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duplex housing selection information
Are you interested in living at the
Cottage Lane Duplexes
during the 2014-2015 academic year?
Highlights of Duplex Housing
- 13 Duplex Units that are made up of 5 Single Bedrooms, 3 Full Bathrooms, 2 Living Spaces, Kitchen/Dining area with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, and Laundry Area. (Total of 65 Single Rooms available.)
- Parking On-Site
- Flexible meal plan options
- Each individual is responsible for an additional $700 single fee for the year with premium housing fee of $100 per semester ($900 total for the year). (THIS IS 2013-2014 FEE INFORMATION, 2014-2015 is TBD)
Application & Instructions
Selections will be made on an individual basis, not as a group. Complete the following steps to properly submit your application for duplex housing:
Log on to the Residence online housing system by clicking HERE
Click on Duplex Application in the green box
- Review and complete all information
- Agree to terms and conditions of application process
- Submit for review
Selection Criteria
- Grade Point Average
- Credits Earned
- Citizenship Education Interactions
- Community Impact
- Student Engagement
Duplex Roommate and Placement Requests
Once individual selections are made you will be able to go into the online housing systems to request your duplex roommates and then request a duplex placement with other individuals that have also been selected to live in this community. More specific information about this will be passed along to those selected.
Important Dates
Date | Time | |
March 6, 2014 | 5:00pm | Duplex Housing Information Session Wheeler Hall, Ware Student Center |
March 18, 2014 | 11:55pm | Application Deadline |
March 26, 2014 | Notification of Selection Decisions | |
March 26-28, 2014 | 11:55pm | Make Roommate & Apartment Placement Requests |
Community Advisor Position
We're looking for 3 Student Staff Members to live in off-campus housing. Two will live in the Duplexes on Cottage Lane and One will live in an apartment on Seamans Road (Grey, White or Yellow House). For more information about this position click HERE.
To apply for this position you must complete the Duplex Application Process and also send your cover letter and resume to Julie Crisafi Lynch by Friday March 21st, 2014.
Contact Julie Crisafi Lynch, Parent & Community Partnerships Coordinator


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Educating Family Members
September 15th, 2011
One of our challenges when working with both adults and adolescents suffering from eating disorders is educating their family. So often family members have a limited understanding of the disorders their loved ones are suffering from and this can be an obstacle in the family system being an asset in recovery. Here is some very basic eating disorder information provided by National Institute of Mental Health. Once a friend or family member understands some of these simple facts, then they have the opportunity with the guidance of a professional to understand the underlying factors leading to eating disorders.

subset: commoncrawl


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Lactic Acidosis: Metformin hydrochloride, one of the medicines in KOMBIGLYZE XR, can cause a rare, but serious, side effect called lactic acidosis (a build-up of lactic acid in the blood) that can cause death. Lactic acidosis is a medical emergency and must be treated in a hospital. Stop taking KOMBIGLYZE XR and call your doctor right away if you get any of the following symptoms of lactic acidosis: feel very weak and tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, unusual sleepiness or sleep longer than usual, unexplained stomach or intestinal problems with nausea and vomiting or diarrhea, feel cold (especially in your arms and legs), dizzy or lightheaded, or have a slow or irregular heartbeat.
You have a higher chance of getting lactic acidosis if you have kidney or liver problems, have congestive heart failure that requires treatment with medicines, drink a lot of alcohol (very often or short-term "binge" drinking), get dehydrated (lose a large amount of body fluids), have certain x-ray tests with injectable dyes or contrast agents, have surgery, have a heart attack, severe infection, or stroke, or are 80 years of age or older and have not had your kidney function tested.
Do not take KOMBIGLYZE XR if you have kidney problems, have a condition called metabolic acidosis or diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in the blood or urine), or are allergic to metformin hydrochloride, saxagliptin, or any of the ingredients in KOMBIGLYZE XR. Serious allergic reactions can occur with KOMBIGLYZE XR and may include swelling of the face, lips or throat, difficulty swallowing or breathing, swelling of the skin, hives, rash, itching, flaking, or peeling. If you have these symptoms, stop taking KOMBIGLYZE XR and contact your doctor right away.
Serious side effects can happen to people taking KOMBIGLYZE XR, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) which may be severe and lead to death. Before taking KOMBIGLYZE XR, tell your doctor if you ever had pancreatitis, gallstones, history of alcoholism, or high triglyceride levels. Stop taking KOMBIGLYZE XR and contact your doctor right away if you have pain in your stomach area (abdomen) that is severe and will not go away. The pain may be felt going from your abdomen through to your back. The pain may happen with or without vomiting. These may be symptoms of pancreatitis.
Your doctor should do blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working before and during your treatment with KOMBIGLYZE XR.
If you take KOMBIGLYZE XR with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), such as sulfonylureas or insulin, you have a higher risk of having low blood sugar. Symptoms of low blood sugar include, shaking, sweating, rapid heartbeat, change in vision, hunger, headache and change in mood. Follow your doctor's instructions for treating low blood sugar.
The most common side effects of KOMBIGLYZE XR include upper respiratory tract infection, stuffy or runny nose and sore throat, urinary tract infection, headache, diarrhea, and nausea and vomiting.
Tell your doctor if you will be starting or stopping certain other types of medicines, such as antibiotics, or medicines that treat fungus or HIV/AIDS, as your doctor may need to change your dose of KOMBIGLYZE XR.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or plan to become pregnant or breast-feed.
Swallow KOMBIGLYZE XR whole; do not crush, cut, or chew.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please click here for Medication Guide, and click here for US Full Prescribing Information for KOMBIGLYZE XR, including Boxed WARNING about lactic acidosis.
KOMBIGLYZE XR is a prescription medicine that contains saxagliptin and metformin hydrochloride. KOMBIGLYZE XR is used with diet and exercise to help control high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) in adults with type 2 diabetes. Your doctor will decide if treatment with both saxagliptin and metformin is right for you.
KOMBIGLYZE XR should not be used to treat people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in the blood or urine).
If you have had inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), it is not known if you have a higher chance of getting pancreatitis while taking KOMBIGLYZE XR.
The site you are about to visit is maintained by a third party who is solely responsible for its contents. AstraZeneca provides this link as a service to Web site visitors.
AstraZeneca is not responsible for the privacy policy of any third-party Web sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every Web site you visit.
Click Back to Previous Page or Continue to proceed.
Value Card Program for Kombiglyze™ XR (saxagliptin and metformin HCI extended-release)
Program Details and Eligibility Requirements for Patients


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After 3 years of development, Mars Colony: Challenger is now released and available on Steam! During the launch period, we are offering Challenger at 10% off.
A HyperKat Games Initiative
After 3 years of development, Mars Colony: Challenger is now released and available on Steam! During the launch period, we are offering Challenger at 10% off.
Posted in Announcements.
– March 6, 2014
As a designer the first thing on my list was no guns, this is a Mars exploration simulation. In reality, there may be guns when we go to Mars and that is a good subject for discussion, but a distraction from the core game goals. What if one of the crew went nuts and tried to kill everyone? Do we plan to have a jail or containment area just in case and how do we deal with the event? We can't just push them out the airlock but we have to do something. During the course of testing I discovered that some of the players were getting upset over what seemed to be meaningless events like not filling the water can or placing it in an obscure location. This game could be a perfect test vehicle for psychological evaluations and qualification of required personality and interpersonal traits.
No Martians or Aliens were allowed. Sure that and no guns make for a boring game, but since there are none to be found as yet we didn't feel like the game should become a discovery saga. However, there is a remedial life form in the game if the users sample the right area. We left it in the game thinking someday it would be discovered and a great surprise, much like the situation we have now. There just may be some form of amino acid deep in the recesses of the planet and it will be an interesting search and wonderful discovery.
We wanted things to be realistic for the circumstance and context. Testers questioned everything we put into the game as far as structure and interactive objects. Most of the complaints about the artwork were aimed at the plain appearance of the objects. They would be plain looking and simple as we could make them. Complexity means failure in an environment hostile to life. Minimizing computer interfaces and integration further reduces failure points requiring in-depth computer electronics and software skills to maintain. I can take a valve or a switch apart and fix it but I can't repair a computer out at some remote site on the planet. Everything should be as simple as we could make them to be easily repaired and maintained on site. If my life depended on a computer for survival I would live in fear. I have seen the blue screen of death and it troubles me. There are obvious roles for computers to monitor weather and testing samples and even entertainment but the valves and switches I want to control just in case and have manual overrides.
Please visit the website, buy the game and support this effort. We want to make Version 2 and need help from the community. It takes many engineering hours and art hours to develop a product like this and I would like to think there is a desire out there to see what it would be like to survive living on Mars. Thanks to all the testers and the art students that helped with this project and I hope to see you all again in Version 2!
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– April 29, 2013
The balance between game and simulation for this project has been hard fought. There were many things I wanted to add to make it more realistic but was penalized in performance to a point the game was no fun. After many hours of play testing I think I have a version that is realistic enough to be interesting yet fast paced enough to offer challenging play.
Testing has been and always is an interesting subject. The general game playing populace likes to sign up for beta testing. Not because they want to help but to get a free look at the game before release. Bragging rights to their friends that they were accepted to a beta test is a common goal for them. Real testers in the games industry assume the role of Quality Assurance instead of just tester. They go at the products to follow the documentation and help files to see if the game works mechanically as advertised first of all then they take a look at the enjoyment value of the game itself. Industry QA or testers don't get the respect they deserve. Most people don't understand the many grinding hours of testing where one change can affect the whole project, so the run the game over and over. In the 3 years of this development I have run the game over 40,000 times. Think about that number, Do you know anyone that would play a game 40,000 times and not go a bit crazy?
Mars Challenger will be in Beta soon and we hope to finalize it within a month or so. This is the time I get to spend going through the help files, doc files and adding or changing all the little icons, taking screen caps to show what the equipment looks like. Then it's off to the databases to keep track of all the game and user info. It is all about the details, lots and lots of details. We have feature locked this version so now it is a matter of finalizing all the actions. I would like to think this product has applications beyond entertainment since the original purpose was to demonstrate the issues Man will face trying to survive on Mars. Then, we have the whole education side of it. The mechanics, agriculture, biology and geology issues the game provides would be a great way to get students interested in science.
Final thoughts: This project has tested my abilities to the breaking point, especially with health issues and a rotating team of artists and testers. I am the type of person that relishes challenge and innovation, and not willing to accept failure or mediocrity. So to my game design colleagues, set your sights high and challenge yourself.
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– January 29, 2013
Fortunately there is public information on visionary ideas of what colonization of a planet like Mars might be, but a strong lack of DETAIL. When you hold an object in your hand, it has to look right, whether a wrench designed to be handled with thick gloves of an EVA suit, or a portable Ground Penetrating Radar unit that must survive transport and being dragged along the rocky and craggy surface. Like a painting these Points of Interest can represent the Foreground of a painting, focal points that must appear realistic and convincing.
Beyond DETAIL, there are the mid-ground elements, like duct work, clutter and graphics on the habitation unit panels. Even branding… of course a private enterprise will want their logos present on systems and devices when images are transmitted back to earth and may become news or parts of documentaries. Yeah, think Pepsi or Bud Light in space… it happens now, will always be part of our environment. But these are the familiar cues… those that help decode what otherwise may be a confusing mass of wiring, foreign looking test equipment. They guide and direct the participant into a sense of real space.
Then comes the background. Those things that add ambient and atmosphere and a sense of presence. This is also a trap, as we have discovered. Specifically, I am talking about walking on the surface of Mars. Yes we have some video and images, some very detailed. But nothing from the viewpoint of a human, walking around. In a game engine, we can at best simulate the look, but are extremely limited in the variations that we can provide and keep the build within size parameters (megabytes not gigabytes) and performance limitations of the current engine.
In comes the magic of 3D game engines: vertices and normals that represent raw geometry of what is essentially a desert landscape with soft hills and a few rocky outcrops; DIFFUSE (color), DETAIL (image maps), and NORMALS (how light interacts with the surface) mapping provide a lot of illusions to create a compelling simulation. Color is tricky, as is the perceived "depth" of the surface. Oh and then there are the issues of tiling which creates unrealistic repeating patterns… in the real world it would be impossible to find a 1M square of surface anywhere that is identical to another, but in a game engine – there is no budget for a completely unique texture per meter texture, so those assets are repeated and tiled together to SIMULATE a whole environment. Intelligent compromises between the game engine and reality should create a unique experience.
To that end, we know, somewhat what the surface of Mars looks like. We have color corrected details, from the vantage point of Spirit and Opportunity. We have 50,000 foot photos that give us an idea of the landscapes from which to base the Colonist activities. We have libraries of information on what Nasa and other space organizations are working through to establish long term presence on various planets. What we do not know, is REALLY how it all comes together. There is a magic, undefined element of surprise, that makes Mars Colony interesting and realistic. That is the human element. This is an unscripted experience in a hostile natural environment. With 4 players, those unknown seeds into a dynamic collaboration will make or break success as they setup and attempt to survive long term. All of the tools are there and must be used, which requires periods of intense focus and has periods of dullness. Our testers have been providing immeasurable and valuable information that has started to help us crystallize on a final product that offers the richest and most realistic science based simulation of a Mars experience.
It is HyperKat's goal to present a perspective on Mars Colonization that feels real and helps to make a compelling case for REAL exploration to the surface of Mars within our lifetime. Mars Colony is still in testing. Though not official, we have effectively moved into the BETA phase. Most of the mechanics are worked out, with a few outstanding issues. Final artwork is starting to be integrated. Now Hyper is working to figure out the productized version of the package. Feel free to join us in the Tester Forum, loving called the Litterbox. A link is to the right.
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– June 30, 2011
Mars Colony is proceeding well. I heard from Hyper that the weekend testing was incredibly successful. He continues to focus on alpha testing and has stomped out most of the major snafus that our illustrious and "well paid" testing team have unrolled. Ok, well paid in process food stuffs and Mars dust. They have been incredibly generous with information, ideas and some pretty crazy edge case scenarios. Seriously? Who drills on the roof of a habitation unit?
The screenshot in the header graphic is the latest incarnation of the habitation units, branching into various facilities, and cast with the sunset.
We are always looking for new testers, so please feel free to join us in the forum. There are several tests a week, some directed, and some more open format. There is a bit of a learning curve, but some quicky tutorial information has been put together through the dedication of our great testers. Also – there are some great proposals and ideas, get out your abacus and discuss.
Tug on the suit and jump into the challenge!
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– March 29, 2011
Having said all that, as a game designer I have to bend the reality somewhat in order to make it enjoyable for the user. For instance, I can run the game in real time, but the reality of it would be so boring for the user I doubt many would run the game more than a couple hours. You spend most of the day doing research, maintaining the equipment and night time comes and you would sleep.
Sleeping online, think about it for a moment. You log into the game and watch your character sleep for 8 real hours? The excitement level at that point would be mind numbing. So as a designer I have to offer the compromise of time compression so the user is always active. I can put cots, bunks in some sleeping quarters and give the illusion of having that ability but for making things playable I compressed a day down to an hour real time. What we are after here is the core user experience. The user wants to drive rovers, discover new things and be put into challenging situations where they have to resolve issues of survival. That is the driving force behind this game. I want the user to experience all the action of setting up, living and surviving in a colony on an alien world with limited resources and help.
There are potentially multiple products or chapters in all of this. The first exploration mission, like the original demo is a game in and of itself. Like a camping trip, Colonists set up the tents, get the fires going, explore, get the basic necessities working, enjoy the scenary and then go home. The second trip is about establishing a permanent base, and thriving on planet and is a one way trip for those willing to take the challenge. And the last chapter is expanding the footprint of man on Mars. Humans will always want to see what is over the next hill and will set up camps along the way to make that happen. The current version of the game I am building is about the third key experience. The new base is 50 kilometers away from the main base so if things go wrong or you forget your toothbrush, you are on your own till the next shipment can get to you. I think this will give the user a lot of great Mars experiences.
Colonists will have to set up equipment, create a livable atmosphere, get the power generators running and start growing food. I may backtrack and make a prequel version of the first manned landing on the planet or setting up the first colony but from a game / development standpoint I can get more-bang-for–the-game-playing-buck with this version. Perhaps the future of this development will be to put all three chapters into one product but for now I am focused on delivering a great Mars simulation product, with a balance between game mechanics and real Mars science.
The real experience here is the human element, and human decisions and interactions with the challenges of long term survival on the planet Mars. Anything that deteriorates that experience, whether that is a game mechanics issue like where new players "spawn", game play issues like permanent death or conflicting opinions on core science application in the Mars Environment are set aside. Those things that are perceived as critical and important, and play into situations that add to the sense of urgency and excitement add to the experience. Sweeping the dust out of the airlocks? Not so much.
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– January 21, 2011
Mechanics testing: Mechanical testing is running the in-game systems, arrays and databases through their paces to ensure that a rich simulation is available, as well as enough content to keep the experience compelling and fun. Think of the permutations necessary to ensure that enough potential variables are present to make a system seem real, and tracking the sheer numbers of equipment, resources, resource types and dependencies. We have a great crew of game testers, who wait patiently (and not so patiently) for the weekly server bump and drop in and tear through things. Mechanical testing means that art sits on the back burner until enough bugs (yes there are bugs on Mars, but they only bite when the server is running) are eradicated. This also means that testers get to work with programmer artwork, which in this case is actually pretty good.
What this means to HyperKat: Literally hundreds of hours of debug, using both user feedback and server debug logs, to pinpoint the culprit in a couple of millions of lines of code. Some bugs are engine code, some are server/client issues, some are whole systems and arrays that have to be rebuilt from scratch… and all have cascading ramifications in other areas of the code. At the end of this process, the entire game will effectively be rewritten dozens of times, and without good in-line code documentation HyperKat would be lost.
What this means to our crack testing teams: It MIGHT begin to feel like little progress. We are thrilled with the feedback, but are still focused on mechanical systems. That means such things as accurate horizon and solar rendering or drill and sample animations are not put into the game. It may also mean that some feedback is set aside in a queue until it can be addressed. It may also seem that every week you see the same programmer art and find new little annoying bugs. However, without you – this game cannot exist!
Our testers, as most of you know, are an international crew located in all corners of the world, spending their valuable time exploring the Mars environment. Some stay up very late or get up very early to participate… and we love and appreciate their passions.
Bottom line, Mars seems to be caught in a gravity well and progress is slowing. However, the opposite is true. We are approaching mechanical feature completion (unless Marco pops a fuse on the reactor system or Profit parks the rover in the cohab airlock ) and with luck can start to address the ingame art. We have a massive list of potential new features that will be evaluated and targeted, thanks to the extensive brainstorming and research of the testers. Our helmets are off to you gentlemen! See you on Hyperia Base!
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– November 16, 2010
The difficulty in creating this as a game is all about the level of activity for the users. I set the game up to require constant attention. The plants need water and fertilizer, the solar array needs cleaned, the Fuel Cells need recharged, the fish need fed and the equipment needs serviced. If no one logs in and keeps after all this work things fall into disarray. It was my hope that the users would organize a bit and get a schedule for maintaining the colony but I haven't seen that happen yet. The game will have to be a bit more casual and some of the systems will have to be put into automatic mode in order to keep things working properly. I can't know when people will jump in and do things so I have to change the methods a bit.
On the reality side, if you don't water the plants they will die. If you dont keep the power systems running and the hubs warm, the fish will freeze and the plants will die. Having to live in this situation you would be more energetic about keeping yourself alive, warm and fed. Just having to keep after all the equipment would cut way down on the boredom of living in such a hostile environment.
The issue of transporting this extreme living condition to a simple, more or less casual game is one of the greatest challenges a designer will have to face. I can't force people to log into the game to make sure the generator has fuel so how do I give the user the Mars experience when they are only occasional visitors. Most of the systems will have to be auto-magic and take care of themselves and it would be hard to plan a crisis to challenge the users when the users may or may not log on at any given time and stay for an undetermined amount of time. I am left with offering simple tasks for the user. Go fix unit A, take this load of X over to camp B etc…. As I see it this will get boring rather quick and the game will lose any value after a dozen log-ins.
We will be going through a second phase of testing in the near future to see if we can balance the casual user with some excitement in the colony. One of the tests will be to have things work automatically until someone logs into the game then have "issues" that will require user attention. This will be a delicate balance to code in order to keep things fresh and challenging for the constant users as well as the casual users.
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– August 31, 2010
Colony has currently split into two main projects: The Colony MCO project, which has evolved into a collaborative online community of Mars enthusiasts – many with great knowledge and curiosity, AND Colony: Surveyor – a mission oriented variation of the above that doesn't carry all of the coding and programmatic challenges with a semi-persistent colony.
Colony: Surveyor has a strong direction, and provides a much more elegant platform to pursue and solve the challenges being discussed in the space community today. My recent discussions with Howard have gotten me excited about the opportunities. There are still programmatic and mechanical challenges to present a very rich and deep simulation experience, along with game elements that help make this simulation both fun and rewarding for the player.
Hyperkat has not abandoned Colony MCO, dedicated to ensuring that a long term persistent experience is available. This is still a very important project, that fortunately shares the bulk of code with the Surveyor project. Howard, and the beta testers, have been carefully following the newest developments; plans to put a station on Earth's moon, new ideas on how to build structures on Mars and so forth.
SPAM: Really, when are we going to evolve past the point that random spams, both to this blog and to the forums will end? Bless those dedicated coders that maintain the source code and security elements for both platforms, their efforts have saved us from some VERY embarrassing posts, yet spammers still seem to get past! What a waste of bandwidth and time!
So a question: Given the need for communication between Mars colonies and Earth, how would you respond if you were EVA in a suit for 5 hours repairing a water processing unit, and your HUD suddenly flashed with the latest Cialis scam or an announcement that you just won a lottery?
Me? I would wander back to the co-hab, open up a can of SPAM and fry up a nice hash with potatoes. Then log into the forums, blogs and other systems and delete all of that electronic garbage! Shame we can't turn those bits into compost.
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– August 6, 2010
Here's why… there are a couple of "big" things happening. Those of you that are actively testing each week with Hyper in the Mars Colony Online alpha are aware, but for the rest…
MCO has been ported to a new and more capable engine. This gives the engineers and artists many more tools to make the environment much more immersive and leverage Shader technology in modern graphics cards. The result is considerable hand work in porting core logic and rendering systems into the new engine. The good news is that the bulk of the work is completed, and the team is back on mechanics and fixing minor bugs as they pop up.
Secondly, MCO is beginning to mature to the point that actual plans for release are forming. So for all of you Mars simulation fans… stay tuned!
Posted in Colony Game Development.
– March 10, 2010


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BB&T Corporation 200 West Second Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 United States - Map Phone: 336-733-2000 Website: http://www.bbandt.com
BB&T Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides various banking and trust services for retail and commercial clients. It operates in six segments: Community Banking, Residential Mortgage Banking, Dealer Financial Services, Specialized Lending, Insurance Services, and Financial Services. The companys deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; real estate construction and land development loans; real estate mortgage loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides automobile lending, bankcard lending, consumer finance, home equity and mortgage lending, insurance, investment brokerage services, mobile/online banking services, payment solutions, sales finance, small business lending, and wealth management/private banking services to retail customers. In addition, it offers asset management, association, capital markets, institutional trust, international and corporate banking, and merchant services; commercial middle market, commercial mortgage, mortgage warehouse, and real estate lending; leasing; insurance premium and commercial finance; supply chain management; and private equity investments to commercial customers. Further, the company provides retail brokerage, equity and debt underwriting, investment advice, corporate finance, and equity research, as well as facilitates the origination, trading, and distribution of fixed-income securities and equity products. As of August 20, 2014, it operated approximately 1,800 financial centers in 12 states, as well as Washington, D.C. BB&T Corporation was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.


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MotorTrend's Top 16 Hottest New Coupes: MINI Cooper S Coupe
Sections: F59 Roadster/Coupe, In the Press, MF Feature, R58 (Coupe) Aug 8th, 2014 4 Comments
The longterm MotoringFile JCW Roadster won the hearts of all who drove it until it recently left the MotoringFile Garage to make way for its new big brother, the 2014 Cooper S hardtop. As much adoration as has been heaped onto the niche Roadster/Coupe pair, sales have waned slightly in 2014 with the pair being down 52.9%/54.4% YTD compared to 2013. But yet even in the shadow of the F56 launch, there is still much to love about of the Roadster and Coupe to the point that MotorTrend just named the Coupe one of the "Top 16 Hottest New Coupes on the Market". continued →


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I've read a lot of messages on this forum this summer as this is my first time growing tomatoes (in containers). I couldn't find one that matches this ... These are close-ups of leaves on a sungold plant. I first noticed the little white-ish dots yesterday I think. The bottom half of leaves on the plant have yellow / dried up and died, so I've taken most of them off (the photo including the pot shows the extent of this). This seems to be progressing up the plant however. The top half seems very healthy, and this is my most productive (just started getting ripe recently) of all three plants that I have. For my other tomato plant, I figured out today that I'm probably over-watering because it has started to have the root bumps on the stem and it is also wilting (which I had thought was heat/sun), but together, it sounds like they are more likely to be overwatering. So I added mulch to all 3 plants today. Thanks for any suggestions. This should be a link to one of the images:
This should be a link to a set of 6 photos of the leaves I uploaded to picasa, and all photos can be zoomed in on further.
Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Album on Picasa of Leaves
Follow-Up Postings:
Looks like mite damage. |
- Posted by dickiefickle (My Page) on Tue, Aug 2, 11 at 23:05
I hesitate to label your problem ,but offer a great link to decide for yourself. The bumps do not mean over watering ,the bumps are the begining of Adventitious roots trying to find moisture. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Disease ID
I suspect mites, also. |
Thanks for the input everyone. Mites do seem the most likely for at least part of the problem - the white dot-like unattached things on the back of the leaves. When I took leaves in to the garden store, they couldn't see them clearly, but thought that seemed plausible as well as a possibility of an iron deficiency (which might go along with the magnesium deficiency). Another plant was apparently showing a start of a fungus. So I pruned back mostly dead parts, applied a mite spray and copper fungicide, and I will fertilize when I next water them. So I hope that works! Thanks |
Definitely not iron deficiency. |
thanks for following up - I've looked at a lot of the pages showing pictures of different conditions, but haven't been able to match it well. Others I've talked to at the garden store have been more immediately knowledgeable than the person who helped me yesterday. Thus far, at least, stuff hasn't continued spreading after the pruning and treatment yesterday. |
I've had similar problems in the past, and they turned out to be mites. The leaves get kind of frosty looking on top with lots of white or yellow dots and eventually curl and dry up. You might suspect sun scald but if you look underneath you see tiny eggs and spider mites. Mites are almost invisible unless you have a strong lighted magnifier, at least 20x or 30x. If you search eBay for "lighted loupe" there are many different kinds starting at about $4 including shipping. Mites can reproduce very quickly in hot weather and you can have many thousands on each plant. They are right now attacking my eggplant and tomato plants. I sprayed then with malathion but there are other remedies you can use. Bob B. |
I've read a couple of articles that suggest some insecticides only aggravate mite problems, even malathion which is supposed to be effective, so I will switch to summer oil and see if that improves things; here is an example from Univ. of California, http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7405.html Spider mites frequently become a problem after the application of insecticides. Such outbreaks are commonly a result of the insecticide killing off the natural enemies of the mites, but also occur when certain insecticides stimulate mite reproduction. For example, spider mites exposed to carbaryl (Sevin) in the laboratory have been shown to reproduce faster than untreated populations. Carbaryl, some organophosphates, and some pyrethroids apparently also favor spider mites by increasing the level of nitrogen in leaves. Insecticides applied during hot weather usually appear to have the greatest effect on mites, causing dramatic outbreaks within a few days. If a treatment for mites is necessary, use selective materials, preferably insecticidal soap or insecticidal oil. Petroleum-based horticultural oils or neem oils are both acceptable. Do not use soaps or oils on water-stressed plants or when temperatures exceed 90�F. These materials may be phytotoxic to some plants, so check labels and/or test them out on a portion of the foliage several days before applying a full treatment. Oils and soaps must contact mites to kill them so excellent coverage, especially on the undersides of leaves, is essential and repeat applications may be required. Sulfur dust or spray can be used on some vegetables, but will burn cucurbits. Do not use sulfur dust if temperatures exceed 90�F and do not apply sulfur within 30 days of an oil spray. Sulfur dusts are skin irritants and eye and respiratory hazards. Always wear appropriate protective clothing. Bob B. |
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I am in Folsom, CA (near Sacramento) and am going to post my enitre owner/build process as I am in debt to people who have helped me on this site, so maybe I can return the favor a bit.
After 3 solid months of research and design, several questions posted by me on this forum, and too much time, I have finally started my owner/build pool. Before I get to the pool specifics, here is what I have learned so far about the owner/build experience. Above all-plan, plan, and plan. When you are done with that, then do some more planning. Then let a few days go by, go to McDonalds and have an egg mcmuffin, and the plan some more. We knew what kind of pool we wanted so we paid a design engineer to draw up our plans. We paid a premium price for these plans but the detail went above and beyond. The plans went so far as to detail out every piece of equipment (with pictures and model numbers) we chose, so there was no room for error. That being said here are a few basics: THE POOL:
Comments, opinions, and questions are welcome! Next post will be pictures of excavation. |
Follow-Up Postings:
- Posted by whitetrash (My Page) on Sat, May 16, 09 at 13:09
I have been lurking and reading posts in this forum for almost a year as i'm planning and researching my O/B. i joined today to comment on your post to let you know how excited i am to follow your progress as the main focus of my plan (yet to be put on paper by a pro) includes a long gunite slide and a grotto. i'm also in california but southern california. do you have the pool design you can post? would love to see it.... i will be glued to this thread. and your pics look great so far. |
- Posted by lindsey_ca (My Page) on Sat, May 16, 09 at 18:22
That is going to be one awesome pool! I, too, am eager to see the photos of the progress, now that the build has begun (yes, that's the proper grammar). |
- Posted by huskyridor (My Page) on Sun, May 17, 09 at 2:27
quote" Comments, opinions, and questions are welcome! "quote Trash the SAM and SAL lamps and get the Intellibrite LED pool and spa lamps. And don't attempt to run all 12 jets on one pump regardless of how large your pipes may be, drop to 2 spa pumps with 6 jets each on independent loops (1 on filter and 1 separate spa pump 2 1/2 hp) place a hartford loop and use 2 1 HP blowers. Your pool spec's look awesome. See ya, |
- Posted by huskyridor (My Page) on Mon, May 18, 09 at 9:30
Your pump/pipe combo is capable of 150-160gpm and unless your using a TR140C3 commercial sand filter your going to have the ability to pump more water than your filter is capable of handling. My guess is your man spec'd a TR100 as the filter. Quite honestly I didn't notice that the other evening or I'd of said swap it for a 60-72 sq/ft DE filter. Even if you switch to the DE filter I'd suggest no more than 10 spa jets on the single pump application. If you do have the TR140C3 then stick with 12 jets on 1 loop. Thanks for the vote of confidence on my input towards peoples questions. I find it very rewarding to assist others in their learning curve on pools. See ya, |
Kelly, Thanks for the reply and here is may plan. The Tritan II sand filter is what I am spec'd for my filtration, but I will have to confirm the model # and size. My plumbers intention is to not run the jets through the filter. My current plumbing design will use the intelliflo VS for filtration drawing from the pool and/or the spa as well as returning to either. My jets are all on a dedicated loop and powered by a 3HP whisperflo. This avoids any pressure issues involving the filter. Now I have to choose between doing ten or twelve. |
Update: More pictures for your review. Plumbing is under pressure with no leaks after 4 days, and rebar is underway. Phase 1 rebar will be the pool, spa, bond beams and grotto. Following that will be Phase 1 gunite. After that phase 2 rebar will get underway which will be rebar for the water features, slide and retaining wall. This will give me time to dig and install my french drain behind the pool as well. Then phase 2 gunite which will be the water features, slide, and retaining wall shot in gunite. We have a busy two weeks ahead of us. Here is what we have done since my last post: Here is all the plumbing coming together at the equipment pad and under pressure. It took about two hours to get the plumbing lines filled with water, add a little air, and we will keep it at 35 psi until decking is complete. More trenching filled with plumbing lines. Trench and plumbing running in front of the pool. The plan is to use the rebound from the gunite shoot to fill in underneath and around the plumbing lines when gunite is being done. I will be busy doing this. After gunite we will fill the trenches with sand and AB gravel. Next week I will order 10 yards of AB to get ready for this work. Hope my back can take it. 1 of 2 skimmers and plumbing lines into the pool. Spa plumbing and some rebar work done. The spa was dug out 1 ft. deeper then what is usually done so that the majority of the plumbing could be installed from underneath. We will then backfill to 1 ft. to cover up the plumbing, form the spa floor from rebar, and it will be ready for gunite. The stailess steel screeding is for gravel backfill as well since this area was not supposed to be excavated. The excavator knew this but because of the rock "sheering" off, it could not be helped. The gravel backfill will save me several yards in gunite cost. My gunite cost is already going to be somewhere around $12,000. OUCH! That is about $3,000 over budget. Spa plumbing jet location. Some of the rebar installed, specifically the notch needed to install the stacked stone that will go in on the raised bond beams and the face of the spa. And now even though it has nothing to do with the pool here are my landscaping pics. I have gone so far over budget on the pool that the landscaping will be done as a solo effort by me. So far I have built a 40 ft. country manor retaining wall, put in 10 queen palms, 6 sage palms, 4 canary date palms, 3 phoenix palms, and an assortment of tropical plants and shrubs. The main reason I am finally posting this update is because my back is shot and I cannot do any more work until my back will allow. My country manor wall. I spent a lot of time putting in the base and setting the first row. My wife thought I was crazy for digging out such a deep base, but with the proper base and a properly set first row, building the rest of the wall is a piece of cake. I completed the landscaping above shortly after finishing the wall. These are three of the four canary date palms I put in. Yes they are crooked, but I have not straightened them and put stakes in yet. Using the jackhammer on the slope was difficult but was the only way to dig these holes. More landscaping. Lots more coming. I am going for a very lush, tropical look, so it will take a lot more plants and trees to get the look I am going for. 3 queens I put in towards the top of the slope. I have an autmated drip dedicatedjust for the trees, and then two other circuits ready to go for plants and shrubs whenever those get done. Once again the jackhammer was quite helpful in getting these holes dug. I only lost my footing and slid down the slope 6 or 7 times! More landscaping. My goal is to try to compelte the slope landscaping when the pool construction is nearly finished. Top of the slope looking down at the pool. In a week we should make quite a bit more progress and I will post the progress then. Thanks for looking. |
- Posted by devildog1989 (My Page) on Sun, May 31, 09 at 18:33
Please do not back fill the dam wall area with gravel. That needs to be filled with gunite. You cannot use dirt or gravel to use as fill instead of gunite. It has to be one monolithic shell. If it cost you more than oh well. Welcome to pool building. Also, your pipe should not be touching your rebar.Did you do the plumbing yourself? |
"Please do not back fill the dam wall area with gravel. That needs to be filled with gunite. You cannot use dirt or gravel to use as fill instead of gunite. It has to be one monolithic shell." Hmmmm.... I am not sure what you mean here so please explain further. The pool/spa is going to be one monolithic shell. The gunite in the pool/spa will be a miniumum 8" thick. The only portion of the pool that will be backfilled with gravel will be the portion that would have had dirt/rock still present had it not sheered off during excavation. If we don't backfill this area I will be shooting gunite that would be over 4 ft. thick and I am not sure that is necessary. If there is even a hint of compromising structural integrity by doing a backfill then I would shoot gunite instead of using any backfill. Since I have special engineering requirements, the gravel backfill method will be signed off by my engineer and he will be onsite to approve this section (as well as the grotto section) before gunite is applied. Hopefully that is a litle more clear as to what my plan is, and if you would still suggest differently then I would like to hear why. The plumbing was done by a licensed plumber. I was not much more then a helper but wanted to be invloved enough so that I knew where every pipe went and what it was for. We used a lot of 4 in. and 3 in. pipe which was heat bent to fit. The plumbing is still loosely in place as the rebar work is far from completion. I will make sure none of the plumbing is in contact with rebar by the time we are ready for the first gunite shoot. |
- Posted by devildog1989 (My Page) on Sun, May 31, 09 at 23:50
You can not place gunite over any type of fill dirt or gravel. You said you were going to back fill dirt over the spa floor. Do not do that. It will not be virgin soil. All gunite has to sit on virgin soil that is 18" down. As far as the dam wall goes to me your taking a huge risk by shooting gunite over gravel fill when you have a void between the dam wall and virgin earth. When I add a spa to a pool and the new spa juts into the pool that whole area that is a void gets filled up with gunite. Sometimes it is 3w feet thick and 3'.6"d. That 's the way my engineer requires it. I trust him since he helped write the anspi manual when it comes to structural engineering. But you can do what you want. It's your pool. |
"But you can do what you want. It's your pool." That's very kind of you!:) I will relay your thoughts to my engineer tomorrow. I can only hope he is as well respected as yours. I will do as he says. If he says use gravel for fill, I will. If he says use all gunite, then that will be done. I have seen several excavated pool floors, on this forum and in person that have been backfilled with gravel usually from being over-excavated for one reason or another. How would the 18" of virgin soil be accomplished in such situations? Are they at risk because they do not meet the 18" specification? What your saying certianly seems valid so I am very interested in the responses I get from my engineer. Thanks again for your input and when I hear from my engineer tommorrow I will post a follow up. Thanks again, Kevin |
- Posted by whitetrash (My Page) on Mon, Jun 1, 09 at 1:10
great pics! this may be a dumb question but when looking at the plumbing for the spa jets it looks like there will be two pipes at each jet location in the wall of the spa rather than one (which is what i usually see...i think) are you doing double jets (one on top of the other)? or is this dual pipe connection how it's usually done and i'm just dumb? i saw in your specs you are doing 12 jets - are they all in the walls? are you doing floor or calf jets? |
The issue of self compacting gravel has been around since the late 80's and a lot of engineers think it is an acceptable practice. It wouldn't hurt to vibrate the gravel to consolidate it. A lot of pools and other structures are successfully built on engineered fill rather than virgin soil. The plumbing would be my biggest concern with this job. There are pipes on top of unsupported pipes and crossovers not separated and the appearance of some less than desirable heat bending going on. Unless IAPMO has changed their codes recently they would not approve of any of these procedures. The fact that the soil is very rocky adds to the need for greater care in the trenches. |
- Posted by devildog1989 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 1, 09 at 17:08
When I mean by virgin dirt is you have to dig down that far in order to make sure the shell is not sitting on anything other than engineered fill or true virgin soil. Yes most pools I build are on engineered fill that has been certified with at least 90% compaction. For example. When you dig out a reef step the engineer will require you to go down 18" into the dirt even if your finished water depth is only 6". You back fill the 12" difference with gunite. As far as I know, no engineer that I know recommends back filling with dirt or gravel for pools. Now you probably have seen pools with gravel in the bottom. That is called rock packing. It is only 2-3" of gravel to make the pool more workable if you are getting a lot of water in it or rain. I was trying to be nice about your plumbing last night, but I agree with renoexpt. I would get my money back. Heating a pipe weakens it. I know a lot will disagree with me but a lot of cities I deal with will not allow you to do that or use flex pipe or blue glue. My only hope is you paid for what you got. Sorry if it sounds rude but I'm tried of losing out jobs to hacks because homeowners don't care what it looks like underground as long as it somewhat works when it is covered up. I've seen homeowners on this forum do better work. |
Devildog, I agree with your postion in general although we have had engineers specifiy up to 6 ft of uncompacted #57 in the bottom of a swimming pool. They were working for the developer that buried a bunch of strippings (unsuitable soil when building the roads) in an owners back yard. We compacted it in lifts to be safe and there was no question that it compacted significantly. I think that is purple primer in the pictures rather than blue glue. Definitely would not reccommend blue glue. A lot of plumbers seem to think that primer is not required when using the blue goo. Go figure. |
You said- "The issue of self compacting gravel has been around since the late 80's and a lot of engineers think it is an acceptable practice. It wouldn't hurt to vibrate the gravel to consolidate it." Are you implying that this practice is acceptable to some engineers but not to others? When it comes to the structural issues of my pool I don't want what engineers think is an acceptable practice, I want ridiculously overbuilt using practiced engineering standards. I have seen 3/4" gravel backfill used in so many pool constructions, house foundations, etc. that I considered it to be a standard practice. My engineer has approved using 3/4" gravel as backfill as well as the rebar scheduling of this pool section and spa being 6" off center. The spa walls will be a minimum of 18" thick and the pool walls a minimum of 9" thick. Would your recommendations be in line with this or would you suggest differently? We wanted to do some custom plumbing for the spa. This included putting some of the jets very close to each other and using 4" plumbing for maximum efficiency. My plumber put the spa plumbing and mainifold on the floor of the spa, which was excavated an extra 12" to allow room for the plumbing. (He has done over 50 pools this way and has yet to have a problem with any of them.) The plumbing/floor of the spa will then be filled with 3/4 gravel to 12". The rebar for the floor of the spa will then be installed, my engineeer will do an on-site inspection followed by the city inspection, and then gunite. You said- I shared this concern with my plumber last week when the plumbing was going in. The plan is to use the rebound during the gunite shoot to fill in underneath and inbetween the plumbing in the trenches. The plumbing will then be backfilled with sand and then AB gravel. If there is more you think I should do to care for the plumbing then please comment. There is one piece (a capped off return line near the skimmer) that seems to be a little too fried from heat bending. I will ask for that to be replaced. The rest of the heat bending looked good to me, do you see any other concerns that I am not seeing? Thanks for you comments. Whitetrash- Yes the two plumbing lines are both for jets. One of the seats will have 4 jets, very close to each other. We didn't want your average "1 jet evenly spaced" in the spa like so many pool builders put in their spas, so we are going for something a little more custom. This spa plumbing was WAY over my head and very tricky, but hopefully it works out. I haven't ignored your request to post my design. My pool designer has not returned my calls. (Thank God I didn't use him to build my pool) He spared no red ink on the design stating copyright infringements and unauthorized plan usage so I must get his permission first, if he ever calls me back. Thanks for your feedback as well. |
devildog- I don't mind your honest feedback to help me build a better pool, even if its harsh. But your last post makes you sound bitter becuase you can't cut it in your profession. If that's the case, then don't bother commenting on anything else I am doing. If you are not skilled enough to beat out the hacks that you are competeing against then you should start looking for a new job. In my profession, as well as yours I would guess, it is usually takes a hack to know a hack. Help me and others build a pool because you want to contribute but if your mad at the world, then don't waste my time. Thanks. |
- Posted by devildog1989 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 1, 09 at 18:55
Ventic, I was trying to help build your pool. Ask any of the other builders on here weather that would be an acceptable plumbing job. I think they would say no. I am more than skilled to beat out the hacks, It's just a little hard to beat a hack on price when they are underbidding me by 5,000.00 or more dollars because they do not use things like fittings and they bend pipe instead.All the other little detail things that homeowners do not realize that go into a pool to make it last get cut out of the equaton so they can beat my price. Me personally, I like paying my insurance's. I like paying my people a livable wage to feed their families on. I like the fact when I walk away from a project I'm not going to have to come back to fix something. I'm actually one of the few builders to that is doing well in my area, I guess that's because I'm a hack. I would rather flip a hamburger than to hire people at cheap wages or not use the proper techniques than to compete aqainest hacks. Like I said, you do want you want, it's a free country for the most part. What I'm telling you is that your plumbing is unacceptable to 90% of builders that I know. You need to have them pull it out and redo after the steel is up. Take my advice or leave it. That is my opinion. Skill has nothing to do with beating out hacks, it's homeowners greed that determines that. Do not pick the low baller. I am not mad, I am just expressing the feelings of a lot of pool builders here.Then we get to hear the horror stories and we then look bad. It is our obligation to weed out all non hackers to further the reputation of the industry. Good luck and god speed on your build. Exit stage left. |
ventinc, considering where you are at, this is what I would reccommend. remove all of the rocks away from the plumbing trench,try to seperate the pipes with something large enough to enable washing fine sand in the trenches under and around the pipes. pad any crossovers with a non abrasive surface. Pressure test the hard piping @100 psi or greater. Most small air compressors will do this. Do not pressure test the flex pipe at this pressure. Since you are backfilling the trenches you will probably take good enough care in the process to get by. Keep in mind that heavy equipment will running across the trenches and any voids can be a future problem. Not sure about using the rebound for this. The ideal product would be a flowable backfill which in effect is what you are trying to do with the sand. Try to consolidate any gravel you put under the shell. |
- Posted by whitetrash (My Page) on Mon, Jun 1, 09 at 20:35
"One of the seats will have 4 jets, very close to each other. We didn't want your average "1 jet evenly spaced" in the spa like so many pool builders put in their spas, so we are going for something a little more custom" that sounds really cool and addresses one of my biggest gripes with attached spas is that the jet configurations are so much less interesting/creative than the fiberglass spas (which i think are pretty damn ugly). and no worries on posting the design. i was just curious as to the shape of the pool and layout of the slide. i'll just keep watching the pictures as your progress..and ask lots of questions about your gunite slide because that is priority #1 in my pool that i'm planning. |
renovxpt- A sincere thank you for your advice. Several rocks/debris have fallen back into the trenches over the last week and I will take care to "clean out" the trenches thourougly before any sand backfilling. The plumbing has been steady under pressure at 37 psi for almost a week. I will pressurize it to 100 psi by your suggestion. It is filled with water, so would pushing it up to 100 psi still be O.K.? I know the PVC is rated for 220 psi. We have no flex pipe so there is no prbolem there. My plumber has made it clear that we will thouroughly encase the plumbing in gunite "rebound" and sand. The rebound will be used to fill underneath the pipe and inbetween. I will follow your advice on the crossovers as well. I will take as much time as necessary to feel comfortable that the plumbing is well cared for during these steps. Thanks again for the advice. |
devildog said- "I was trying to help build your pool. Ask any of the other builders on here weather that would be an acceptable plumbing job. I think they would say no. I am more than skilled to beat out the hacks, It's just a little hard to beat a hack on price when they are underbidding me by 5,000.00 or more dollars because they do not use things like fittings and they bend pipe instead.All the other little detail things that homeowners do not realize that go into a pool to make it last get cut out of the equaton so they can beat my price. Me personally, I like paying my insurance's. I like paying my people a livable wage to feed their families on. I like the fact when I walk away from a project I'm not going to have to come back to fix something. I'm actually one of the few builders to that is doing well in my area, I guess that's because I'm a hack. I would rather flip a hamburger than to hire people at cheap wages or not use the proper techniques than to compete aqainest hacks. Like I said, you do want you want, it's a free country for the most part. What I'm telling you is that your plumbing is unacceptable to 90% of builders that I know. You need to have them pull it out and redo after the steel is up. Take my advice or leave it. That is my opinion. Skill has nothing to do with beating out hacks, it's homeowners greed that determines that. Do not pick the low baller. I am not mad, I am just expressing the feelings of a lot of pool builders here.Then we get to hear the horror stories and we then look bad. It is our obligation to weed out all non hackers to further the reputation of the industry. Good luck and god speed on your build. Exit stage left." Wow- I did not realize you were elected to speak on behalf of all the other pool builders. Good for you and your soap box. There is a lot of rightousness (and misplaced anger) in your above response. Rambling about paying your employees, homeowner greed, and your obligation to weed out hacks in your industry doesn't help your cause. It's great that your doing so well in your industry right now. You state oterwise in your third post mentioning how tired you are. Keep flippin' those burgers and thanks for the stage exit. Now if I might, I will get back to the building my pool and if necessary re-doing my plumbing. :) |
I can empathize with devildogs statement and have felt the same frustration on many occasions. You can cut corners in every phase of pool building and it might take ten years for the flaw to surface. The devil is in the details. |
So a month has flown by and we finished our second gunite shoot last week so I finally have a little extra time to give an update and post some pictures. First: There were some concerns brought to my attention about the quality of the plumbing (crossovers/heat bending and such) work so after looking into it a bit here is what I did. 1. I had 25 yards of sand and AB gravel delivered to my yard. Undoubtably my plumbing will last for 20+ years maintainance free! :) Second: I took some extra time and expense to have the engineering firm I used send out an engineer for two on-site inspections just before each gunite shoot. It was good piece of mind for me to have the engineer on site and give final approval of the construction before gunite. Neil Anderson is the engineering firm and I am not sure if you could find one person in Northern CA who would disagree with the statement that they are the best there is. All right, onto the pictures and the progress. One week later it was time for the second gunite shoot: So I am calling it a little over half way done at this point and it has been time consuming road to get to this point as an owner builder. But I still have to say that doing an owner/build is a GREAT way to go. I would recommend it to anyone instead of using a pool builder unless you live in TX near Kelly. Then I would just use him! |
I am excited to see the final pictures of your pool. How is it coming? I am looking to be an owner builder for a pool in Southern California. It will be about 20x40 ft with an 8ft spa and a baja step. We also want to put a natural looking waterfall running into the pool. Any advice? |
Haven't been here in a while... Pool has been completed for 1 1/2 years now... It has worked very well... As an owner builder I am glad its all over with but I would do it again.. just not for many many years. Problems I have had since completion: 1. One of my pentair lights went out.. replaced it myself Thats about it. Pool and Spa have been flawless and here are some finished pictures. |
- Posted by jasonlmarsh (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Wed, Dec 29, 10 at 14:06
Absolutely Stunning!!! |
What did you coat the slide with? Any chipping? Scott |
Scott, The coating on the slide is an industrial epoxy from a company in Washington. It is the same epoxy used to glue reflectors to street and highway surfaces. I cannot remember the name of the company but I am sure I have it in my pool files. The coats had to be applied very very thin so that we would not get runs in the epoxy as it dried. This will be the 3rd season coming up and it has been great. Very durable and no chips or cracks. I may put a new coat on this season if necessary but I might wait another year before I do. |
Plumbing controversy or not, your pool looks fantastic. Nice design work. |
- Posted by jim steele(email@example.com) onMon, Apr 4, 11 at 20:17
Hello, AWESOME pool. I am new to this and want to do a OB small spa in my small back yard in Discovery bay ca. Did you use a consultant to help line up subs? If so do you recommend them, if so can you tell me how to get ahold of them? |
- Posted by Rickhobo (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Wed, Nov 20, 13 at 7:30
I love all your posts they are encouraging. My wife and I are building our own pool and we have very simalar yards and pool designs. we also have a big hill and are building the spa into the hill with a waterfall spilling into spa then onto and over the grotto our slide is 29' long and is on the left side of the spa grotto. If you could give me a call or email me I have a few questions i would gladly send you a gift card and buy you and yours dinner for your time. I know the posting is old was hoping he might check back from time to time. I really appreciate all the info and the pics the pool looks beautiful and fun. Good Job. 702-429-1670 firstname.lastname@example.com |
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text:
Q Loves Picard?
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December 28 2010, 04:03 PM
Fleet Captain
Location: Either Quark's, or a bar on St. Mark's Place
Re: Q Loves Picard?
Christopher wrote:
Gary7 wrote:
I'm not so certain that an omnipotent being like
would consider the human race a bunch of pets. No, once there's a certain level of sentience, there is a degree of appreciation and respect.
But how do you define sentience? Modern cognitive science is increasingly demonstrating that sentience is a continuum, that many animals show a greater degree of self-awareness and cognitive complexity than we have recognized or been willing to admit. There's abundant evidence to demonstrate that great apes, dolphins, and maybe elephants are intelligent, self-aware beings, and yet our society still keeps them in zoos or circuses, and some keep baby chimps as pets. So even within our species, there's no consensus on what actually constitutes a level of sapience worthy of personhood. To a Q, humanity's ability to write books and build starships may be no more impressive than a chimp's ability to learn sign language or fish for termites with a stick is to the many humans who are aware of such skills but still dismiss the notion that anything nonhuman could be truly sapient.
My memory may be faulty (and usually is), but I thought I recalled Q refering to humans as some kind of single celled life form in comparison to himself. Can't remember what ep, but if he did say it, it would give creedence to the "pet" theroy.
starship, the places you've been to, the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell,
starship we sing to your spirit and the beings that have served you so long and so well"
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Third Millennium Bible (TMB) | New International Version (NIV) |
1 Then fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. | 1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. |
2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. | 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. |
3 But neither was Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, compelled to be circumcised; | 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. |
4 and that because false brethren were brought in by stealth, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. | 4 [This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. |
5 To them we gave place by submission not even for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you. | 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. |
6 But of those who seemed to be something (whosoever they were, it maketh no difference to me: God accepteth no man's person) -- those who seemed to be somewhat in consultation added nothing to me; | 6 As for those who seemed to be important--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance--those men added nothing to my message. |
7 but contrariwise, when they saw that the Gospel to the Uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the Gospel to the Circumcision was unto Peter | 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. |
8 (for He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the Circumcision, that Same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles), | 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. |
9 and when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen and they unto the Circumcision. | 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. |
10 Only they would that we should remember the poor, the same as I also was eager to do. | 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. |
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. | 11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. |
12 For before certain ones came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they had come, he withdrew and separated himself from them, fearing those who were of the Circumcision. | 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. |
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, so much that Barnabas also was carried away by their dissimulation. | 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. |
14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, "If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? | 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? |
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, | 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' |
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. | 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. |
17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? God forbid! | 17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! |
18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. | 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. |
19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. | 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. |
20 I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. | 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. |
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." | 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" |
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved. (Third Millennium Bible Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


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This is the 4th in the series of medieval adventures with Petroc of Auneford, or Patch the Monk turned Banker and now reluctant Crusader but you can happily read it as a stand alone novel. They are packed full of historical information but still light and fun to read.
Comparison: Martin Stephen, C C Humphreys, Ellis PetersFor more see our Author 'Like for Like' recommendation system
1248 AD. King Louis of France is about to invade Egypt on his vainglorious Seventh Crusade. Pope and Emperor are fighting for mastery over Christendom. And where greed and ambition cross, blood soon follows. When his oldest friend is killed in broad daylight, Petroc of Auneford - former relic-hunter turned respectable Venetian banker and married man - knows someone's trying to send him a deadly message. Called upon from all sides to do their bidding, and surviving in a viper's nest of greed and treachery, Petroc must guard his secrets closely if he wants to stay alive. He becomes a reluctant Crusader as he tries to save the woman he loves, find a way to real freedom, and all the while, cling on to a precious dream of home ...
Pip Vaughan-Hughes grew up in South Devon. He studied medieval history at London University and later worked as a reader for a literary agency when he wasn't dabbling as a bike messenger, saxophonist, food critic, gardener and restaurant owner. He now lives in Devon with his wife and children.
Below is a Q & A with this author.
What's the first book you remember reading?Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson.What's the greatest influence on your writing?The complete joy I felt when I first learned to read. I'm still intoxicated by it.Where do you write?In a makeshift office in an upstairs hallway.Typewriter, word processor or pen?My trusty imac. Name your favourite literary hero and villain.My favourite villain is Pinkie in Graham Greene's Brighton Rock.Hero? Possibly Moomintroll. Where were you born and raised?Born in London; raised in South Devon.What is your philosophy for life?Death or glory!Did you enjoy school? What is your most vivid memory of your school years?I alternately hated and tolerated school. My most vivid memory is of being told off in front of the entire school for shuffling my feet in line-up when I was five years old.What educational qualifications do you have? Have you had any formal tuition in creative writing? If so, where and what? Did you find it useful? I have a degree in history. I don't have any formal writing training and I doubt it would have been useful to me, due to my general bloody-mindedness about being told what to do.Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you originally want to be and when and why did you change your mind? I think I did always want to be an author. I vaguely wanted to be in films but experience very rapidly put me off. Now I can see my previous mess of a worklife as being a strangely logical prelude to writing.Name your top five pieces of music.'narchy in the UK' by The Sex Pistols, Five Last Songs by Richard Strauss, The Kids Are Alright by The Who, Heroin by The Velvet Underground and Billy's Bounce by Charlie Parker. Who do you most admire and why?All the people I know who've had the courage and the strength of will not to sell out.If your house were burning down, what would you save?My family.What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?Many and various, but getting fired from the BBC for swearing is an innocuous starting point.How do you write each novel, i.e. do you block out the narrative first, take each page at a time, create the central character, build a cast of characters? I start with a story in my head, begin to write scenes that interest me, and use that momentum to create the narrative.
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text:
This convertible under-cabinet hood, designed to work with smaller cooking appliances, combines stylish design with efficient ventilation. It features a high-performance 400-CFM blower, three speed settings and dual halogen work surface lighting.
Hood Type: Under Cabinet
Fan CFM: 400
Venting Type: Exterior or Recirculating
Height: 9
Depth: 19 3/4
Cutout Width (in): 0
Width: 29 7/8
Control Type: Push Button
Task Light: Halogen
Removable Grease Filter: Yes
Number of Fan Speeds: 3
Control Location: Front


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'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' Fills More Main Roles With Attractive Young Actors
Casting Couch By Nathan Adams on July 27, 2012 | Be the First To CommentCasting is currently at a fever pitch regarding the next great hope in the Young Adult film franchise arms race, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. The most recent news we had about director Harald Zwart's series-launcher is that Game of Thrones and Mad Men vets Lena Headey and Jared Harris had landed roles as two of the adult characters, and today comes news that two of the teenage roles that make up most of the primary cast have also been filled. The thrust of the City of Bones story, again, is that a girl named Clary Fray (Lily Collins) becomes suddenly involved in the hidden world of Shadowhunters (powerful beings who hunt demons right under our noses). The first Shadowhunter that she comes across is dreamboat Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower), a troubled orphan who comes complete with a foster family. Said family is most importantly made up of two siblings who Jace lives and hunts demons with, Isabelle and Alec Lightwood. These are the oh-so-important roles that have now been filled.
Neil Miller
Scott Beggs
Rob Hunter
Kate Erbland
Christopher Campbell


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Wait a minute. So Simon Cowell got sick in Kansas City. Then the show switched to San Francisco -- but they'd already been in San Francisco last week. So basically, according to the bizarre way tonight's episode was set up, this crazy/amazing Single Lady named Panda Ross might have been accidentally responsible for Simon's illness, because she'd hugged Demi Lovato in San Francisco and some of her icky pneumonia might have rubbed off onto Simon's cruddy tee of the day and that's why he was sick down the line in Kansas City. Is this all making sense? I know! It's definitely not!
I'm not suggesting this actually happened. Of course not. But I felt like at the end of the episode, we'd get a trick question: "Who was responsible for Simon getting sick?" -- to which keen viewers would need to backtrack, realize heyyyyy, Britney already wore that sparkly beige sheath, so the Panda Ross segment actually could have precluded Simon's devastating illness in real time. All of these is utterly meaningless so I don't know why I'm leading with it.
Too late.
It's ALL about Panda, by the way. You can just ignore Leopard Face up there to your right. I requested that image long before I'd been introduced to the greatest woman on the planet, a woman named after a black and white bear because her mom's cell mate was white and she was black. Panda Ross says things like "Oh, God, father in the name of cheese sauce, YES." and declared to Simon Cowell up front that not only was he her boo, he was also her baby daddy. None of this general human excellence would even matter, though, if Panda hadn't belted out "Bring It On Home" with such deep, guttural conviction and an underlying sense of class. Simon called it: "You have the voice of a legend," he marveled, dreaming of all the jewelry she could bestow onto him, her boo.
I'd buy Panda's record right this second -- and I'd probably assume it was a decades-old classic cut. She is wonderful.
Plenty of other total winners in this relatively awesome X Factor episode. Here's who else made it through to bootcamp….
Meet Rizzloe Jones, an 18-year-old blond cherub with a plaid-collared denim shirt and diamond studs in his ears. "My rap's always positive," he claimed right away, and right away I'd had it with him. "When I learned the ABCs, I learned the word 'X'," he continued as the judges stared daggers back at him. I love how the judges get to make terrible, canned jokes all the time but when contestants do it they are DEAD TO THEM. I did admire Rizzloe's ability to weave the concept of marshmallows into his improvised rap about The X Factor. Is that talent? Depends. Is that marketable? In 2012, absolutely. This "young Vanilla Ice, Ice, Baby" (according to Britney) could go far. I wonder if Rizzloe will bring that dude pile of bros with him wherever he goes.
NEXT: Season 2's very first arrest


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This is one of those stories that matters to a very small number of people, but it just might matter a lot to those people. Box Out Kid, the kid we always see at All-Star Weekend getting all up in the scrums who also somehow showed up on stage at the Heat's championship celebration, loves the name so much that he's had some custom shoes made to honor how he's always getting in everybody's way.
"Ring Ceremony/Box Out Kid" PE- not everything can be done on ID lol, these were derived from the "Ring Ceremony" PEs Bron wore opening night but with a twist. The customer wanted to represent his son known as "The Box Out Kid" who was onstage last June when the Heat won the championship trophy. He was hard to miss wearing his "Big Bang" 9s so I incorporated @herbjuice custom Big Bang tags to represent his moment.
Mache is pretty much at the top of the shoe customization game, so this is a pretty good get for Box Out Kid, who is apparently going to be going by that from now on. Smart decision. Better to become a brand now, rather than waiting until after high school. I don't even know what his real name is and I'm glad he dropped it.
But yeah, Box Out Kid has some custom LeBron Xs now, and they legitimately say "Box Out Kid" on them. Outside of some "Durantula" shirts, this is the most successful a TBJ nickname has ever become. Congratulations to us.