text:
French Pumpkin Flan Recipe (Flan Patissier)
My husband Lulu loves it when Thanksgiving rolls around, because it's usually the time of the year when I experiment with new desserts. He often makes suggestions, and always selflessly volunteers to be the taste-tester.
His latest suggestion was a pumpkin-flavored flan. Lulu tends to forget that I was born French. A "flan pâtissier" in France is a pie crust called "pâte brisée" filled with custard made of egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla beans. So that's what I made, with the addition of pumpkin, of course.
I told Lulu he would be eating flan for dessert. Once he finished it in the evening, he smiled and said: "All day long, I was looking forward to pumpkin-flavored crème caramel. I loved this French-style pumpkin custard pie, but can I have a pumpkin crème caramel tomorrow?" I hope my daughter doesn't end up so spoiled! And in case you were wondering, I am going to make the crème caramel today...
Yields: 6 tartlets1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons for rolling the dough
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1 tablespoon butter-flavored vegetable shortening
3 egg yolks
1 cup milk + 3 tablespoons for the crust
½ cup granulated sugar + ½ teaspoon for the crust
1 vanilla bean
⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons corn starch
5 ounces pumpkin purée (homemade or store-bought)
For the pie crust:
Line 6 tin molds (see tips) with parchment paper.
Make sure the butter is chilled.
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, salt, butter, shortening and ½ teaspoon sugar. Mix using the back of fork (or a stainless-steel pastry blender) until it forms sandy crumbs. Add 1 egg yolk and slowly add 3 tablespoons cold milk, blending until the dough is barely formed. Do NOT over-mix. Cover with a towel and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Once chilled, transfer the dough onto a pastry board lined with a sheet of parchment paper (plastic wrap works fine too). Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough like a sandwich. Using a rolling pin, even out the dough to 6 equal pieces.
Top the molds with the disk (or square) of dough. Press the dough against the wall of the mold. Let chill in the freezer until you're ready to use.
For the pumpkin custard filling:
Using a paring knife, scrape and gather all the grains of the vanilla bean (see tips).
In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the remaining 1 cup milk. Bring to a near boil. Turn off the heat.
In another mixing bowl, using an electric handheld mixer, whisk 2 eggs yolks with the gathered vanilla beans and ½ cup sugar until the color becomes pale yellow. Pour in some of the cream and milk mixture slowly so that the eggs don't curdle. Add corn starch, whisk and add the rest of the cream and milk liquid. Stir for about 1-2 minutes. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook while whisking manually until the texture thickens. Strain the custard through a coarse-mesh sieve. Remove and discard egg solids (if any). Add the pumpkin purée. Mix well and let cool to room temperature.
Assembly time:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Fill the tart crusts with the pumpkin custard. Bake for 30 minutes. (You might want to extend the cooking time by 10-15 more minutes depending on the size of the molds). A skewer or a toothpick inserted into the center should tell you if the custard is set.
Serve with hot tea or pumpkin spiced lattes.
Bon appétit!
After scraping the grains of vanilla, don't discard the remaining vanilla bean. Just place it in a jar and cover it with regular granulated sugar. Let it sit for a few weeks and you'll have a nice, fragrant vanilla sugar.
Rolling the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper (or on 2 silicon mats) eleminates the need for too much flour on the rolling surface, which can change the texture of the dough.
I used individual tins (2½" round and 2" square cake molds).


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LAKE DELTON (WLUK) -- A fight broke out at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park in Lake Delton and it was all captured on video.
Police were called to the park Saturday afternoon for several people involved in physical fight.
After investigating, police determined the fight started after someone took another person's chair.
Police say they'll continue to investigate.
It's unclear if any charges will be made.

subset: commoncrawl


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Small Mitre Box
by X-Acto
For precision cutting of model parts, railroad track, moldings and trim. Slotted sides guide saw for accurate mitres. Formed grooved base holds materials in place in widths of 3/16 in., 5/32 in., 1 1/4 in., 1/8 in., 1/16 in. Materials to be cut can be up to 7/8 in. deep.
Ask a question about Small Mitre Box Ask a question about this product
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The slots are very wide, not very accurate,and lots of wiggle room. Ok, though if you do not need precision.
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text: Hi ISPC community, I managed to install ISPC using the multi server howto on Squeeze as follows, tweaking the installer_base.inc.php file. 1 DB Server 1 MX Server 1 ISPC+Web+FTP Server 1 DNS Server I installed mailman and related stuff, I changed mm_cfg.py Code: # cat /etc/mailman/mm_cfg.py # -*- python -*- # Copyright (C) 1998,1999,2000 by the Free Software Foundation, Inc. # # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or # modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License # as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 # of the License, or (at your option) any later version. # # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the # GNU General Public License for more details. # # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License # along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software # Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA # 02110-1301 USA """This is the module which takes your site-specific settings. From a raw distribution it should be copied to mm_cfg.py. If you already have an mm_cfg.py, be careful to add in only the new settings you want. The complete set of distributed defaults, with annotation, are in ./Defaults. In mm_cfg, override only those you want to change, after the from Defaults import * line (see below). Note that these are just default settings - many can be overridden via the admin and user interfaces on a per-list or per-user basis. Note also that some of the settings are resolved against the active list setting by using the value as a format string against the list-instance-object's dictionary - see the distributed value of DEFAULT_MSG_FOOTER for an example.""" ####################################################### # Here's where we get the distributed defaults. # from Defaults import * ############################################################## # Put YOUR site-specific configuration below, in mm_cfg.py . # # See Defaults.py for explanations of the values. # #------------------------------------------------------------- # The name of the list Mailman uses to send password reminders # and similar. Don't change if you want mailman-owner to be # a valid local part. MAILMAN_SITE_LIST = 'mailman' #------------------------------------------------------------- # If you change these, you have to configure your http server # accordingly (Alias and ScriptAlias directives in most httpds) DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s:64000/cgi-bin/mailman/' PRIVATE_ARCHIVE_URL = '/cgi-bin/mailman/private' IMAGE_LOGOS = '/images/mailman/' #------------------------------------------------------------- # Default domain for email addresses of newly created MLs DEFAULT_EMAIL_HOST = 'mydomain.com' #------------------------------------------------------------- # Default host for web interface of newly created MLs DEFAULT_URL_HOST = 'mydomain.com' #------------------------------------------------------------- # Required when setting any of its arguments. add_virtualhost(DEFAULT_URL_HOST, DEFAULT_EMAIL_HOST) #------------------------------------------------------------- # The default language for this server. DEFAULT_SERVER_LANGUAGE = 'en' #------------------------------------------------------------- # Iirc this was used in pre 2.1, leave it for now USE_ENVELOPE_SENDER = 0 # Still used? #------------------------------------------------------------- # Unset send_reminders on newly created lists DEFAULT_SEND_REMINDERS = 0 #------------------------------------------------------------- # Uncomment this if you configured your MTA such that it # automatically recognizes newly created lists. # (see /usr/share/doc/mailman/README.Exim4.Debian or # /usr/share/mailman/postfix-to-mailman.py) # MTA=None # Misnomer, suppresses alias output on newlist #------------------------------------------------------------- # Uncomment if you use Postfix virtual domains (but not # postfix-to-mailman.py), but be sure to see # /usr/share/doc/mailman/README.Debian first. MTA='Postfix' POSTFIX_STYLE_VIRTUAL_DOMAINS = ['dom1.com', 'dom2.com'] #------------------------------------------------------------- # Uncomment if you want to filter mail with SpamAssassin. For # more information please visit this website: # http://www.jamesh.id.au/articles/mailman-spamassassin/ # GLOBAL_PIPELINE.insert(1, 'SpamAssassin') # Note - if you're looking for something that is imported from mm_cfg, but you # didn't find it above, it's probably in /usr/lib/mailman/Mailman/Defaults.py. [email protected]: ~ As you see I changed the DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s/cgi-bin/mailman/' into DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s:64000/cgi-bin/mailman/' as the MX server is running on another machine as the web server serving the mailing lists, but I have a problem when a mailing list is created on ISPC GUI; first mm_cfg.py is changed back to some defaults I haven't figured out where are they taken from, and when I receive the "Your list has been created" email it contains the DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s/cgi-bin/mailman/' without the :64000 port I created. I've tweaked the Defaults.py at /var/lib/mailman/data dir and the mm_cfg.py there to reflect my custom setting but they're all changed back to defaults. I _need_ the confirmation email to arrive with the DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s:64000/cgi-bin/mailman/' How do I force ISPC to use my settings and not the defaults?. Thanks and ISPC rocks.


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Monday, 4 February 2013
Postcard from a bygone era.
5 comments:
- Gerald (Hyde DP) said...
The old buildings shown here are used as offices and I don't think there are any plans to demolish these. It is the old fever ward and some other ancillary buildings that are being demolished. See here
- Monday, 04 February, 2013
- Hydonian said...
Thanks Gerald. I haven't walked up there for about 6 months so wondered if anything had actually happened. Thank goodness the old building is remaining.
- Monday, 04 February, 2013
- jenny roberts said...
It looks so much better with the tall chimneys and the surrounding wall.
- Wednesday, 06 February, 2013
- westarsteve said...
i think it was the old ward 4 and the new esmi unit at the back that was up for demolition i remember them building that new block when i worked there as a porter in 1978 it opened just before i left but has been empty for quite a few years now
- Thursday, 07 February, 2013
The old hospital has a proposed demolition notice attached to it real shame another grand old building to be lost
- Monday, 28 March, 2016


text:
Groom-To-Be Left Paralysed After Breaking His Back On Bucks
A 28-year-old groom-to-be who was left paralysed after breaking his back on his bucks party is confident he will walk again.
Fire-fighter James Thorpe was paralysed from his neck down in a freak accident just three weeks before his wedding day.
Thorpe tripped while on holiday in Majorca on June 3. He broke seven vertebrae and was forced to postpone his wedding to Michaela Watson, 33 (pictured below).
But doctors say the Norfolk local has made 'amazing' progress and could still walk his bride down the aisle.
The Daily Mail reports the pair are planning a Disney-themed wedding in July next year.
"I have progressed a lot. I couldn't get out of bed when it first happened and I can now," Mr Thorpe told The Daily Mail.
"The consultants and physiotherapists say it's amazing the progress I have made in a short time."
Mr Thorpe has developed some movement in his upper legs during his rehabilitation at Sheffield Northern General Hospital.
Friends of the couple have established a crowd fund to help them through this difficult time.


text:
Welcome Friends and Visitors Friday August 3 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Ahoj. Hello. Hola. Cheers. Hallo Salut. Ciao. Ola. Oi.. wish you all a very Happy Friday...
Going to be onlne for u tonight most of my nigh so if u not going out to party u knoe where to have soem fun hehe:D
Im online when I can..during my free time. So always please Check my Bios link or page at F4F.com And You know all Schedules Subject to change sometimes a lil late or early Oki So always best To Click Here this link will take you directly to F4F.com Live Chat Page and always let you know if I am Live Online for you :] No matter hour day or night and where you are reading blog:-) I will Also like to ask you Please Help me out and Take Advantage of the "Two Free Minutes " Just for Register with F4F.com Site. And I ask you When and If you do it.
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Please use my Lovely Banner on right side of blog and or Link I will give you here
Click Here And its is totally free for this F4F.com promotion. You will not be charge So come and have at least a lil Fun time in private with me all you need is a Credit or Debit Card :]
Oki This other link Click Here Will take you directly to F4F.com Members page and you can check site out and if you decide to join or just Register with F4F.com site Please not forget To do so by using my Lovely banners :P and or links :] I just gave you.. It will help me with the two minutes of course they are very welcome :] And I thank you much for your Support. And then Only If you decide to join or Register as guest using My links or and banners in my blog :-) It will help me to make a lil xtra monies... Still do not know why not more people take advantage of the "Free Two Minutes" it cost nothing
I thank You. Again for Your Time, Respect, Patience And Continue Support Cooperation and Understanding with me :]
Wish U all Wonderful Weekend
Cau cau for now Kisses Stef...:]


text:
Parts Description Pages with Photographs
Parts and Prices
| Chevy S-10 Parts
|Datsun Z Car Parts
|S10 V8 Truck 2WD and 4WD Motor Mounts:
$50 & $65 / pair, including shipping
|Datsun Z V8 Mounting Kit
Set Back Plate, Passenger Side
Set Back Plate, Driver Side
Hood Latch Firewall Bracket
Aluminum Spacer (1.25 inches thick)
$219$375 Sanderson headers for 2WD and 4x4,
including shipping
Click here for more info on S10 4x4 Oil Pans and Parts
V8 S10 4x4 Oil Pan: $250
for 1979 & Earlier V-8 Engines, including shipping
|Aluminum Spacer, 2.25 inches thick
Spacers (between body and front crossmember)
Transmission Crossmember
Water Temperature Sending Unit Adapters
Radiator Hose Splicers and Reducers
S10 4x4 Oil Pan: $225
for 1986 & Newer V-8 Engines, including shipping
|Datsun Aluminum Radiator Kit
(for 19701978 model year cars
with original 6-cylinder engines)
S10 4x4 Oil Pan: $225
for 19801985 V-8 Engines, including shipping
|Radiator Hose Kit for 6-cylinder cars
with aluminum radiator
Kit, S-10 4x4 Oil Pan,
for 1986 & newer V-8 engine
|Datsun Aluminum Radiator
Radiator Mounting Kit
|Offset Oil Filter Adapter
|Radiator Hose Splicer Kit
V8 Radiators: $150 & $195
19841988 genuine Corvette, and aftermarket
NEW! S10 V8 Cooling Package!
|Strut Spacers, pair
Drive Shaft Adapter Flange
Speedometer Cable (70 inch)
Headers photo & notes page
Sanderson conversion headers $190–$320,
including shipping
Mounted 40-Tooth Reluctor Ring Kit
instructions available:download Adobe Acrobat pdf
if you need the free Acrobat Reader, go here)
|Upper Radiator Brackets
|Datsun 280 ZX Parts
|Axle Set Back Plates for V8 S10
|19791983 Datsun 280 ZX Aluminum Radiator Kit
for cars with 6-cylinder engine
Driveshaft Grease Seal Extension
for 4x4 V-8 S-10
|Headers for Datsun V8 ZX with
Rack and Pinion Steering
|S10 Truck, Pinion Alignment Shims
(Axle Alignment shims)
|Water Temperature Sending Unit Adapters
|S10, Lowering Blocks, Lowering Kit
|Stock S10 Repair Parts
|Datsun Z LS1 V8 Parts
|Aluminum third-door handle, for 1996–2003
Chevrolet S10 and GMC Sonoma extended cab Trucks
|Headers for Datsun Z LS1
Air ducting, Datsun Z LS1 V8
S10 2WD Short-Bed/Short-Cab, and 2WD Blazer, Driveshaft Alignment Kit
S10, 2WD Extended Cab Driveshaft Alignment Kit, S-10 V8 Conversion, Stealth Conversions
4.3 V6 S10 Replacement Parts
Toyota V-8 Parts
BMW V-8 Parts
Mazda RX7 LS1 V-8 Parts
LS1 S10 V-8 Parts
|Colorado Parts
Header, Chevrolet Colorado 5-cylinder long tube
Header: 4-cylinder shorty headers
Astro Van V-8 Parts
All Wheel Drive V8 Mount:
High Ground-Clearance Crossmember
|Volvo 200 Parts
|Motor Mount for Chevy V8 into Volvo 240
Radiator, 1986–1988 genuine Corvette and
high-quality aftermarket Corvette replacement
$195–$295, Sanderson conversion headers,
including shipping
Volvo 700 Parts
Tailhousings and Parts
Tailhousing, Camaro
40 Tooth Reluctor Ring 1.42 i.d.
40 Tooth Reluctor Ring 1.30 i.d.
Clamp Assembly for Speedometer Gear
Differential Mounted 40-Tooth Reluctor Ring Kit
instructions available (download Adobe Acrobat .pdf
if you need the free Acrobat Reader, go here)
Reluctor Ring Sleeve Assembly
(Tailhousing Location)
|Hose Splicers, Tees, & Transitional Splicers
Ultra Short Thermostat Housing,
for LS1 / LS2 / LS3 / LSX Waterpumps
Heater hose restrictor and splicers
LS1 Steam Vent Tee
NEW – Transitional Hose Splicers
NEW – Transitional Hose Tee
NEW – Coolant Sight Glass!
NEW – Transitional Coolant Sight Glass!
|Air Ducts
Rubber Ducting and Aluminum Tubing
|Speed Sensors
|Cable-driven Vehicle Speed Sensors
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text:
Help:GM Workshop
GM Workshop Index
Welcome to the GM Workshop!
Greetings one and all, to those of you who are just browsing and those who intend to stick around. Welcome to the MW GM Workshop, a place where GMs of all kinds can gather, socialize, and share their inspiration. Here you will find the roster of those brave souls who deign bear the mantle of Game Master and have come to this oasis of knowledge and fellowship.
I have played D&D since the Red Box days, and in addition to upgrading through the various versions I found myself the default GM for my RL gaming groups for the past two decades. I joined Myth-Weavers in September 2008 and became part of the staff a year later. I have a passion for epic storytelling, from Beowulf and Iliad through Lord of the Rings and the Wheel of Time series. I gravitate towards long-running campaigns; most of my real-life games lasted 1-2 years, and my first play-by-post adventure (Odd Jobs) is still running to this day.
Call to Adventure
How to advertise for maximum impact
All your preparation comes to naught if the players don't bite. This forum is dedicated to discussing how to catch and hold your players' attention, and the specifics of adventure creation.
Campaign HQ
Multiple Adventures that Depict multiple Stories, often including lots of traveling in between
A "campaign" is a series of adventures related in some manner, think of a CRPG like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. Perhaps you have a grand plot - much like a series of novels - that is too large to be contained within a single adventure. Maybe you just want to tell the story of the Player Characters for as long as the game holds together. Whatever the reason, long-running campaigns have some unique issues.
Encounter Planning
Simple combat, one-shot tasks, or quests
Encounters are the meat of any game. Encounters are where the action is. But what makes an encounter? How do you know when one starts? How do you know when one ends? How many encounters make an adventure? Hopefully we'll find the answers to these questions here.
Useful tools for running your game
Do you have a nifty tool that makes your life as a GM easier? Are you looking for a tool to make your life as a GM easier? Post things like generators, calculators, articles, and more here.
Running the Game
How to handle the responsibilities of GM, from rules adjudication to dealing with missing players
The art of being a Game Master is one that takes time to master, but it helps to learn from the experience of others. Many of these articles deal with the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the play-by-post format
World Building
What GM hasn't pondered the creation of his own little universe?
Discuss the ins and outs of branching away from the "default" worlds detailed in the published rulebooks. Discuss creation of custom powers, classes, spells, locations, planes, people, campaigns, history - all the things settings such as The Forgotten Realms or Eberron bring to their games.


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Asa Dotzler is the community coordinator for several Mozilla projects. He is the founder and coordinator of Mozillas Quality Assurance (QA) and Testing Program, which has grown from just a few contributors when Asa joined the project to tens of thousands of volunteers today. As the Quality Assurance lead, Asa works with Mozillas volunteer QA and testing community to ensure excellence and to certify applications for release.
Asa is also co-founder and community coordinator for the Spread Firefox project, launched in October 2004, where he spearheads open-source marketing projects. Spread Firefox is charged with empowering Firefox community members to raise awareness of the popular Web browser.
When he's not helping new QA and marketing contributors, he's working with email@example.com, the project management group at Mozilla, to define requirements and development roadmaps for the Mozilla projects.
Asa has been an active member of the Mozilla community since 1999. After volunteering for more than a year, Asa joined the Mozilla organization and has played a key role in delivering products including the release of Mozilla 1.0 and the release of the award-winning Mozilla Firefox Web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client now used by more than 60 million people combined worldwide.


text:
A representative for Marisa Tomei has dismissed reports she is engaged to actor Logan Marshall-Green.
The Oscar winner, 48, was said to have accepted the "Prometheus" star's proposal over the Christmas holidays, having dated on and off since 2008.
However, a spokesperson for Tomei insists there is "no truth" to the wedding rumors, reports GossipCop.com.
"The Wrestler" actress, who has previously been romantically linked to Robert Downey, Jr. and Lenny Kravitz, has previously claimed she did not believe in marriage, saying, "I'm not that big a fan of marriage as an institution and I don't know why women need to have children to be seen as complete human beings."


text:
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|Napoli Centrale
Trenitalia is the national railway company of Italy, with a fleet including high-speed trains (Frecciarossa, Frecciargento and Frecciabianca), Intercity and Intercity night trains and regional trains. Trenitalia offers discounts and special promotions on selected routes, two types of discounted tickets for young people under 30 and people over 60.
The average journey time between Pompei and Napoli Centrale is 55 minutes and the fastest journey time is 37 minutes. On an average weekday, there are 32 trains per day travelling from Pompei to Napoli Centrale. The journey time may be longer on weekends and holidays; use our journey planner on this page to search for a specific travel date.
The first train from Pompei to Napoli Centrale departs at 05:48. The last train from Pompei to Napoli Centrale departs at 22:44. Trains that depart in the early morning hours or very late evening may be sleeper services. Alternatively, some popular routes may run throughout the night at a reduced frequency. There may also be less services on weekends and holidays; use our journey planner on this page to search for a specific travel date.
Yes, it is possible to travel from Pompei to Napoli Centrale without having to change trains. There are 31 direct trains from Pompei to Napoli Centrale. Though there may be fewer direct services available depending on your exact departure date.
We help customers across Europe make more than 125,000 smarter journeys every single day.


text:
Cartoon-Style Play-Gun Fight Is Adorably Violent [VIDEO]
Remember the imaginary bullets and blood that existed in your head when you played with toy guns as a child? Well, a group of French kids have found a way to turn those imaginary thoughts into reality – sort of.
In this clever video, footage of children staging an elaborate gun fight in the suburbs is enhanced by nimbly edited cartoon bullets and blood.
The pace of the battle is fierce, although the combatants do break for a quick meal from mom.
Read on to see the most adorably violent video currently circulating the Internet.


text:
Petrie Museum
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
The Petrie Museum houses an estimated 80,000 objects, making it one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in the world. It illustrates life in the Nile Valley from prehistory through the time of the pharaohs, the Ptolemaic, Roman and Coptic periods to the Islamic period.
What's on at the Petrie Museum
Explore the Petrie Museum
Collections | Location | Our staff | History
- Read reviews of Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Page last modified on 05 jan 16 15:35


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Home >Very Fine #4 Braid>Kreinik Very Fine #4 Braid
This is the premier metallic thread for cross stitching because it is so soft and easy to use. Stitch with Very Fine (#4) Braid in Cross Stitch (16-18 ct) and Needlepoint (for light details on 18-30 ct). It's also nice and thin for Machine Embroidery, Scrapbooking and Card Making embellishments. 11 meter (12 yard) spools. Also Available: Kreink Metallic Threads Shade Card
Beige1 Colours
Black8 Colours
Blue30 Colours
Brown13 Colours
Burgundy1 Colours
Copper5 Colours
Gold28 Colours
Green29 Colours
Grey9 Colours
Multi-Colour23 Colours
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Tech Ranks Highly in Chem. Engr. Research Spending, Nov. 22, 2000
SOCORRO, N.M., November 16, 2000 -- New Mexico Tech recently was ranked among the top 25 universities in the nation in terms of how much the school spends on chemical engineering research and development.
The current issue of Chemical & Engineering News lists New Mexico Tech in the 20th position overall, with almost $4.5 million spent on chemical engineering R&D for Fiscal Year 1998.
Nearly 22 percent of the R&D spending for chemical engineering research projects at the state-supported university was obtained through federal funds.
The latest available statistics and figures used in the journal's nationwide study were compiled this year from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Scientific and Engineering Expenditures at Universities and Colleges: Fiscal Year 1998.


text:
While the number of lost partnerships continue to pile up around the Paula Deen empire—Caesar's Entertainment, Food Network, Smithfield Hams and, according to the Associated Press, Wal-Mart—Novo Nordisk is splitting the difference, suspending, but not ending its endorsement deal with Southern cook.
Novo tells MM&M the suspension is an open-ended one and the company is going to "give her time to get everything together."
Deen's reputation and sponsorship business has imploded since last week, when a deposition in which she admitted to using a racial epithet coursed through the Internet. Her handling of the situation has been a combination of acknowledging she used a hurtful word, that she was who she was, and that, as she told Today's Matt Lauer, that she does not know what others consider offensive.
Deen's relationship with Novo started on shaky ground last year. The restaurateur and home cook whose fame had become synonymous with butter and sugar (and as of two weeks ago, literally linked to fat), only revealed her diabetes status when she started touting Victoza. Deen said she had known she was a diabetic for three years.
Novo emphasized that the relationship is not severed and the cooling-off period was a mutual decision. "Novo Nordisk would like to acknowledge Paula's involvement in our Diabetes in a New Light campaign, where she has helped make many people aware of type 2 diabetes and the lifestyle changes needed to control this serious disease," the company said in a statement.


text:
Cavalier Collection Scheme
by, 12th January 2011 at 06:54 PM (1386 Views)
Thank you for explaining this Margaret. At the Griffon Seminar it was stated that Griffons, healthy or otherwise, were also included in the scheme. Is this still the case?
At the time we were told to notify the GB club secretary in the event, does this still apply or is there a central agency?
Best wishes


text:
Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2006 News Releases > December 2006 > Givens named dean of Wayland Baptist University's Altus Campus
Givens named dean of Wayland Baptist University's Altus Campus
PLAINVIEW – Dr. J.M. "Jay" Givens, associate professor of religion at Wayland Baptist University in Lubbock, has been named the new dean of Wayland's campus in Altus, Okla., effective Jan. 1.
Givens has been a member of the full-time faculty at the Lubbock campus since 2003, coming to the campus from a three-year stint on the religion faculty at the Hawaii campus. At Altus, he replaces Dr. Dean Daniel, who left to take the helm of the Wichita Falls Campus in November.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Wayland's youngest campus and to serve as the 'face' of Wayland in Oklahoma. I believe the Altus campus has significant growth potential and look forward to getting to know the students, staff, and faculty there," Givens said of the new appointment. "I am very excited about the visionary leadership of (President) Dr. Paul Armes, (Provost) Dr. Bobby Hall, and Dr. Elane Seebo (associate vice president for external campuses) and believe Wayland's best days are in the future as together we move into a new century of education and service."
In addition to his teaching role in Lubbock, Givens has been director of the Master of Christian Ministry program for the WBU system since August and has coordinated all religion programs in Lubbock, under the direction of the Division of Religion and Philosophy, since 2003.
Wayland administrators expressed confidence in Givens' new role as a campus dean.
"We're excited that Dr. Givens has accepted the position of dean at the Altus campus," said Dr. Elane Seebo. "Dr. Givens' knowledge of the Wayland system, especially academic policies, will be a valuable tool as he transitions from the role of faculty member to the role of dean. He brings professionalism, knowledge, and experience with the Wayland system to the table, and he will do a great job at Altus."
"Dr. Givens has excelled as a faculty member for Wayland in both Hawaii and Lubbock and has also contributed to the success of Wayland's Faculty Senate and as a member of many university committees," added Dr. Bobby Hall, provost. "Throughout his career at Wayland, Dr. Givens has demonstrated a caring concern for his students and a thorough understanding of the university's external campus mission and its impact on both military and civilian students. He will provide excellent leadership in Altus."
Prior to coming to Wayland in 2000, Givens was an adjunct professor in religion at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, a teaching fellow and graduate assistant at Southwestern Seminary, and a director of Baptist Student Ministries at Lee College in Baytown. He also served one year as assistant director of the BSM at Lamar University.
He holds the bachelor's degree from Lamar University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Southwestern Seminary in 2000 and studied at Brite Divinity School and Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives.
Givens has published and presented in the areas of theology and Baptist history and worship over the years, and he has received teaching awards from the Hawaii Campus. He is assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 505 and committee chairman for Cub Scout Pack 549. He is a team leader with the Lubbock Area Baptist Association and has provided pulpit supply for various churches in the area.
Located on Altus Air Force Base, the Altus campus serves a heavily military population, with an average enrollment of 65. Like the other 12 external campuses in the Wayland system, Altus operates on a quarterly term format, with 11-week terms in fall, winter, spring and summer offered primarily in the evenings and on weekends.
The campus offers the Associate of Applied Science degree, bachelor's degrees in business and occupational education (utilizing credits from work experience or previous study) and master's degrees in business and management. The campus specializes in the degree completion program for adult students.


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Cabinet handles are home essentials that you use day in and day out. That's why it's important to get modern pulls that are both aesthetically and functionally pleasing to you. Notting Hill Hardware has two types of cabinet handles: whimsical and strikingly beautiful. There are even a few that fall into both categories, so hold on to your hat as we go through a rollercoaster of a collection like you've never seen before.
For a whimsical kitchen décor, try any of these decorative pulls. Who wouldn't love a kitchen setup playfully decorated with modern pulls from a classic childhood rhyme? Deck out your drawers and doors with friendly cabinet handles crafted as The Butcher, The Baker & The Candlestick Maker. Labeling your drawers and cabinets with cabinet handles that read "Silverware", "Plates" and "Cups" isn't just useful for guests and forgetful family members; it's a cute décor theme as well. Done in clean and beautiful antique pewter, these decorative pulls are stylish at the same time. Don't forget the veggies-inspired hardware. It might not get the kids to eat all their vegetables, but it will give you a great décor theme.
Of course, Notting Hill Hardware has its sophisticated side as well. Browse an array of elegant cup pulls and intricate decorative pulls that are nothing short of breathtaking. Cup pulls are famously popular because they have a wide grip and bold personality. Notting Hill decorates their cup pulls with intricate designs that will stop you in your tracks. Straight pulls are loved for their versatility in design and the easy, upper hand grip. Find a range of these decorative pulls in varying designs from nature themed to sophisticated and regal. Whatever your style, you're going to love the indescribable beauty of Notting Hill decorative pulls. Order your own now, and create the home that everyone envies today.


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21 January 2014 at 12.05pm | Comment on this article
The Paul Hamlyn Hall early on a Sunday morning: the bunting is up and a brass quintet starts to play. Upstairs in the Amphitheatre Bar, racks crammed full of fabulous costumes, wigs and masks wait to be tried on. A make-up artist prepares her brushes, a set designer gathers her materials, and a Royal Ballet dancer warms up.
Not your typical Sunday you might think, but this Season the Royal Opera House has been opening its doors to families on the last Sunday of every month, offering a unique glimpse into the worlds of opera and ballet. Families are able to come and enjoy our Front of House spaces and get creative as part of the new Family Sunday series.
'We were totally blown away by what we have seen, from the costumes, make-up, fight workshop to the brilliant tour into the orchestra and beyond,' said one attendee, 'My friend and I took our seven-year-old daughters and they loved every minute. It was ridiculously good value and beautifully organized. We're now ready to come and see a ballet!'
Previous Family Sundays have looked to the stage for inspiration, with the November event exploring the themes of both The Nutcracker and Carmen, and January's event looking at storytelling through opera and ballet.
The events also offer a chance to get close to artists, such as The Royal Ballet's Ricardo Cervera demonstrating an excerpt from The Nutcracker, Monica Mason rehearsing Claudia Dean in the role of the Chosen One from The Rite of Spring, Fight Director Natalie Dakin demonstrating on stage combat in Carmen, and Jette Parker Young Artists singing famous arias close-up.
Tickets are now on sale for Family Sundays from January - May, with tickets priced at £5 for adults and £3 for children. A limited number of event and tour tickets are also available for each Family Sunday, giving access to a short tour to get a flavour of what happens behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House. We also hold 100 tickets back for sale on the day.
With so much going on throughout the day at each Family Sunday, we hope you are able to join us, explore the building and art forms, and meet our artists!
Find out more about Family Sundays
The next Family Sunday takes place on 26 January 2014. Tickets are still available.
Family Sundays are supported by Mrs Lily Safra and The Paul Hamlyn Education Fund.


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Pre-apprenticeship 10 July 2017
52824WA CERTIFICATE II IN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION (PATHWAY – TRADES) Bricklaying/Blocklaying or Carpentry and Joinery Complete your white card, learn about safe work practices, work …Read more
52824WA CERTIFICATE II IN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION (PATHWAY – TRADES) Bricklaying/Blocklaying or Carpentry and Joinery Complete your white card, learn about safe work practices, work …Read more
Working with Skill Hire was an absolute joy! Our students enjoyed an unsurpassed opportunity to learn and develop skills that supported their career aspirations. The opportunity to engage with on-site works meant that our students have now had a real experience of these trades and feel more confident in their ability to succeed.
Skill hire is completely hassle free and I have only good things to say about their service and staff. They fully meet my requirements and expectations every time. Their staff are always well presented, reliable and professional. I absolutely trust Skill Hire to meet my needs and the needs of my catering clients, and will continue to utilize them for all of my kitchen and FOH staff outsourcing. Thanks Ben, Heidi and team!
The year 11 and 12 students have loved the three day course in the Trade Centre.
A HUGE thank you for organising the Try-A-Trade for our students. All three teachers have come back to school absolutely buzzing about what the boys achieved in those three days and what a fantastic program it is. They also said the trainer was amazing and worked so well with the boys.
Skill Hire trainers create an excellent relationship with all students thus making the three days enjoyable for all participants
Thank you for allowing Greg Knobloch the time to present to our VET Induction Day.....The information contained in his OHS presentation was highly engaging and of utmost importance in preparing students for their upcoming work placements. We very much appreciate his time, expertise and experience in this area...
Amazing! Heidi and Ben were extremely helpful and efficient. They found the right staff for our needs and we will definitely keep working with them in the future.
Highly recommend
Special thanks to Mathew Pritchard in assisting with our Pastry Chef vacancy. Very responsive to our needs urgently. We got the shortlist candidates promptly, interviews were organised swiftly by and we got our new Pastry Chef on board in a matter of days! Special thanks to Ben Willis as well in your flexibility and assistance. We greatly appreciate this
All students enjoyed their time at Skill Hire very much. Students were excited to see the end result, but were just as excited to demolish it!
(These students recently took part in a three day Try-A-Trade course at Skill Hire, funded by the Construction Training Fund)
Students have learnt skills such as setting out, mixing mud, leveling, working in teams, communications and producing a sound product at the end (letter box).
Thank you awesome Skill Hire team! I just wanted to say that I'm very impressed with the high quality of staff you've been providing on a consistent basis, even at short notice. Thanks especially to Ben, Nathan and Rob, you've always made things very easy and provided fantastic service with a smile.
The SOP delivered by Skill Hire has been exceptional.


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Nokia Lumia 535 Pc Suite and Usb Driver for WindowsCould you look for in a mobile Usb drivers, here provides a Usb driver free download and how to install to Nokia Lumia 535. Make sure you have the appropriate type of model phone before downloading the driver to the computer. Driver Usb support following type model for Nokia Lumia 535 Usb Driver, Modem, Com port. Without delay, please download the following. Download Nokia Lumia 535 Pc Suite and Usb Driver for Windows
Nokia Lumia 535 Pc Suite and Usb Driver Installation Tutorial :
- You should know that if Nokia Lumia 535 smartphone is powered by a corresponding MTK processor, here is explained how to install the Usb drivers for the model of this type.
- Run and use as an administrator if you are Nokia Lumia 535 Usb drivers work very precisely and correctly.
Feel free to skip this step if the mobile device is not supported by Mtk Cpu :
- Enable USB debugging on Nokia Lumia 535 to do that, please go to Settings> Developer Options.
- Download the driver to the computer's usb driver Extract files using WinZip or WinRAR, find the file "PdaNetA4150.exe" and start note (Be sure to close all programs).
- Select the Type phone model (Nokia Lumia 535 Smartphone), Please select press / click the install button.
- Now you just connect Nokia Lumia 535, there will be a popup message saying your phone is connected. Congratulations you have completed the installation.


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NM Tech Researcher Develops Effective Filtration System for Saline Waters, June 22, 1999
[Note: for more information, or to collaborate on marketing this new technology, please contact Dr. T. M. Whitworth, (505) 835-5921, firstname.lastname@example.com or Alex Thyssen, (505) 835-5658, email@example.com.]
SOCORRO, N.M., June 14, 1999 -- There are an estimated 20 billion acre-feet of groundwater stored beneath New Mexico's arid surface, yet only about 3 billion acre-feet can be recovered as potable fresh water. The rest is too salty for human consumption.
The conventional water-purifying process of reverse osmosis--whereby water is forced under high pressure through membranes which act as molecular-scale filters--has shown great promise of providing an economical method of removing dissolved salts and other mineral impurities from "impaired" waters, but reverse osmosis is hampered by the relatively large waste stream produced.
In some applications, the waste produced from the reverse osmosis process can be as much as 80 percent of the total volume of water being treated.
The high cost associated with disposing of all those wastes, therefore, becomes a limiting factor.
In hopes of providing a solution to the waste disposal problem associated with using reverse osmosis, a New Mexico Tech researcher has been exploring the possibility of converting the resultant liquid waste stream into a solid, resulting in a substantial reduction of the total volume of waste products produced--as little as a thousandth of the previous volume--as well as a subsequent reduction in waste disposal costs.
Dr. T. M. "Mike" Whitworth, a chemical hydrogeologist with the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, currently is conducting research into combining a standard reverse osmosis system with a low-cost, low-efficiency membrane filtration system to efficiently remove the salt in solid form from saline waters.
By using his innovative filtration system in past related research efforts, Whitworth has successfully precipitated heavy metals, including copper, cobalt, and lead from solutions which are forced through clay membranes--a process called"hyperfiltration."
His current research now focuses on using that same hyperfiltration method to precipitate sodium chloride, or salt, a common constituent of almost all waters.
"A unique aspect of this research is the possibility of using natural clays as membranes," Whitworth says. "Thin layers of clays have excellent membrane properties and work well for this type of application. Also, clay membranes are very economical in comparison to conventional membranes."
Clay membranes are actually considered inefficient when compared to other membranes used for industrial purposes, but the upside of that property is that they also require very low pressure to achieve adequate separation efficiency for Whitworth's purposes.
Potential uses of the hybrid reverse osmosis/hyperfiltration system are many, Whitworth says.
"A rancher with bad well water might be able to install a clay-membrane hyperfiltration cartridge under the sink and only have to replace it once a year," Whitworth relates. "Or, you could use a larger unit--which would still be relatively small compared to any other competing systems--for filtering out water coming out of a well head. . . . For the most part, with this new system, you could just put out the waste it generates along with the rest of your trash."
The reverse osmosis waste reduction system could also be used by either individuals or municipalities in the treatment of irrigation and river waters to reduce total dissolved solids or to remediate impaired waters.
"With the right setup, I could probably precipitate any metal or mineral from groundwater that you'd want to," he adds, in reference to possible mining applications for the system.
As a continuation of his current research project, Whitworth also is preparing to investigate the use of other materials in place of the natural clays he now uses in his systems.
Whitworth's research on using hyperfiltration systems to remove salt from groundwater is funded in part by New Mexico State University's Water Resource Research Institute (WRRI) and the Waste-management Education and Research Consortium (WERC).
New Mexico Tech has filed a patent application on this invention and currently is looking for industrial collaborators to market the new technology.
[Note: for more information, or to collaborate on marketing this new technology, please contact Dr. T. M. Whitworth, (505) 835-5921, firstname.lastname@example.com or Alex Thyssen, (505) 835-5658, email@example.com.]


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Sometimes improved power quality and reliability aren't the only justifications for installing backup power
Almost every engineer and facilities manager understands the need for improved power quality in mission-critical applications. IT equipment has generally met or exceeded ITIC — formerly CBEMA — voltage tolerance requirements for more than a decade, but manufacturing loads often lack such stringent voltage tolerance levels. In fact, many of these loads require much better voltage regulation, and are less tolerant of short-term voltage transients. At the same time, they may be highly nonlinear or apply much larger step loads than data processing equipment. This greater sensitivity to voltage variations and waveform distortion coupled with harsher load characteristics reduces power quality in industrial applications. These characteristics also make processes more susceptible to poor power quality.
Given this situation, it seems surprising that manufacturers don't widely use UPS systems in their operations. But the fact is few manufacturing operations have critical power requirements, making it difficult to justify the cost of a UPS system. In most cases, the effects of poor power quality are subtle and incremental rather than blatant and catastrophic. In addition, manufacturers often include the bulk of power quality costs in the standard cost of products, and only unusual power quality events like extended power outages show up as cost variances. In fact, until recently, manufacturing companies had little choice other than accepting the effects of power fluctuations. These companies used the built-in allowances for capacity, scrap rates, overtime, and rework costs to cover less-than-optimum power quality. Therefore, the biggest part of power quality cost may be unknown to manufacturing management. Management may discover the cost of poor power quality only after facing in increasing pressures to reduce production costs and increase efficiency, forcing them to make deeper analyses of every aspect of the manufacturing operation.
Further hampering the wider use of conventional UPS systems has been the substantial engineering risk involved in applying them to manufacturing applications. Significant compatibility issues have affected their use with manufacturing loads that are nonlinear and, often, very specialized. These frequently include large variable speed DC drives or other high-power phase-controlled SCR devices, motors, and other cycling loads.
Battery-based UPS systems.
In the past, battery-based UPS systems haven't been able to meet the financial criteria required to justify capital expenditures in most manufacturing environments for several reasons. First the total cost of the UPS installation, including facility modifications to create a suitable environment for the batteries, has been too high, even when the cost of UPS equipment alone is well within required capital cost limits.
Second, continuing UPS maintenance costs, including those resulting from short battery life and the continuing cost of scheduled and unscheduled battery replacements, significantly increase annual operating costs of the process under protection (Sidebar "The Cost of Replacing UPS Batteries" below). In addition, utility costs increase due to electrical losses of the UPS equipment.
Finally, the possibility of process interruptions due to UPS system misapplication or failure (risk) offsets potential financial benefits of conventional UPS systems.
Today, the valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery is commonly used at all UPS power levels. It's also the predominant battery used in manufacturing operations with a UPS system because it costs much less and requires much less space than conventional vented lead acid batteries (wet cells). But batteries, particularly VRLA batteries, are recognized as the UPS system component with the highest failure rate.
A paper titled "Increasing UPS Battery Life: Main Failure Modes, Charging, and Monitoring Solutions," written by members of the R&D Advanced Technologies Team of MGE UPS Systems, details a study conducted on VRLA battery failures. Two methods were used. The first was a theoretical analysis of failure mode effects (FMECA) on a 10kVA, single-phase UPS, where battery behavior was evaluated in three life phases: charge, discharge, and charge maintenance. The second was a practical analysis of after-sales maintenance databases. The results were compared "for validation of main failure modes." Using a database of 8,000 records, the study also highlighted the average elapsed time before the first battery maintenance operation, which included partial or total replacement of the battery. Fig. 1 presents the findings of the study.
Based on this failure data, you could expect a 240-cell battery system, which is the most common configuration for large UPS systems, to average five cell failures in the first year (2% of 240 cells), nine in the second (4%), 48 in the third (20%), and 84 in the fourth (35%). Since VRLA batteries predominantly fail open-circuit, any single-cell failure results in failure of the entire battery system. So the mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of the entire battery system is measured in months or weeks rather than years (Sidebar "Calculating the MTBF of Battery Strings" above). Therefore, eliminating batteries improves overall reliability and eliminates the continuing costs associated with battery maintenance and replacement.
Flywheel-based UPS systems.
In addition to the elimination of batteries, UPS systems designed specifically to work with flywheels can have operating characteristics that make them better suited and more reliable for use in manufacturing operations. For example, UPS systems with integrated flywheel energy storage have a higher DC bus voltage and lower impedance, which allows these devices to support DC drives and other commutating loads while maintaining a better output voltage waveform. Also, flywheels can deliver higher peak currents than the short run-time batteries typically installed in industrial operations; longer run-time batteries make UPS systems cost prohibitive. Therefore, without significant over-sizing, flywheel UPS systems are better able to supply the difficult loads often encountered in manufacturing operations. This reduces capital cost and makes UPS protection financially attractive to more manufacturing operations.
Most flywheel UPS units use a line interactive design that makes them more efficient than conventional double-conversion battery UPS systems, thereby lowering utility costs that can result from UPS efficiency losses. UPS systems designed with integrated flywheel energy storage typically achieve efficiencies of 97%, compared to 93% or 94% for conventional battery-based UPS units.
In addition to their electrical characteristics, the reduced space requirement and wider operating temperature range of flywheel UPS systems makes them easier to retrofit and less expensive to install.
Cost modeling.
Evaluating the financial benefit of UPS protection and the relative benefits of alternative UPS solutions can be a difficult and time-consuming task. It requires a model that includes many variables, some of which may not be obvious without an in-depth understanding of UPS systems and their applications. It's also helpful to develop typical parameter values to use as a starting point in the model. This allows you to make preliminary assessments before dedicating substantial resources to project engineering and estimating.
A simple model was developed in 1999 to analyze the return on investment (ROI) and payback for a 1,000kVA conventional battery-based UPS and a 1,000kVA flywheel-based UPS over a 10-year period. The model included cost inputs for total initial capital investment, annual power quality savings, electricity cost, and total maintenance cost. It also assumed that the continuing costs remain constant over time, after adjustment for inflation.
The 1999 analysis used two conventional battery-based static UPS modules in parallel as the comparison to a single flywheel UPS. This was a reasonable comparison at the time because conventional UPS modules with ratings greater than 750kVA weren't generally available. Now, however, conventional static UPS modules are available in ratings as high as 1,000kVA. Further, the earlier model didn't contain sufficient detail to give insight into all of the costs that accompany the installation and ownership of a UPS system.
The financial analysis methods used today are based on a new model that accepts detailed cost estimates to generate monthly cash flows for 10 years and calculates the resulting ROI and investment payback period. The new model also allows much more accurate analysis of costs associated with periodic full replacement of battery strings and interim partial string replacements.
This article also draws upon financial analyses that use a 900kVA flywheel UPS system and a 1,000kVA conventional static UPS equipped with about 6 min of batteries. The ROI and payback results for the two UPS systems are shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. As you can see, the flywheel UPS shows significantly higher ROI and shorter payback for the base case and throughout the -50% to +100% sensitivity range of each variable.
The same four variables included in the 1999 study were then graphed for a flywheel-type UPS and for a battery-type UPS. An additional variable for battery life was also included for the latter. The sensitivity line for battery life shows the effect of a battery with a longer or shorter life, not simply the effect of changing a given battery at shorter or longer intervals. Each curve indicates the effect on ROI or payback that results from a percentage change in one variable — as shown on the horizontal axis — when all of the other variables remain constant at base case values. The base case for each UPS occurs where the sensitivity lines for that UPS intersect. Solid lines denote flywheel-type UPS variables while dashed lines denote battery-type UPS variables. Each of the variables graphed — except battery life — is a combination of several inputs to the model. Installed cost of the battery UPS, for example, is the total of inputs for the UPS module and accessories, maintenance bypass, batteries, battery safety systems, and installation.
Capital investment and operating costs.
The steep curves for the total installed cost of the UPS systems in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show that capital investment is extremely important in determining the financial viability of UPS systems in industrial applications. A 10% increase in total installed cost decreases the ROI by 7% and 5% for flywheel- and battery-based UPS systems, respectively, assuming all other factors remain unchanged. Correspondingly, this same increase in total installed cost increases the payback period by about two months for either system.
The total installed cost figures don't include any oversizing of the UPS systems to accommodate industrial loads. The financial effect of oversizing a battery-based UPS by 25% results in an increase in capital cost by close to 30%, which reduces the ROI accordingly. The oversizing also increases the monthly payback time by the same percentage (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5). At the power levels analyzed, oversizing is costly for conventional battery UPS systems because module capacity limitations require you to parallel multiple modules to increase capacity beyond 1,100kVA. You're less likely to need oversizing with a flywheel UPS system.
Operating costs affect ROI and payback much less than the installed cost of the UPS does, as indicated by the relatively flat curves for operating cost variables in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. However, UPS operating costs will have a significant effect on annual plant overhead budgets. Annual operating costs for a flywheel UPS, in current dollars, will amount to about $29,000, assuming electricity cost of $0.07 per kW-hr. Battery UPS yearly operating costs vary between $51,000 in years when battery replacements are minimal, to about $105,000 in years when you need full battery system replacements.
A conventional, double-conversion, battery-based UPS in this size range operates at around 94% efficiency under optimum conditions. At conservative loading levels and $0.07 per kW-hr. average utility rate, the UPS losses will increase utility cost by about $38,000 for battery UPS systems.
As noted before, a 900kVA line-interactive flywheel UPS operates at 97% efficiency. Utility cost increase at the same loading level is about $20,000. Utility cost calculations include electricity consumed by air conditioning to remove heat created by the UPS system at 1.8kW per ton of HVAC.
For the base case, electricity consumed by each UPS reduces ROI by 9% and 18% for flywheel UPS and battery UPS, respectively, compared with the ROI achieved if each UPS system were 100% efficient. Because utility consumption has twice the effect on ROI for the battery UPS as it does for the flywheel UPS, variation of UPS efficiency from the base case also changes the ROI for the battery UPS twice as much as it does for the flywheel UPS. Base case efficiency losses increase payback periods by two months for the flywheel UPS and five months for the battery UPS.
Reducing the risks associated with designing and specifying a UPS project is one way in which flywheel UPS systems increase predictability of the overall power system. Another aspect of predictability is predicting equipment failures.
VRLA battery system failures aren't easily predicted without installing a battery monitoring system that may cost as much as the battery system itself. In contrast, flywheels, like many other mechanical systems, give ample warning of failure. Temperatures rise, vibration increases, and operating parameters, in general, start to change gradually rather than failing suddenly. Flywheel UPS systems constantly monitor all of these parameters, allowing trending and predictive analysis.
This capability not only avoids sudden flywheel UPS failures, it also allows consistent budgeting of UPS maintenance costs. Large unbudgeted costs are always an undesirable occurrence for manufacturing management.
More importantly than the fact that flywheel-based UPS systems yield higher ROIs than conventional battery-based UPS systems in large manufacturing operations, they allow more facilities to achieve project payback in less than two years, which is a widely applied criterion in determining the financial viability of manufacturing capital investments.
Walter is director of product marketing for Active Power, Inc., Austin, Texas.
Sidebar: Calculating the MTBF of UPS Battery Strings
You can't calculate the MTBF of an entire UPS battery string by dividing the mean life of a cell by the number of cells in series (46 months ÷ 240 = 0.19 months) because the data from the MGE UPS Systems study indicates that the probability of failure of individual cells is far from constant over time. The MTBF will depend on the age distribution of cells in the UPS and therefore will be longer when the battery string is new and shorter once it's more than about three years old.
Sidebar: The Cost of Replacing UPS Batteries
For a UPS system in the 1,000kVA (800kW) range, the total cost of all battery replacements for a battery UPS over a 10-year period is estimated at $250,000, based on the failure rate data from a study conducted by MGE UPS Systems and detailed in a paper titled "Increasing UPS Battery Life: Main Failure Modes, Charging, and Monitoring Solutions." The results of this battery study support the practice of replacing VRLA batteries at the end of the third year of service.
Today's replacement cost in terms of labor and materials of a 6-min VRLA battery system with a 10-year pro-rated warranty is about $60,000. You'll also need multiple interim cell replacements every year between replacements of the complete battery system.
Service call charges can amount to $1,000 or more per trip to the customer site. Since most UPS maintenance contracts include only scheduled preventive maintenance for batteries, all service calls for battery replacement or other battery remediation are a sizable hidden cost of UPS ownership. The cost of interim replacements varies greatly from year to year but will average about $5,000 annually over the 10-year period.


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Texans running back Arian Foster created a bit of a (needless) stir in the preseason by declaring himself vegan.
He's apparently a part-time vegan now, saying he's not so committed to it he won't eat meat.
"I'm not in a cult," Foster said, via Tania Ganguli of the Houston Chronicle. "Nothing's going to happen to me. I just wanted a piece of chicken. It wasn't like temptation. I felt like I could use one.
Foster leads the NFL with 192 carries this year, so he's obviously held up well so far, and any food choices haven't been an issue.
"I've been dabbling back and forth," Foster said. "I just like to eat healthy. The whole vegan thing, a lot of people are really interested in my food. . . .
"I've had meat since I said I don't eat meat anymore, but I like to stay with the plant-based foods, but every now and then, I'll eat something."
It's reasonable for Foster to think people shouldn't obsess about how he chooses to fuel his body.
Then again, he's the one that brought it up, and didn't seem to mind when he was viewed as open-minded for doing so. The best way for him to make sure his diet wasn't an issue might have been to not bring it up to begin with.


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FOLSOM, Calif. – Day two of competition at the 111th IRA National Championships brought some hard-fought racing from Yale's three heavyweight crews, but each one came up short of qualifying for the grand final in their respective events. Yale's varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four finished fourth, sixth and fifth, respectively. The Bulldogs will now race in the petite finals, beginning with the varsity four at 9:36 a.m. PT on Sunday.
The first race for the Bulldogs on Saturday was the first of two varsity four semifinals. Yale kept in striking distance of the top three in the opening section of the race, but after coming through the 500-meter mark in fourth place, the Bulldogs dropped back to fifth. At the finish the Bulldogs were again in fifth, with open water separating them from FIT in fourth and Penn in sixth.
Order Entry Result
1 Washington 6:25.831
2 Brown 6:27.627
3 Wisconsin 6:29.341
5 Yale 6:37.143
6 Pennsylvania 6:44.288
Yale's second varsity eight was next to race. The Bulldogs had a fast start in lane six and were in contact with BU, Cornell and Harvard at the 500 as Cal and Brown started to pull away. By the 1000, however, the Bulldogs had slipped back to sixth place with more than three seconds separating them from Brown in the third qualifying spot. Through the second 1000 the Bulldogs remained in sixth and crossed the finish line in a time of 6:05.455.
Order Entry Result
1 California 5:49.708
3 Brown 5:51.783
4 Cornell 5:52.626
5 Harvard 5:55.132
6 Yale 6:05.455
In the varsity eight semifinal, the Bulldogs found themselves in a race with all three of the medalists from the Eastern Sprints two weeks ago. Over the first half of the course these three teams, Brown, Harvard and Northeastern, started to pull away while BU, Cornell and Yale were all locked in a race for fourth. In the final hundred meters the Bulldogs had closed the gap on this lead pack, showing great closing speed, but could not make up the ground on Brown before the finish line. Yale finished fourth with a time of 5:48.700.
Order Entry Result
1 Harvard 5:42.910
2 Northeastern 5:44.023
3 Brown 5:45.819
4 Yale 5:48.700
5 Cornell 5:50.217
The first race for Yale on Sunday is the varsity four petite final at 9:36 a.m. PT (12:36 p.m. ET) where the Bulldogs will race against Penn, FIT, Navy, Colgate and Syracuse. The second varsity eight petite final will follow at 11:05 a.m. where Yale will take on Cornell, Harvard, Penn, Syracuse and Wisconsin. The last race will be the varsity eight petite final at 12:05 p.m. where Yale goes up against BU, Cornell, Navy, Stanford and Wisconsin.
The live stream for racing on Sunday is available here.
Report filed by Yale Sports Publicity


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Millennium Mushroom Cooking Class 2011
A host of golden mushrooms was the theme for last weekend's cooking class at Millennium, San Francisco's awesome vegan restaurant. If you have to pick one class to attend there, I'd recommend the mushroom class, because Executive Chef Eric Tucker has a real passion for mushrooms. At the center of the photo above are fresh porcini mushrooms.
So, let's see how many of the mushrooms we used in the class you can identify.
These little mushrooms are sweethearts (yes, that's a clue):
Answer: Candy cap mushrooms.
Alien creature from the lagoon or....:
Answer: Cauliflower mushroom.
OK, this is easy, check out the pine needles:
Answer: Chanterelle
Surely you won't bristle at these!
They do look like chanterelles, but note the spines on the bottom.
Answer: Hedgehog mushroom
The king of mushrooms?
Answer: King Trumpet mushroom
Hey, that's not a mushroom!
This is a wonderful citrus that you can find at Whole Foods, Farmers Markets, or other high-end market. It's called a Buddha's Hand. They have the most amazing citrus fragrance. I have one on our dining room table because I love the smell, but, of course, you can eat it! We shaved it onto one of our lunch salads.
If you've read this blog, you'll know that I like to make recipes that pack a lot of flavor, a lot of love, but not a huge amount of cooking time and effort. I love efficiency in all things! Although Millennium recipes tend to be a lot more complex than those I typically prepare, these Mirin-Glazed Matsutake & Brown Rice "Tacos" were pretty easy to prepare and really pack a "wow" factor:
Chef Eric tells us that Matsutakes do best with a simple treatment and hate garlic. For this recipe, they are glazed with a reduction of mirin, tamari, ginger and toasted sesame oil. The taco is made from toasted nori squares and filled with precooked brown rice and scallions, shiso and sesame seeds. These would be awesome for a party as you can prepare the ingredients ahead of time and people can make their own. I'm not a fan of toasted nori "snacks", but I loved these. We tucked into these in the kitchen, a first, I believe.
"Tis the season for root vegetables, but in a salad? Hey, you know raw = good for you! We made two versions of King Trumpet Mushroom and Shredded Root Vegetable Salad. The mushrooms were braised with lemongrass, ginger, grapeseed oil and chile paste until soft (10-15 minutes). We then added citrus (Buddha's Hand or another citrus), and a mixed shred of root vegetables - kolrabi, parsnip, carrots. One group did a quick radish pickle. The dressing included lime, sugar, salt, mint thai basil, cilantro, and chile.
Topped with a peanut sambal - peanuts, shallots, chili flake, paprika, tamari, unrefined sugar (bake at 350 for 10 mins until dry). But the Number 1 instruction - "Make it look pretty."
So lunch was a "light affair" but the second course was full of heavy holiday richness.
We made araepas with masa and an incredible Tierra Vegetables Ground Heirloom Cornmeal called Supai Red Parching. I worked on the araepas and I have to tell you, the smell of this cornmeal alone is worth the price! We topped these with hedgehog and chanterelle mushrooms with sunchokes, and served with a almond ancho cream:
One team made this monster gratin of cauliflower and chanterelle mushrooms with cashew cream, topped with breadcrumbs and pine nuts:
To send it over the top, Eric shaved Oregon White Truffle over the gratin:
Another holiday-themed main were these potato and kale cake served over the absolutely most incredible mushroom masala:
Eric says the ground lentils are critical to the masala dish.
And just in case we were still hungry, Eric demonstrated quick pizza flatbread technique:
The pizza dough was grilled:
Then topped with sauteed fresh porcini mushrooms, almond sauce, and grilled balsamic radichio:
Man, it's hard to beat fresh, grilled flatbread!
But how do you make a mushroom dessert? Try Candy Cap mushroom blondies with White Truffle-Coconut Sorbet for style with Bourbon anglaise:
As always, many thanks to Eric, Ann, Alison, Thomas and, this time, intern Ivan.
Here's links to the previous 20 Millennium cooking classes I've had the pleasure of attending:


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GoWireless (GoWireless.com)
full-time employee
Looking for a rewarding management/sales opportunity? Like to be rewarded for your efforts? How about an uncapped earning potential? GoWireless has it all.
We are offering retail management/sales professionals an exciting opportunity to become a valued member of our successful sales force and growth with one of the leading providers of wireless products, services and accessories in the US market.
As a Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer, we offer a competitive compensation package that includes base pay plus unlimited commission potential, excellent advancement opportunities, Health, Dental, Vision, and Aflac benefits, Flex-Time off, 401(k), Product Discounts, Top-notch Training, and a fun, success-driven work environment for Full-time and Part-time shifts. We pride ourselves on offering superior customer service, as well as having the best locations from coast to coast.
If you have the drive; we have the tools to further your career.
If you're looking for a competitive workplace where an unlimited earnings potential exists, look no further!
Obviously the wireless industry is booming and now is the perfect time to get in on this rapidly developing business arena. GoWireless is seeking a management-level retail professional responsible for driving sales volume of wireless products, services and applications. The ideal candidate will supervise staffing, sales and inventory functions in the region and surrounding areas.
Position Overview: The Store Manager (SM) for GoWireless manages an assigned retail store. The SM is responsible for running their assigned store, managing the employees and ensuring goals for each store are met. Additionally, the SM will be responsible for assets and inventory, customer service, and ensuring the integrity of all policies and procedures of the company. This position reports to the District Manager.
Core Duties and Responsibilities:
NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization
Minimum Qualifications:
Physical Requirements:
EEOC and utilize E-Verify
Candidates for Los Angeles, CA: We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.


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There are several ways to get an asthma drug into your lungs. The most common methods are:
Each of the methods has a few pros and cons, but all are effective. Nebulizers are not as commonly used at home as they were in the past. The method to use is partly a matter of personal preference, but it also depends on your age, ability to use MDIs, and the drugs you have been prescribed. Many people find that it is easier to get the full dose of medicine when they use a spacer along withthe MDI.
An MDI with a spacer is the most common method. Some people, however, use multiple methods, such as using a nebulizer while relaxing at home and an MDI when they are "on the go."
Asthma drugs can also be delivered as pills, capsules, liquids, or injections, but these methods are not routinely used for most patients. They require the drug to be absorbed into the bloodstream before making its way to the lungs, and therefore require higher doses. These methods are more likely to have side effects and take longer for the drug to work. Usually, only people with moderate-severe persistent asthma are considered for regular use of oral medications (pills and liquids). On type of medication, called a leukotriene inhibitor, may be used as a routine controller medicaton under certain circumstances.
Metered dose inhalers
Dry powder inhalers


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Where in the World is Diddy?
We don't spin any of Diddy's tracks here on the Moose but he has been a very influential man in the music industry. His current endeavor is to start his own television station Revolt TV which will feature live music performances. While that's all well and good, what we want to know is, where in the world is Diddy Instagraming?
Diddy likes to share photos of all the glamorous places he goes. Who would have known Montana was one of those locales? Is the below Instagram photo showing Diddy with Lone Mountain behind him? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Maybe this animated GIF will help you come to a conclusion! Or just make you laugh as it did me.


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Anyone checking out the HOF? The Dragon is getting inducted first. I really like this class. I'm looking forward to The Funks (too bad Foley couldn't be there to induct The Funker), SCSA, Finkel, the Von Erichs and Koko. I want to hear what Bill Watts is going to say.
I wasn't expecting that Vince/Cena commercial.


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|Come Over
|I Go Back
|Beer In Mexico
|Somewhere With You
|Get Along
Jul 2018 • 11 songs
Jul 2018 • 1 song
Jun 2018 • 1 song
Contemporary country star Kenny Chesney didn't have the immediate breakout success that many of his peers enjoyed upon signing with major labels, but gradually built up a significant following via hard work, pop-friendly ballads, and a likable "Average Joe" persona. Chesney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1968 and raised in the nearby small town of Luttrell, best known as the home of Chet Atkins. He grew up listening to both country and rock & roll, but didn't get serious ab... Read more


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The early years of Andy Spade's influence on the fashion world are well-documented: In 1993, he helped launch the Kate Spade handbag line with his future wife (the eponymous Kate). That was followed in 1996 by the Jack Spade line of utilitarian men's bags. A decade later, fashion's first couple decided to sell their stakes in a business that generated a reported $84 million in net sales in fiscal year 2006, remained as consultants for a year and then exited the company altogether in 2007. (Both brands, now owned by Fifth & Pacific Cos., continue to thrive.)
But in the years since, Andy Spade (brother of comedian David Spade) has continued to wield substantial — if much lower profile — influence in the fashion and style arena, most of it via Partners & Spade, a New York City-based marketing, branding and advertising agency he co-founded and in which he serves as co-creative director with Anthony Sperduti.
Today, Spade is nothing short of a fashion-branding juggernaut, helping shape the public's perception of an impressive array of names from the established — J. Crew and Target — to new, upstart brands, such as eyewear purveyor Warby Parker.
In 2013, two full decades after co-founding the Kate Spade brand, Andy Spade seems to be reaching a kind of critical mass, thanks to a spate of recent high-profile projects, including an upcoming return to the fashion fray.
Spade, 50, seems to possess an almost sixth sense of American nostalgia, an unerring ability to mine our collective memories, update and repackage them — make them relevant. It's reflected in the way he dresses, the things he talks about, the places he seeks inspiration, what he brings to the brands he works with. Even browsing the photos he posts to Instagram can trigger waves of phantom nostalgic longing.
"He gets [the notion of] 'old' better than anyone I know," says Millard Drexler, chief executive of J. Crew. "He understands it. He understands how to make something old. In a sense, he's got an old soul. There's no classroom you learn any of that in."
Drexler knows of what he speaks. In 2008, J. Crew collaborated with Partners & Spade to create the retailer's first stand-alone men's store. The result is exhibit A in the Spade/Sperduti aesthetic: a tiny stand-alone boutique housed in a former New York City bar front featuring an edited-down collection of J. Crew men's offerings mixed in with retro-cool merchandise like Globe-Trotter luggage and vintage Borsalino hats. All are showcased on and around the bar's original fixtures and accented by quirky one-off items like a selection of pencils with a typewritten note reading "pencils chewed on by famous authors."
Boast revival
More recently, Spade signed on as a creative consultant to help resuscitate and expand Boast, an irreverent brand from the '70s and '80s best known for polo shirts embroidered with a Japanese maple leaf logo that looks strikingly similar to cannabis. Spade, who wore the brand growing up, was so enthusiastic about the label's potential he became an investor too and was among those on hand in February to watch Boast present its first full-blown men's and women's collection at New York Fashion Week.
"What we tried to do is keep [Boast's] roots in tennis," Spade said at the time. "Because it was born in tennis and squash, it came out of campuses — out of Greenwich — that whole East Coast world." Spade pointed to the presentation's venue, the Harvard Club, as one way of acknowledging the brand's beginnings. "At the same time, we're trying to update it. It's basically a club brand that we want to move into the fashion world by adding more product and building it out."
He says Boast's legacy was what interested him about the brand. "It actually has heritage — it's authentic," he says. "it's not a made-up brand."
Ryan Babenzien, Boast's chief executive, first met Spade in 2009 when Partners & Spade collaborated with K-Swiss (where Babenzien was then the director of lifestyle and entertainment marketing) on an exclusive-to-J. Crew sneaker. He too points to Spade's ability to make the past future perfect.
"'Nostalgia' — that's a good word for it," Babenzien says. "What Andy's really good at is taking classic items and reinterpreting them to be a little more relevant and modern."
But Spade isn't just a go-to guy for long-lived legacy brands looking to clear out the cobwebs. Partners & Spade also works with plenty of fledgling brands hoping to create that kind of plucked-from-the-past connection. Warby Parker, a 3-year-old company that sells optical and sunglass frames online, is one of them.
Spade, who is also an investor in the brand, says his firm came up with a novel marketing campaign to help frame Warby Parker's eyeglasses "as a style piece rather than a [medical] tool."
"We got them out there touring around the country in an old yellow school bus that we turned into a mobile store," he says.
An even more recent example is Harry's, which applies Warby's online-only model to the booming men's grooming category. Even though the line of razors, razor blades and shaving cream opened its cyber doors for business less than two weeks ago, everything about it feels instantly and authentically old school, from the woolly mammoth mascot (a simple line drawing that looks as it is might have been lifted from a childhood book you can't quite recall) to razor styles dubbed "the Winston" and "the Truman") and usage directions on the back of the shaving cream that inexplicably — but delightfully — include suggested lottery numbers.
Spade says he's inspired by regular folks outside the fashion world. "I don't like to borrow from the same industry," he says. "I don't go to a lot of [fashion] shows, I don't follow much. I borrow from how people personally dress. I'm an observer. I'm big on Instagram. I go to a lot of art shows and look at how people dress. I study them, I look for style cues. I look for old men who dress in their own special way."
The clothes he wears
Spade points to the outfit he's wearing on this particular day in February — worn and faded (but not too faded) Levi's 501 jeans, a slightly rumpled button-front shirt, a pair of dress shoes (but no socks) and a blue tweed double-vent jacket. He's wearing a pair of eyeglasses with tortoiseshell frames (the product of a late '90s collaboration between Jack Spade and Selima Optics) and his hair is slicked back to form a slight ducktail at the nape of his neck. "I always wear the same stuff — I love Levi's 501's, and I've never changed," he says.
He cites his growing-up years — in Michigan and then Arizona before moving to New York City — as the crucible of his personal style. "I didn't grow up in a dressy environment — no one was wearing three-piece suits in my hometown. All my style came out of skateboarding and sports, skateboarding the empty pools in Scottsdale [Arizona] and playing tennis. I love Vans [shoes], I love tube socks. Op was big when I was a kid, Hang Ten was big when I was a kid. Those are the kinds of clothes I wore and that shaped me and my style."
Now, after years of helping grow and shape countless brands in and out of the fashion world (non-fashion clients include AOL, Absolut and the Village Voice), Partners & Spade is getting ready to roll out its own apparel label. He says the men's and women's line, called Sleepy Jones, will consist of roughly two dozen pieces that will launch this spring and will be sold exclusively at Colette in Paris and the label's own website.
"I'm excited about it because it's the first thing I've done since Jack Spade in terms of actually designing product," Spade says.
He describes the line as "just really comfortable, simple clothes. ... I was inspired by artists like Picasso and Hockney. They dressed for work, but it wasn't hard work — it was creative work. These are the kind of clothes you can actually create in, that you can think in."
Which sounds suspiciously like the kind of clothes Andy Spade's been wearing all along.
'I borrow from how people personally dress. I'm an observer. I'm big on Instagram.' – Andy Spade


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Born to Run was the first rock and roll song I ever heard, but it's important to define our terms, particularly the phrase "rock and roll" and the word "heard." Rock and roll is a big beautiful mess of a thing, a Chuck Berry guitar, a Janis Joplin screech, a Bono cry, a Ronnettes groove, Buddy Holly's glasses, Joan Jett's leather, Abbey Road, Clapton is God, grapevines, stairways, rings of fire, pinball wizards, mosquitos and libidos, rolling stones both upper and lower case, an Elvis swivel, a Beach Boys fog, a Jerry Lee Lewis piano, white albums, yellow submarines, purple hazes, a Bob Dylan stream of consciousness, a Smokey Robinson miracle, an Eddie Vedder rumble, a Keith Moon solo, a James Brown walk, Aretha spelling and Jimi Hendrix kissing the sky.
But the rock and roll I'm talking about isn't that big and overwhelming thing but, instead, an individual feeling that washes over you when you hear your rock and roll song. How do you know it's your rock and roll song? Well, it doesn't make you want to dance, not exactly, that's something different. Instead, your rock and roll song, I don't know, it makes you want to, well, it's hard to put into words …
"I want to die with you Wendy on the street tonight, in an everlasting kiss. Hgugh!"
Yes, that's it. That's what it makes you want to do. Die on the street tonight in an everlasting kiss. A great rock and roll song is a white hot magnifying glass, illuminating, amplifying, intensifying, burning holes through you. Bigger. Bolder. Wilder. It makes you feel impossible highs, excruciating lows, it makes art out of desperation and a party out of Saturday night and a whirlwind out of heartbreak.
The thing about it is, I was obviously the least rock and roll kid in the world, with my thick glasses and my nerdy love of sports and my TJ Maxx clothes. I was utterly invisible in high school, utterly invisible in college, everybody else seemed to know things I didn't know. The boys would walk around with their Rush T-shirts, their Molly Hatchett T-shirts, their Def Leppard T-shirts, and they seemed filled with this brooding sense of wonder and this dark understanding of the world that completely eluded me. And the girls … they could look right through me if they ever looked at me.
And this is what I mean by "heard." I'd listened to many rock and roll songs before Born to Run, so many, but I did not hear them. And then, suddenly, runaway American dreams and suicide machines and death traps and suicide raps, hemi powered drones, broken heroes and someday girl, I don't know when, we'll walk in to sun. And, in my room, with the broken-frame bed, the torn Al Oliver poster on a wall, the Nerf hoop, the boxes of baseball cards in the corner, the broken down stereo and Chris Evert calendar stapled to the door, I could feel my heart blast through my chest and my mind go supersonic and all that teenage lunacy.
You don't choose the first rock and roll song that grips you and moves you and takes your breath away. It chooses you.
* * *
I'm pretty sure it was Robert Wuhl who used to do a comedy bit about "Born to Run" becoming the state song of New Jersey, as some were hoping. I don't remember the whole bit, but I remember him talking about how state songs probably shouldn't have the word "suicide" in them and that the line, "We've got to get out while we're young," might not be the best tourism slogan in the world.
If you could come up with categories for rock and roll songs, I suppose you would have the love songs, the drug songs, the "isn't it great to be alive" songs, the "isn't the world a terrible place" songs, the protest songs, the angry songs, the naughty songs, the haughty songs, the party songs, the broken heart songs, the broken soul songs, the I'm Still Standing songs (yeah, yeah, yeah!), the womp-bop-a-loo-bop-a lop-bam-bom songs, the he-will-regret-it songs, the danger songs, the sex songs, the I wanna be young forever songs, the rock and roll is here to stay songs, the war songs, the peace songs, the fear songs and "Kung Fu Fightin'."
"Born to Run" has little pieces of many of these, maybe all of them — after all, the young Bruce Springsteen was going all out to write the greatest rock and roll song ever written — but, in the end, it is an escape song. And I must admit those are my favorite kinds of songs, my favorite kinds of movies, my favorite kinds of books. When I first heard "Born to Run," I also first read "Catcher in the Rye," and I also first began to think about writing for a living. It is so hard for me to recapture for people how implausible — even impossible — the writing path seemed. Writing? Where did that come from? It's not like I was the star English student. It's not like my teachers made a fuss over my words. Heck, I was barely getting by in English. My essays were messes. And we didn't know any writers. We were a family living in an apartment (townhouse, we used to say, to make it sound a little grander). My father worked in a factory. My mother had gone back to community college. Writer? Heck, astronaut would made more sense.
I worked in a grocery store as a bagger. I was terrible at it. Milk on top of the eggs. Honeydews on top of the Wonderbread. What difference did it make anyway? The manager said I wasn't cut out for customer service. I worked at a mortgage company. I would call delinquent customers to set up payment schedules. Some threatened me. Most never answered the phone. I couldn't last. I worked in the photo department of store in the mall. "Hi I'm calling from the photo department. You signed up for a free 3×5 photograph, and I was just hoping to schedule a time for you come in to get your free picture." Some threatened me. Most never answered the phone. I kept writing "CB" on the customers cards. That meant, "Call back."
What difference did any of it make? I mowed lawns. I moved boxes. I sold furniture on the side of the road. Childhood is so much about big dreams. I was going to be a major league baseball player. I was going to be professional tennis player. I was going to be a famous musician and ride around the country in a double decker bus — and the basic fact that I played no instrument and could not carry a tune did not seem a particularly troublesome hurdle. That's a great thing about being a child. To dream you only need dreams. Reality is a distant storm cloud; it barely registers.
Then, suddenly, the storm cloud is overhead, lightning and thundering, and it's hard to concentrate on dreams — they spark and flicker and go out like trick candles. It's a death trap. It's a suicide rap.
Escape. That's what Holden Caufield wanted: "I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around — nobody big I mean — except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all."
Escape. That's what Bruce wanted:
"Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Huh-Oh! Will you walk with me out on the wire?
`Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider."
Escape. There's such a powerful longing when you're young … to escape from your parents, to escape from your town, to escape from your chains, to escape from yourself. All I heard in Born to Run was the last of those, a chance to escape from the awkwardness and the ugliness and the sheer boredom of who I was. The crazy thing about Born to Run is that you can tell there's something Bruce knows: They ain't gonna make it. The kid. Wendy. They're not going to make it. But making it isn't the point. Endeavoring is the point. Trying is the point. Running is the point. They weren't born to just accept the awkwardness and ugliness and boredom. No. They were born to run.
* * *
Every time I see Bruce in concert, I wait for Born to Run. I've heard him do it so many times now that I know every move, every pause, every note. I know that on 'Baby we were born to run," he now goes a little higher on "Baby" and emphases "Born" a little more. I know that he will keep the music going for a long time before counting down into "The highway's jammed …" I know how he will lift his arm, and how the fans will lift their arms, and how I will lift my arm. It is all as familiar as Thanksgiving dinner.
Born to Run was a dangerous song when I first heard it. Dangerous in the emotions it inspired. Dangerous in the innuendo of Wendy strapping her hands across his engines. Dangerous in the way it made me long for something more, something crazy. I can't tell you that I became a writer because of "Born to Run," but I can tell you I would listen to Born to Run again and again in those moments I sought courage. How many times have I heard it in my lifetime? Ten thousand? Twenty-five thousand? Some days, when I was trying to write those first stories, I would listen to it on a loop, 20 or 30 times it must have played.
The song doesn't sound dangerous now. It sounds like an old friend. I wait for it at every Bruce concert and I look to see if Bruce — now in his 60s, no longer a tramp, no longer seeking Wendy, no longer — can bring it one more time. He always does. I wonder sometimes his inspiration. I suppose it's partly showmanship and it's partly his love of the stage. But to play that same song, night after night, town after town, 40 years and counting, I suspect he hears something still that keeps him running, keeps him dreaming, keeps him howling.
And that's what I hear in Born to Run now. The kid I was, against odds and everyone's better judgment, did try to become a writer. I know how scared he was. I know how defeated he felt. I remember how sure he was that he would fail miserably and horribly. I can see him — see myself — in that little apartment bedroom, listening to Born to Run, hunching over a spiral notebook and writing page after page of awful poetry and gimmicky short stories and pointless sports columns. Sometimes, I run across one of those old notebooks, and I cringe as I read the words but I'm also proud of that kid. He didn't know. He was a scared and lonely rider.
I listen to Bruce sing that song now, and we're all older, and he gets to that part, my favorite part:
"Someday girl, I don't know when
"We're gonna get to that place where we really wanna go
And we'll walk in the sun."
"I love that part," I tell my own daughter, Elizabeth, who is 14. She shrugs. That's the beauty of rock and roll. She will have her own song.