take copious notes, or keep an internship blog. Talk to as many people who work in the library as possible. Try to integrate *yourself* into the culture.
Finally, if you have a great experience, let your supervisors know how you felt. Give them feedback to use for future interns. Ask your supervisor if you can list her as a reference. And make a point to keep in touch with people from that workplace – they can be invaluable to your network, job search, and professional development.
Every LIS student should have a wonderful, skill-building experience, and I hope that if you are a librarian/information professional who hosts interns or LIS student volunteers at your library, you will keep in mind how much it means to us when you take the time to be a mentor. We will remember it and pay it forward! I can't wait for the day I can host interns or be a mentor to someone.
If you have any more questions about internships, please do not hesitate to ask. If you've already completed an internship, feel free to add your tips in the comments. And if you're a professional, I'd love to hear about some of the work you're doing as a mentor. What are you doing to provide future librarians with a great experience?
Categories: Internships & Volunteering


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Updated on October 18 at 1:20 PM PDT. Update set in bold face italics
We just received the 1,400th comment to this post. Needless to say, this is a record for Talking Radio. It might even be a record for political blogs, although we can't confirm that. We can confirm that on October 16 this blog was visited over 200,000 times. This says a lot about the power of the internet.
Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night on 39th Street and Park Ave, nearby her Manhattan apartment, while she was walking her dog Simon.
According to Air America Radio late night host Jon Elliott, Rhodes was beaten up pretty badly, losing several teeth and will probably be off the air for at least the rest of the week. At of late Monday night we have not able to locate any press accounts of the attack and nothing has been posted on the AAR website.
Several liberal blogs, including the Randi Rhodes Message Board and Democratic Underground have logged numerous posts on the Rhodes mugging with most of the posters expressing concern about the condition of the popular lib talker.
AAR's official blogger, Nancy Scola, posted the following message on the lib network's website this morning:
Morning talk host, Lionel filled in for Rhodes on Monday, but did not say anything about why she wasn't on hand to do her show. The Randi Rhodes board reports that Sam Seder, who does a Sunday afternoon show for AAR, will be filling on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Elliott was extremely agitated when he reported on the incident. He opened his show by saying "it is with sadness that tonight I inform you that my Air America colleague Randi Rhodes was assaulted last night while walking her dog near her New York City home."
Pointing out that Rhodes was wearing a jogging suit and displayed no purse or jewelry, Elliott speculated that "this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging."
"Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own," he asked. "Are we threatening them. Are they afraid that we're winning. Are they trying to silence intimidate us."
Some of blog posters also expressed concerns that the attack on Rhodes was hate crime. Other posters warned that we need more facts before any judgements are made.
According to Elliott, Rhodes was resting in her New York City apartment and was not hospitalized.
Attacks on liberal talk radio stations and their hosts are not a new thing. About a month ago a gunman fired a shot through a window at the studios of KPFT, Houston's, Pacifica station narrowly missing a DJ who was hosting music show at the time. There is currently a $10,000 reward offered to anyone who identifies the shooter.
This is not the first politically motivated attack on KPFT. More than 35 years ago, the Ku Klux Klan blew up the station's transmitters twice within the Houston station's first year on the air.
Also, shortly after AAR morning talk show host Thom Hartmann, started doing talk radio (about four years ago), he was told by auto mechanic that there were several bullet holes in his car.
"To this day I don't know if somebody shot out my car as kids joyriding with a pistol or rifle... or was a warning or statement of displeasure about my radio show," Hartmann told TR. "I've gotten a lot of death threats and hate mail over the years - hate mail is pretty much a norm in this business - but nobody has taken a shot at me or my car since 2003."
Talk show host, Tom Leykis, who known to express liberal views on his daily "hot talk show" was assaulted outside a Seattle bar three years ago by agitated radio listeners.
According to the Seattle Times, a witness reported two men were involved in the incident:
"…One of the men said to Leykis, "I called your show once and you called me" a name. "You had no right to do that." Then a man standing to Leykis' left kicked him in the face. The blow knocked him to his knees, leaving his right knee scraped and bruised."
Last year Stephanie Miller received a death threat from a nut case in Ohio named "Sock" Sokolowski. Here's what the letter said in part.
"As with Cindy Sheehan the best thing that could happen to you would be seeing some WONDERFUL activist sticking an AK-47 up your Glory Holes and sending you into eternity" ---
Miller called Socko during her show (yes, he actually included his phone number in the letter) and Socko claimed several times during the phone call that he didn't threaten Miller in the letter.
(Socko is not to be confused with Spocko, who is a liberal blogger who was threatened by ABC Radio's lawyers after he posted a list of advertisers to Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan's conservative talk show on KSFO-AM in San Francisco.)
Apparently, some right-wing critics of lib talk aren't happy that conservative talk only accounts for 90% of the programming on talk radio. These whack jobs appear determined to whatever it takes to silence the opposing point of view.
Not surprisingly, the only talk radio host killed for his political views was a liberal. In 1984, two right wing extremists gunned down Denver talk show host Alan Berg. Berg's tragic murder was memorialized in a chilling movie Talk Radio


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Note: I'm reading the 2010 Newbery medalist, When You Reach Me, and will review it soon. This is a repost of a review of the controversial 2007 winner.
The Higher Power of Lucky: A Novel. By Susan Patron. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Atheneum: A Richard Jackson Book, 135 pp., $16.95. Age range: 9-11. [See further comments about these ages at the end of the review.]
By Janice Harayda
Who would have thought that the American Library Association would give its most prestigious award for children's literature to a novel that uses the word "scrotum" on the first page? Not those of us who have observed its choices for years and have found that they tend to suffer from an excess of caution, often rewarding deserving books only after children have embraced them.
So it was, in a sense, startling that the ALA gave the 2007 Newbery Medal to Susan Patron's The Higher Power of Lucky, which tells the story of a 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble who hears what an Amazon reviewer has called "the s word" while eavesdropping on a 12-step meeting through a hole in the wall. Patron writes on the first page:
"Sammy told of the day when he had drunk half a gallon of rum listening to Johnny Cash all morning in his parked '62 Cadillac, then fallen out of the car when he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger seat biting his dog, Roy, on the scrotum."
This is hardly shocking language when many 3-year-olds know the words "penis" and "vagina" and psychologists routinely urge parents to introduce the medically correct terms for genitalia as soon as their children can understand them. You would think that librarians would rejoice in the arrival of a book that supports this view instead of rolling out words you are more likely to hear from children, such as "dickhead" and "butt-head" and, of course, the deathless "poopy-head."
But some people have reacted to The Higher Power of Lucky though Patron had issued a manifesto in favor of kiddie porn. At least a few libraries have banned the novel, the New York Times reported yesterday. And a librarian in Durango, Colorado, accused Patron of using "a Howard Stern-type shock treatment" to attract attention.
All of this distracts from the more important question: How good is this book?
Answer: Not bad. I'd give it a B or B-minus, though it was far from the best work of children's literature published last year. I haven't read all the candidates for 2007 Newbery, including the Honor Books. But among those I have read, Patron's novel has less literary merit than Kate DiCamillos's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane or Laura Amy Schlitz's A Drowned Maiden's Hair, both rumored on library listservs and elsewhere to have been contenders for the award.
But The Higher Power of Lucky does have virtues, some of which are more therapeutic than literary. Patron describes the principles of 12-step programs not just for alcoholics but for "gamblers, smokers, and overeaters." This may help many children who have relatives in such programs and don't understand them. And Lucky is an intrepid and often amusing heroine who defies a few female stereotypes. She loves science, has close male friends, and lives in a trailer in the Mojave Desert, which has a dramatic landscape that Patron describes vibrantly. No one could accuse this novel of fostering the rampant materialism you see in so many children's books. The Higher Power of Lucky also has evocative black-and-white illustrations by Matt Phelan that add so much to the book that you wonder if it would have had a shot at the Newbery without them. Perhaps above all, the novel has a worthy theme: What constitutes a "family"?
So what's not to like about the book? The writing — vivid as it can be — is at times careless or clunky. Patron confuses "lay" and "lie" in a line of dialogue on page 4, and while you could argue that this misuse is in character for the speaker, she makes similar lapses in expository passages. She tells us that a character had "a very unique way of cooking." She does not appear to have mastered the use of the semicolon and overuses it, including in conversation, in a book for children who may themselves be struggling to figure out its purpose. She also italicizes so many words — a sign of weak writing — that her book reads at times like a children's version of the old Cosmopolitan edited by Helen Gurley Brown.
Most of all, some aspects of the plot and Lucky's character are thin and underdeveloped. Toward the end of the book, Lucky behaves recklessly and is also dangerously mean to a friend. And while such events might have made less difference earlier in the book, they come so late that Patron has left herself too little time to persuade us that her heroine has learned from them. Other late events are insufficiently foreshadowed to make them believable. And that brings us back to that incendiary "scrotum."
Lucky finally does learn the meaning of the word. But it turns out to have so little relation to the rest of the plot that its use in the beginning looks gratuitous. The metaphorical gun on the wall in the first act turns out to be firing blanks. The Higher Power of Lucky is not about its heroine's sexual development or anything else that might have justified the use of the word. Patron could have reworked the offending passage with no loss to the book. In that sense, she may have made a mistake. But libraries would be making an even more serious one if they ban a book that has much to offer children.
Best line: This book has many good descriptions of the landscape of the Mojave, such as this image of a dust storm: "Tiny twisters of sand rose up from the ground, as if miniature people were throwing handfuls in the air."
Worst line: Clearly many people think it's the one about the scrotum. For variety I'll go with the ungrammatical first line of the third chapter, which includes a dangling modifier: "Out of the millions of people in America who might become Lucky's mother if Brigitte went home to France, Lucky wondered about some way to trap and catch exactly the right one."
Age range: The publisher recommends this book for ages 9-to-11. But The Higher Power of Lucky has a much less complex plot and smaller cast than many novels beloved by children in that age group, such as the Harry Potter novels. And its heroine is a 10-and-a-half-year-old fifth-grader, and children tend to read "up," or prefer stories about characters who are older than they are. So this book may have much more appeal for children below its age range, including 7- and 8-year-olds, than 11-year-olds. This fact may explain much of the controversy about the book. Many librarians and teachers who would have no trouble with the word "scrotum" in a book for fifth-graders may be upset because they know that this one will end up in the hands of many second- and third-graders.
Furthermore: A reading group guide to The Higher Power of Lucky is saved in the "Totally Unathorized Reading Group Guides" category. One-Minute Book Reviews also posted an analysis of why the novel might have won the Newbery.
Published: November 2006
Furthermore: Patron's name is pronounced "pa-TRONE."
You can also follow Janice Harayda (@janiceharayda) on Twitter, where she comments on books at www.twitter.com/janiceharayda and satirizes American literary culture at www.twitter.com/FakeBookNews.
One-Minute Book Reviews is an independent literary blog created by Janice Harayda, an award-winning journalist and who has been book editor of the Plain Dealer and vice-president for awards of the National Book Critics Circle.
(c) 2010 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


text: dad22 May 16, 2016 by Martha Bonneau Author Recent Posts Martha BonneauI live with my husband, 7 and 4 year old daughters, and a pug named Pixie in Crystal Lake, Illinois which is in the 'burbs NW of Chicago.I started scrapping in 2006 and was quickly addicted!I was an avid scrapper until late summer of 2010 when we started our adoption journey, at that point I was overwhelmed with paperwork (and emotions!) and I had to put something on the back burner in my life but I knew I would eventually come back to it.We welcomed our daughter home from China in December of 2011 and a few months later I found my groove again and pulled out all of those supplies that had been tucked away.I started out scrapping again doing traditional layouts, but at the beginning of this year I jumped into Project Life and I love it!When I'm not scrapping I am usually spending time with our daughters which means library time, going on walks, thrifting (they love it as much as I do!) or watching Kung Fu Panda for the millionth time.I also have an Etsy shop Panda Eight Designs where I sell scrapbooking flair that I design. Latest posts by Martha Bonneau (see all) Paper Crafting With Heart: 12 DIY Valentine's Projects - January 31, 2023 15 Paper Camera Crafts That Click - January 17, 2023 Trendy Paper Crafts: Adult Coloring Books - January 12, 2023


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When you decide to move across the country to another state, you want to make sure that all your belongings are handled professionally by reliable movers. Our professional and experienced movers are capable of performing the entire interstate moving process in the most efficient and cost-effective way. There are many details that you need to be aware of, during your interstate move, and we are here to lend you our knowledge and experience in every step of the way. You can fully rely on our professional movers throughout the relocation process.
Professional Movers
Our team gathers of all well-trained professionals with years of experience and many successful relocations to back them up. In our full service moving we include, full service moving preparations, professional packing and unpacking, any kind of residential or commercial moves with modern and secured storage services available.
We are well aware of all the strain and stress that moving to another state can bring and we are more than happy to offer our help and make your moving a more pleasant experience.
While performing various types of residential and commercial moving services throughout the years, we have accumulated the knowledge necessary to perform even the most challenging tasks with ease, that will certainly reassure you that you have placed your trust in the right hands. We know that moving from NYC to the other state is far more complicated than your typical local move and we are here to back you up. Our team will prepare all the paperwork, documentation, logistics and transport organization for your items. We will do anything in our power to meet all your moving expectations because the satisfaction of our customers is our highest value, proving the quality of our moving services.
Packing Supplies
All of our packing supplies are biodegradable or recyclable, to lessen the amount of waste on your move.
Giving Back
We are deeply committed to supporting our local community and give back to local charities and world organizations.
Stellar Reviews
Our 5 star reviews are the most valuable proof on why New Yorkers place their trust in us.
Experienced Movers
Our movers have dozens of years of experience and work to impress so that you'll request their crew by name the next time you call us.
Official Movers for the Mayor's Office
Why Dumbo Moving & Storage
The satisfaction of our customers is one of our highest priorities, and we proudly say that, over the years of providing top notch moving services, we have been labeled as one of the best moving companies in NYC. That is the result of hard work and dedication that our professional movers put in every task. Earning your trust gives us the satisfaction and motivation to make our services even more customer centered, meaning that we strive to treat each of our customers as the most important. Our moving crew will do their best to meet all the set requirements quickly and efficiently.
If you value professionality and reliability, we assure you that you have come to the right place, here are some of the services that you can expect from us:
- • Free Moving Quote
- • Moving Preparations, Logistics & Documentation
- • Professional Packing & Unpacking Service
- • Commercial Moving Service
- • Residential Moving Service
- • Full Service Moving
- • Secured, Modern & Organized Storage Services
- • Various Packing Box Sizes & Bins Available
We strive to understand all of our client needs and we are more than happy to meet your expectations. Dumbo Moving and Storage is fully registered and insured professional moving company and all of our services are fully transparent, without any hidden costs. We are well organized and able to perform even the hardest tasks with great ease and stability, meaning that we are highly efficient and quick in performing any type of relocation. So do not hesitate to call us now, or fill out the form above and get a free moving estimate today!
Protecting Your
We take responsibility for your belongings seriously - your items will be labelled and color-coded if needed to minimize the chances for loss or damage. We have a fantastic record of customer service, and are fully insured to guarantee a stress-free move.
On Time…
Every Time!
Whether you're moving across the street or across the country, we'll prioritize your move and accomplish it as quickly as possible. We know your time is valuable and we don't think it's fair to keep you waiting. Don't let a no-show moving company ruin your day - trust us for punctuality!
To You!
We have got the best customer support department to answer all your queries, with knowledgeable and experienced personnel that will guide you during your move and you can easily coordinate with the claims department in case of theft, loss or damage.
Secured Storage Service
Modern and Well-Equipped Storage Units
A Home Away From Home
You can't trust the storage of your possessions to just anyone.
In case you are expecting some kind of delay or you find yourself in the situation where you need more time to prepare the location you are moving into, or simply plan on moving your items later, we offer our modern and flexible storage services. We understand your needs and we constantly seek the opportunity to help you in any way and elevate the pressure and stress the moving puts on you. Our staff will make sure to elevate your worries and make the relocation process easier and more flexible. In this purpose, our storing facility units are designed and organized to match your needs, with modern security solutions and optimal storing conditions.
We have secured, well maintained and clean storage units suitable for all your items, no matter if they are residential or business related. We are proud of our organized storage solutions that are at your disposal at any time. We are registered and insured so you can rest assured that your belongings will be handled with great care.Request a Free Moving Quote
Frequently Asked questions
+Can my possessions be stored temporarily?
If you are unable to take immediate possession of your new residence, your belongings can be stored in our warehouse. Weather you need to be stored for a couple of days or for a longer time Dumbo Movers will be happy to provide you with safe and clean facilities.
+Can I buy packing supplies?
We offer a variety of discounted packing boxes and supplies.
A large part of Dumbo Moving spirit is soccer. For many years our company has been a part of the New York soccer community. New York City Football Club represents a city that is diverse and constantly on the move, and with this partnership we want to support and serve fans, players and New Yorkers with all moves.
Dumbo Moving partnered with The Brooklyn Heights Association recently to volunteer our services and help provide the hard-working teachers and staff of PS8 with a new lounge! We know that teachers have a tough job and have worked heroically throughout the pandemic to give our children some normalcy along with a safe and supportive place to learn.


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Shelby County Schools deputy superintendent David Stephens is among the three finalists to lead the Bartlett Schools system.
Southern Educational Strategies, the consultant to the Bartlett Schools board, presented its group of finalists to the school board Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Stephens was selected by SCS superintendent Dorsey Hopson as the day-to-day leader of the consolidated school system as Hopson led the team that took the county's two public school systems into the start of its first fiscal year, which began July 1, and its first school year, which began Aug. 5.
In addition to Stephens, the other finalists are David Hill and M. Wayne Honeycutt.
Hill is director of academic operations for Memphis Catholic Schools, which included the Catholic Diocese of Memphis' Jubilee Schools in inner-city Memphis.
Hill also served as executive director of Teacher Effectiveness for Memphis City Schools and was heavily involved in writing the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative proposal that won funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Honeycutt is former director of the Loudon County, Tenn., school system and has been superintendent, director and assistant superintendent of several other school systems in Tennessee and Illinois.
The next step in the Bartlett Schools board process of selecting a superintendent is conducting public interview sessions with the finalists.
The value of the pension fund that pays benefits to Shelby County retirees has hit another six-year high – just as it has done every month since June.
The fund's value, according to the latest figures, climbed to almost $1.08 billion in October, up from $1.05 billion in September. The last time the fund was higher than October's total was in October 2007, when the fund topped $1.08 billion.
Stock market gains explain part of the highs. The domestic equity component of the county's portfolio is up 28.3 percent year to date.
AutoZone Inc. has promoted Kristen Collier Wright to senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of customer satisfaction, effective Jan. 5.
Wright joined AutoZone in January 2012 as vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary with oversight for a variety of company matters, such as litigation, and labor and employment law.
Before joining AutoZone, Wright was a partner with Bass, Berry & Sims PLC.
The Metal Museum is hosting an open house holiday show and sale Sunday, Dec. 15.
The event, which will run from noon to 5 p.m., gives visitors an opportunity to explore the Metal Museum's store and view pieces on display in the Gasparrini Gallery. Holiday ornaments, housewares, jewelry and sculptures will be available for purchase.
Visitors will also be able to explore the Metal Museum's new exhibition, "Ha! Metalsmiths at Play." The exhibit features metal toys, games and quirky-looking characters.
Throughout the day, Kevin Burge and a team of volunteers will lead a class in which students will create their own enameled copper ornament. The cost is $40.
For more information, visit metalmuseum.org.
Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages eased slightly this week, remaining near historically low levels.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan declined to 4.42 percent from 4.46 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed loan dipped to 3.43 percent from 3.47 percent.
Mortgage rates peaked at 4.6 percent in August and have stabilized since September, when the Federal Reserve surprised markets by taking no action on starting to reduce its bond purchases. The Fed meets next week and could slow the bond purchases if the economy shows further improvement.
The bond purchases are designed to keep long-term rates such as mortgage rates low.
A Commerce Department report issued Thursday signaled growing consumer confidence in the economy at the start of the holiday shopping season, as November retail sales rose at the fastest pace in five months.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates.
U.S. consumers ramped up spending in November on cars, appliances and furniture and made more purchases online, signaling growing confidence in the economy at the start of the holiday shopping season.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales rose 0.7 percent, the biggest gain in five months. October's figure was also revised higher to 0.6 percent.
Two straight months of healthy sales suggests steady hiring is encouraging Americans to spend more this holiday season, particularly on big-ticket items. That could give a critical boost to the economic growth.
Thursday's report "suggests that the holiday shopping season began on a strong note," Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.
The report also shows that consumers purchased more at home on their computers last month – and less at traditional stores. Those trends could explain why many retail chains estimated disappointing sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one of the most critical for those businesses.
Online and catalog sales rose 2.2 percent last month, the most in nearly 18 months.
Sales were weak at some retail chains. Clothing and grocery stores reported lower sales last month. And gains at department stores, health care and sporting goods stores were all tepid. Nonetheless, Americans are spending more, which could give a much-needed boost to the economy in the final three months of the year.
The global airline industry expects its profits to jump to a record high next year, helped by falling jet fuel prices, rising travel demand and cost-cutting.
The International Air Transport Association said Thursday it forecasts a profit of $19.7 billion – well above the $12.9 billion expected this year and the $7.4 billion made in 2012.
But the Geneva-based group, which represents 240 airlines, or 84 percent of total air traffic, noted margins are dropping. Next year's profit would come from projected revenues of $743 billion. By contrast, 2010's $19.2 billion profit was made on revenues of just $579 billion.
Tony Tyler, director-general and CEO of IATA, said that the profit would amount to a little less than $6 per passenger.
Stephen Reynolds announced Wed., Dec. 11, that he will retire as president and CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp., effective in May.
Reynolds' successor will be Jason Little, who is currently chief operating officer and executive vice president.
Reynolds is the fourth president and CEO of the hospital and health care organization. He joined Baptist in 1971 as an administrative resident and took the president position in 1994.
The Sundance Lab Film "Free In Deed," a drama about a Pentecostal preacher who tries to help a struggling single mother and her autistic child, will be shot in Memphis.
The film's stars include David Harewood, who most recently had a prominent role as CIA official David Estes on Showtime's "Homeland." The film is written by Jake Mahaffy, who also will direct it, and it is being produced by Mike S. Ryan (whose credits include "Junebug") as well as Mike Bowes and Brent Stiefel.
The Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission helped bring the project to Memphis. Casting is under way now.
Eclectic Eye's boutiques are collecting donations for two local nonprofits, the Memphis Child Advocacy Center and the Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center, throughout December.
The Midtown boutique, 242 S. Cooper St., is collecting new teddy bears for the Child Advocacy Center's Bearing It Together program. Eclectic Eye will also donate $5 of every frame purchase to the center, which serves children who are victims of sexual and physical abuse through prevention, education and intervention. Last year, Eclectic Eye donated nearly 140 bears and $1,250 to the nonprofit.
The Collierville boutique, 3670 S. Houston Levee Rd., suite 102, is collecting donations for Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center's online wish list, including art supplies, paper products and food and kitchen items. The boutique will also donate $5 from each frame purchase to the Collierville nonprofit, which cares for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias while offering support to their caregivers.
Incumbent Criminal Court Clerk Kevin Key has checked out his qualifying petition to seek re-election in 2014.
And as Key checked out a petition for the May Republican primary Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Democratic primary for the clerk position got its first possible contender, Michael McCusker.
Richard DeSaussure picked up a petition earlier to run in the GOP primary.
A poll conducted by Vanderbilt University shows more than three in five Tennesseans support an expansion of Medicaid, though nearly half also have a negative view of the federal health care law.
The survey of 800 randomly selected registered voters released Wednesday showed 63 percent favored an expansion of Medicaid, while 34 percent were against it.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam last spring declined to accept $1.4 billion in federal funds to cover about 140,000 uninsured Tennesseans under the terms the money was offered. He has been involved in negotiations with the federal government over a special deal for the state, but those efforts have not been fruitful so far.
The Medicaid expansion is part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, which is viewed negatively by 47 percent in the poll.
Tennessee's top agricultural leaders have developed a strategic plan to grow agriculture and forestry over the next decade.
The plan was developed following a challenge by Gov. Bill Haslam a year ago to make Tennessee the No. 1 state in the Southeast in those areas.
It highlights 27 action steps that focus on building production capacity and incentivizing the private sector through four major recommendations.
They include expanding marketing opportunities for Tennessee producers and encouraging new production systems and agribusinesses, as well as increasing the scope and depth of a skilled and educated workforce through career, technical and higher education.
The plan also endorses an initiative by the governor that calls for more than half the state's population to earn a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2025.
The CEO of Delta Air Lines says a bigger security fee being considered in Congress will be paid by travelers, not by the airlines themselves.
CEO Richard Anderson calls the fee a tax, and says it means fares are going up. He says the increase will not be absorbed by Delta.
Congress is debating a budget that would add $5 to each nonstop, round-trip ticket. The money is for a Transportation Security Administration fee, which already stands at $5 per ticket.
Airlines have long complained that sales taxes, security fees, and airport taxes drive up the cost of their tickets unfairly.
The chief financial officer of the social network Path Inc. has joined the board of directors at FedEx Corp.
Path CFO Kimberly Jabal also has been appointed as a member of FedEx's information technology oversight committee, the package delivery giant announced Monday.
Path has functionalities similar to Facebook – the adding of friends, posting of status updates, and a layout built around a stream of updates – but it's also a kind of anti-Facebook. Path purposely limits the number of connections its users can have – in theory, fostering closer bonds between users of the service.
Prior to joining Path earlier this year, Jabal worked at Lytro Inc., an early-stage company building the world's first consumer lightfield camera. There, she was vice president of finance.
Jabal also served in multiple roles at Google from 2003 to 2011, including as director of investor relations.
Triumph Bank posted a profit of nearly $670,000 for the third quarter, according to new figures from the bank.
That continues the bank's streak of quarterly profitability, but it is down from the nearly $780,000 profit in the previous quarter, partly because of an increase in the loan loss reserve and greater operating expenses that came with the addition of 17 mortgage professionals.
They joined Triumph as a result of Triumph buying M&P Mortgage in a deal that closed during the third quarter, on Aug. 31.
Shelby County Commissioner Henri Brooks took another step Tuesday, Dec. 10, in her bid for Juvenile Court clerk. Brooks pulled a qualifying petition to run in the May 6 Democratic primary.
Brooks has been campaigning for months.
Republican incumbent Joy Touliatos opened her campaign last month and has already filed her qualifying petition. Democrat Cynthia Gentry has pulled a petition in the race, and former city division director Kenneth Moody has said he is interested in running in the Democratic primary. But to date, Moody has not pulled a petition.
Meanwhile, Coleman Thompson picked up a petition this week to run in the Democratic primary for Shelby County register. Thompson was the Democratic nominee for register in 2006 and 2010, losing both times to Republican incumbent Tom Leatherwood.
And David Vinciarelli has a petition out to run in the Democratic primary for County Commission District 8.
His most recent political outing was the 2011 election for City Council District 7, where he finished eighth in a field of 14 for the only council seat without an incumbent that year.
U.S. employers advertised the most job openings in more than five years in October, and the number of people quitting also reached a five-year high.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings rose 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.93 million. That is the highest figure since May 2008, three months after the Great Recession began.
And the number of workers who quit rose 2.5 percent to 2.39 million, the most since October 2008. More workers quitting can signal a healthy job market, because most of those people likely either have a new job or are confident they can find one.
Total hiring, though, slipped 2.6 percent to 4.5 million after reaching a five-year high in September. Still, overall hiring has risen 5.2 percent in the past year.
More hiring, job openings and quits point to a more dynamic job market. That trend creates more opportunities for people out of work or looking for a new job.
Another positive sign in the report: Layoffs plunged 16 percent to 1.47 million, the lowest level on records dating to 2001. Still, while fewer layoffs are welcome, businesses need to step up hiring to more quickly reduce the still-high unemployment rate of 7 percent.
Overton Square will soon be home to a specialty olive oil store.
Memphian Kenny Ford has signed a 1,038-square-foot lease at 2094 Trimble Place for the store, which he is calling The Square Olive.
The Square Olive will offer all things olive oil – from bulk and bottled specialty oils to olive oil-based soaps, hand lotions and pet shampoos.
The Square Olive's tagline will be "a unique olive oil experience," and Ford said shopping there will be an interactive opportunity to sample a variety of olive oils with freshly baked bread.
The Square Olive will initially offer 24 flavors of oils from Argentina, adding a new oil every month or two. In addition to olive oils and olive oil products, a selection of balsamic vinegars will be available.
The Square Olive lease is the first long-term lease in the bays facing Loeb's brand new Tower Courtyard. Indie Style Market and Sache are both operating temporary holiday pop-up shops in the two bays immediately adjacent to The Square Olive's future home.
More than 600 state legislators from across the country gather in Memphis starting Wednesday, Dec. 11, for the four-day annual meeting of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
The national group is led by Tennessee State Rep. Joe Armstrong of Knoxville. State Rep. Larry Miller of Memphis is president of the Tennessee caucus to the group.
The conference, being held at The Peabody, is to set legislative priorities for the caucuses in the coming year.
U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is among the speakers.
Meanwhile, the political action committee Ready For Hillary 2016, which is seeking to draft former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president, is planning its own event for Wednesday. The Black Americans Strategy Session is slated to be held at the Doubletree Hotel, across Third Street from The Peabody, and will feature some of the legislators in town for The Peabody gathering.
Clark Tower, owned and managed by In-Rel Properties, is decorating for the holidays in a major way: by being illuminated in green through the end on the first week in January 2014.
All four sides of the landmark East Memphis office tower will be lit from dusk until dawn, using 1,000-watt metal halide bulbs.
"Our colleagues in the Memphis office thought this would be a fun way to take advantage of the size and breadth of Clark Tower and to light up the city during this holiday season," said Mukang Cho, principal and CEO of In-Rel Properties.
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Mitch Albom
Biographical Information
The Dog is a Yin,
and is the Eleventh sign of the Chinese horoscope.
Constancy Heroism Respectability Duty Intelligence Morality
Uneasiness Criticism Self-Righeousness Cynicism Unsociability Tactlessness
Birthday: May 23, 1958
A relationship or love affair with a trial or choice involved.
Birthday: May 23, 2022
A struggle or conflict, yet strong potential for triumph over adversity.


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Signet ring Sven 4 950 platinum
- Description
- Specifications
- Order Ring
Signet ring Sven 4
950 platinum
Our price $ 2,925.- VAT included
Made to order, ready for shipment:
Priority order? Contact us
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3D printed ring
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After receiving your order, our goldsmiths will start the creative process of making your Sven 4 ring. We don't keep stock. This is advantageous because these costs will not be passed on to you. Therefore, we can offer jewelry at exceptionally low prices.
To make it easier for you, we offer a 60 day return policy. Check our terms and conditions.
|Ring size
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Next to a lovely piece of jewelry crafted by our goldsmiths, you will receive the following information:
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- Lifetime warranty
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Why? Because you can! And pickle, and jam, or otherwise celebrate the resurgence of the domestic arts our forebears held so dear. Put on your best apron and step into our kitchen, won't you?
A salsa recipe for canning that is packed with flavor, and not too much extra water.