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Seattle's tunnel: SR's got 99 problems, but the steel pipe ain't one
While it's certain that the machine digging the Highway 99 tunnel under downtown Seattle did grind to a halt last month shortly after hitting a steel pipe, plenty of mystery still surrounds the idled earthmover and the future of the multi-billion dollar megaproject.
Lingering questions about the cause and cost of the machine's stoppage were on full display Monday, as state Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson and Washington State Department of Transportation staffers briefed the Seattle City Council.
The WSDOT representatives said it was still too early to know much about the price of the delays or whether the pipe was the only problem afflicting the machine, known as Bertha. Peterson also discussed WSDOT's decision to hold Seattle Tunnel Partners — the contractor group running the project — in breach of contract for failing to give an adequate amount of work to minority and women-owned companies.
WSDOT program administrator Todd Trepanier acknowledged that WSDOT and Seattle Tunnel Partners were under "a lot of presssure" to estimate the cost of the stop-down and when the machine would get moving again. "It would be irresponsible at this time," he said, "for us to really speculate on all those issues."
The machine has bored about 1,000 feet of the 1.7-mile long tunnel. WSDOT representatives said the contractor and the agency expected the first 1,500 feet of digging to be a "shakedown cruise." But on Dec. 3, the tunneling machine hit an 8-inch diameter, 119-foot long, steel well-pipe left in the ground by a WSDOT contractor in 2002. In the days that followed, the machine began to experience increased resistance moving forward. The current boring stoppage began on Dec. 7.
The well site was noted in planning documents for the project, but a Seattle Tunnel Partners project manager said recently that the pipe should have been removed when the well was decommissioned.
Matt Preedy, WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program deputy administrator, said on Monday that probing the ground in front of the machine had not helped to confirm the root of the tunneling machine's troubles.
"All of our ground investigation out in front of the machine has been inconclusive," he said.
Trepanier said the pipe might not be the only problem. "I think maybe that is a contributing factor," he said. "But there are other issues that are being dealt with and wanting to be understood at this point in time on why this machine stopped."
There have been difficulties, he said, with material not flowing correctly through the machine and wear to its metal teeth, which weigh about 1,200 pounds each.
"I don't necessarily agree with the word stuck," Trepanier said later, referring to Bertha's current status. "The cutter head turns, you can mine with this machine. It would be like driving in your car and the warning light is coming on and telling you to stop."
Regardless of whether the machine is stuck or stopped, the delays are raising concerns in Seattle. A provision in the state bill financing the project says that any costs beyond $2.8 billion will be paid for by "property owners in the Seattle area who benefit from replacement of the [Alaskan Way Viaduct] with the deep bore tunnel."
Mayor Ed Murray, who co-sponsored the bill during his time as a state Senator, says he'd like to convince legislators in Olympia to remove that language from the law.
At the briefing on Monday, council member Sally Bagshaw pressed the WSDOT representatives on what the current delays mean for the city's finances.
"You're talking about cost overruns potentially. One thing I want to clarify is that the city of Seattle is not on the hook to pay those cost overruns," said Bagshaw. "The city is not party to the contract between you and the state and the partners, is that correct?"
"You're stepping into an area that is a little beyond my understanding," replied Trepanier.
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Posted Tue, Jan 14, 5:47 a.m.
What an incredibly deceptive headline. When you actually read the article, WSDOT program administrator Todd Trepanier said the pipe MIGHT not be the only problem. So the author translates that into it isn't the problem?
There is another reason that Trepanier is being extra cautious that he isn't saying. STP the General Contractor and WSDOT still do not own Bertha.
We don't take ownership for another 500 feet. So at the moment Hitachi the manufacturer is also on the hook. Maybe people have forgot, but Bertha's delivery was delayed by two months because of a problem discovered after the TBM was assembled in Japan.
My guess is that both STP and WSDOT are making damn sure that there isn't something else wrong with $87 million dollar TBM before they take full ownership of this beast.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 7 a.m.
Great. Bagshaw and Rasmussen are asking questions about a megaproject that they have no authority to control. Last time the city's councilmembers did that it was the Seattle Popular Monorail Authority that was leading the transportation megaproject. This isn't a good sign.
Newsflash for Sally and Tom: you two are not in charge. WSDOT is in charge. Moreover, if the Port (for example) hears from WSDOT that its $2.8 billion spending cap likely will be exceeded then the Port commissioners will create a LID and start imposing assessments on hundreds of Seattle property owners. You two won't be able to do squat about it.
Hey Tom Rasmussen -- you were on the city council in 2009 when it green-lighted this project. The unprecedented $2.8 BLN cap and the overrun provision targeting benefited Seattle property owners was in existence then (that statute was enacted earlier that year). Don't you play stupid about the implications now, the way you played stupid about the abusive monorail authority financing plan.
Ed Murray is supposed to know what's going on with this megaproject. He just hired Jared Smith from Parsons Brinckerhoff as a full-time assistant to advise him on the waterfront projects. Problem is, there is no way Smith will give Murray or the public straight answers about his former employer's bad acts and omissions, who is responsible for problems, excess costs, or anything else of significance.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is in large part responsible for convincing the government heads around here to engage in this megaproject:
For the past 10 years, Parsons Brinckerhoff has served as general engineering consultant assisting the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in developing alternatives to replace the seismically vulnerable Alaskan Way Viaduct, which runs 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) along the city's waterfront, serving 110,000 vehicles each day. The firm has been involved in virtually every aspect of the $3.1 billion Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement program, including conceptual design of a 2.7-kilometer (1.7-mile) tunnel to replace the viaduct.
Paula Hammond set this megaproject in motion for WSDOT. She hired the contractor, approved all the WSDOT financial planning, etc. when she was the head of WSDOT. As soon as Christine Gregoire left office Hammond was hired by Parsons Brinckerhoff, and she now works out of its Seattle office. Hammond did not get that fat job because she had spent her time at WSDOT looking out for the public's interest.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 7:24 a.m.
Your post is just stirring the pot. Parson Brinkerhoff is a Global Consulting firm that has been helping cities, states and countries all over the world to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain critical infrastructure.
You are casting aspersions that somehow PB,city council members and the mayor have been doing something wrong. Granted, you aren't saying what that it is, but it must be something according to you.
Companies such as PB are essential, because they have the expertise that elected officials never do with projects such as this.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 1:20 p.m.
abcytesla, perhaps, but only perhaps. So far, the level of transparency from Parsons Breakitinhalf and our electeds + the WSDOT is quite cloudy.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 1:17 p.m.
Thanks for stirring the pot. It's necessary to keep from being burned (burned any further).
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 7:25 a.m.
It might also be worth noting, crossrip, that the State Senate Majority Leader who helped push through the legislation approving the tunnel is now Mayor of the city it's being (occasionally) built in. I have no doubt that Ed Murray will find a way to fob the cost overruns on this thing on some farmer in Waitsburg who'll never set foot in Seattle, just like Gary Locke fobbed Safeco Field off on taxpayers statewide after Seattle voters turned it down. It's just the way politicians are.
And anyone who believed it would only cost $2.8 billion is a fool; think more along the lines of $10 billion...this IS a publicly-financed project so nobody in charge is going to give a damn about its cost because they never have.
All this for a secondary north-south route through Seattle. Brilliant.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 7:57 a.m.
The pipe is NOT the problem. They are several tens of feet past the pipe.
And Ms. Hammond did NOT go right to work for PB. She was not working for a time and said "I would rather be an engineer building things, than be a domestic engineer". Regardless of the fun we may have using her for a punching bag, me included (pulling the steel-electrics suddenly) she does have a sense of humor about his, and a willingness to engage the sheeples, which I am uncertain that current WSDOT management has.
It is the pipe, no it isn't--we told STP the pipe was there, then told them to "dig here" right where the pipe was---many players saying Seattle folks wouldn't have to pay for the screwups, yet they voted exclusively for the tunnrl--- on and on.
Fursure, the farmer in Waitsburg should not have to pay for it, nor should the Geezer in Lynnwood.
The Geezer has spaketh
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 8:24 a.m.
Yes, they are past the pipe, but there is concern that much of the pipe is inside the excavation chamber causing a problem there. There have been difficulties with material not flowing correctly through the machine.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 10:22 a.m.
Geezer, Thank you for reminding everyone about the Steel Electric ferries being pulled from service by Ms. Paula Hammond. This unprecedented and nontransparent act started far deeper economic damage to Port Townsend/Whidbey Island regions because of the lack of ANY notification to anyone: suddenly no car ferry service on that route for far too long.
Even today, the 2 64-car baby ferries are a disastrous design, wasting far too much space for passengers instead of vehicles, as well as that discouncerting "lean" in the water, so badly that ballast was added to each boat to prevent the lean. These boats are so unseaworthy that every wind storm sees a total cancellation of service.
For WSDOT to cause so much economic pain to one region is unfathomable. It's lucky that Whidbey has another ferry and a new highway to jump onto at the north end of the island to get over to I-5.
On and on and on some more. WSDOT is too expensive to continue to be allowed to operate as-is. No taxpayer can afford this waste. Ditto for Sound Transit.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 10:48 a.m.
The pipe question is intriguing (is it an 8" ID pipe…which would be about 9.5" OD? or a 6" pipe which would be about 7.5" OD?). I would think that WSDOT folks must have at least considered the possibility that there would be section of railroad track down in that fill and if it were (God forbid) laying parallel to the direction of the tunnel then, given the problems with the pipe, we'd be back in the soup. Or maybe not. I think I read that Bertha was not designed to deal with steel items in its path. That does seem like a more than justifiable optimism. Then there is the issue of bending the tunnel under the existing Alaska Way Viaduct (stopping all traffic on the Viaduct for the duration)… that has to be a worrisome maneuver. I would expect that area to have higher than average incidence of incidental metal and a long closure of the existing Viaduct does not bear thinking about. Oh well.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 11:37 a.m.
"It would be irresponsible at this time," he (Trepanier) said, "for us to really speculate on all those issues."
No, it would BE responsible to start calculating the costs of the delays to present.
It would BE responsible to tell the public that you found a pipe in the first place, instead of hiding the fact for three weeks and allowing irresponsible speculation on buried locamotives and ships.
It would BE responsible to do your job, which is to be contractor watch dogs, not lap dogs, and make sure they are following the letter of their contracts.
Mr. Trepanier, your JOB is to get answers for stakeholders. YOU are the State's representative on this project.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 1:25 p.m.
BallarBoo, I'm certain there are already daily costs figured into all the contracts for work stoppages, to be paid by whoever can get forced by contract into paying for those days of costs. Wages, equipment rental/payments/insurance/ the list goes on and on. And up up up.
This job is too complex for WSDOT; the only way to save money is to stop the boring and build a new viaduct. And save a butt load of moola in the process, and be efficient about moving vehicles in the process.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 11:39 a.m.
Big Bertha may be the perfect metaphor for these times. Super-machine ambitiously chewing through dense muddy sediments grinds to a halt after encountering a forgotten obstacle placed in its path by its operator, whose claims to omniscient and comprehensive planning now seem dangerously suspect. Bureaucrats scurry to cover their butts with prophylactic layers of jargonistic obfuscations and mind-numbing abstractions, while wise elders nod their heads knowingly and struggle to stay awake. Somebody please pass the coffee!
Optimistic budget projections are tossed out the window. Nobody wants to pick up the bill. Emergent most likely scenario is big machine permanently entombed in muck watched over by an obsolete, crumbling, half-dismantled elevated highway. In some tower penthouse office high-priced lawyers are quietly estimating damages and drafting legal pleadings. Politicians' shifty eyes search the dark corners for scapegoats. Utopian architectural drawings of the Rejuvenated Waterfront are quietly archived. Future projections of expanded waterfront tax revenues are revised drastically downward. Civic shakers and movers stare numbly down into their martinis, scratch their balding heads and start to look for some other great problem to solve.
And somewhere a frumpy disheveled guy with a scraggly salt-and-pepper beard rides by unseen on his bicycle and smirks knowingly.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 3:26 p.m.
Well and amusingly put, Woofer. Love the sea salt on the bike.
May I add, should Big B. get stuck, we should get Koolhaas and Gehry to come back and design some sort of metallic warehouse to cover the spot where it is moored? It can house all the plans, along with schematics for the trains, bridges, monorails and tunnels that have been mooted to escape the destiny of the city's geography.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 1:01 p.m.
I did not vote for Rassmussen because of his arrogant and condensending attitude to questions about, and ignorant broken record support for the Tunnel. Don't let him back away from taking responsibilty for his share now.
Same goes for Murray. They pretty much own this now. Try as he might Murray is going to have to deal with this sooner or later, and he won't be able to put it off for 4 years. Remember, "should not have to pay," is NOT the same thing as "will not have to pay."
Hold them accountable at least, and don't let them re-write history here.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 2:24 p.m.
There is not much else that journalists (or commenters on Crosscut)can do but stir the pot and fan the flames concerning the I-99 tunnel, it blockage and its predictable cost overrun. Both the engineering problems and the accounting math are very much beyond my capacity and probably most everyone here. That said, we all know that what is under that part of downtown is essentially shifting fill. So, when you find out the the plan was to use the biggest drill for a tunnel to replace a road that should not even exist if the city was green as it pretends to be, saying No was simple. Even McGinn's resolution confused matters, as did his soft shoe on the stop/don't stop it question. But one thing is for sure: there was a group mind meld in Olympia, spurred on by labor and business--usual suspects--that prevented the cheapest, most rational solution of tear down and replace with a surface road. However, fault as much Murray, Gregoire, and others, you have to add Licata (a surface road would be a pedestrian nightmare), Conlin (once green, now of the darkside), the Seattle Times, Nichols -- everybody except the Stranger, and it was against it for as many wrong reasons as right ones. The deadenders who would have (and will continue) to say repair or rebuild are even worse, since a 2nd Viaduct would have been equally hideous and even more fraught as a construction project, since it would be aboveground. That I submit would have turned downtown into a parking lot.
Depressingly, I believe now that the tunnel as the solution was made inevitable in the very decision in the '50s to build the Viaduct in the first place. The city has come to depend on the Viaduct as access for West Seattle and a route for trucking. An argument could be made that it is hideous scars like the 'Duct and the idiocy that is I-5 that splits the city in two that prevents the Seattle from floating away on its affluence and affinity for daydreaming. That may be the source the Duct's charm to partisans for a smaller blue collar Seattle. However, the political class could not ignore the possibility of waterfront property without the Duct, nor could it ignore the pressure to have a trucking route through downtown. Thus, the Tunnel. You don't even have to do the math, and perhaps it is easier if you don't.
I am ready as another to stir the pot about the cost, the danger and the stupidity of the tunnel, but don't pretend it will make the project more "accountable." I will say that if Seattle is on the hook for overruns, I will prepare to fight city hall, the port and Olympia on it, but I am hoping that putting one of theirs in as mayor will prevent that. I also take a measure of pride in that Seattle is commencing two ambitious engineering projects--there are actually three boring machines in the city--as I am a fan of big public projects. (All socialists are.) And I am mindful that grumbling and ranting about the tunnel is I am afraid not just stirring the pot, but pissing the wind. The die has been cast, let's hope that we get a score on the dodechedral dice that will give us a wishing spell. salut, rob crowe
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 11:51 p.m.
First, you are mistaken about the geology of downtown. It is not as you say "shifting fill" If it was, it wouldn't have been safe to build the numerous 20, 30, even 60 story office buildings on it.
While the tideflats and directly along the waterfront has a significant amount of fill which is Zone 1 and part of Zone 2. From there on, it is dense clay and glacially compacted sand, and gravel, excellent material to bore through. It will bore under the Burlington Northern tunnel which was built a hundred years.
The tunnel only looks stupid at the moment because Bertha is stopped. It will get moving again and most of the second guessing from Monday morning quarterbacks and amateur geologists will fade into the background.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 9:12 a.m.
Don't agree the tunnel only looks stupid at the moment, nor that "Monday morning quarterbacks and amateur geologists will fade into the background."
For some of us the tunnel has looked stupid every since the first breath that proposed it, and will continue to look stupid for as long as anything about it exists, and perhaps longer. As for fading into the background, I don't see that happening. Perhaps a little research through various media archives will convince you of what I see as obvious--those of us who believe it's the wrong idea, the wrong project, aren't likely to change our minds anytime soon, if ever, and we've been disagreeing for quite a long time now. Not a good indicator that we're going to "fade into the background."
Posted Thu, Jan 16, 12:11 a.m.
With all due respect mspat, I can appreciate why you may have been against the deep bore tunnel. There is more of a risk in tunneling than many other types of projects. That I understand. But TBMs are a very effective and on average a very reliable method of tunneling. They can tunnel for mile after mile after mile without a problem and then they can be stopped by an unforeseen geological condition. This is why a thorough site investigation is part of the process. TBMs constructed two 56 mile tunnels through the alps very successfully. That said, there was a time where two TBMs were stuck in the middle due to a spring of water. They were held up for about 4 months.
I don't expect to change your mind or or others who opposed the tunnel before the project. You are likely to carp about it even after the tunnel is completed. But if the tunnel is completed with a minimum of a cost over-run I don't think the public will be care very much about your whine.
Posted Sun, Jan 19, 8:57 a.m.
I am neither carping nor whining. I am simply stating my opinion, which I am free to do. Attacking me for what you presume is my tone should be beneath you. I acknowledge the possibility that this project may finish as you think it will. That won't change my opposition. I will be busy fighting my way through gridlocked downtown on my way to work in Tacoma, or anywhere else I want to go that requires passing downtown.
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 2:26 p.m.
This comment was 1st draft of the above. I can't seem to delete it. So I am adding a comment, which is -- this is one of those posts on Crosscut where is it is possible to learn interesting through the comments. There is a lot of noise to signal, but I appreciate the intelligence humor, and passion of folks here. Which is why the Tunnel is frustrating, since it is by far the stupidest decision I have witnessed in the state. (The stupidest decision in the city was all the time and money we spent chasing a monorail. I am as guilty as the next person on that one. Sorry for the newcomer fail.)
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 2:45 p.m.
Calling the machine Bertha is an insult to a historical figure. Just kill the project, fix the seawall and repair the viaduct. Truth is the real problem with the viaduct is the failing seawall.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 5:54 a.m.
Killing the project at this stage would be moronic. My bet is 80 percent of the money to rebuild the viaduct has been spent. Contracts were awarded. You can't just cancel them. And whether people realize it or not probably 75 percent of the tunnel has been built.
Yep, 75 percent. I know you think I'm smoking something but consider we have spent millions of dollars to design this from end to end, millions to perform a site survey and perform an Environmental impact statement, then millions to move utilities, including building a substation to power Bertha. Then 90 million dollars to build her, then millions just to deliver it, millions more to build the launch pit and for the big Red Gantry Crane as well as the people that assembled Bertha. We purchased and installed the muck conveyor system that takes the muck from the machine all way to offload at the dock and another conveyor system at the quarry where the muck is being sent. Then of course there are the concrete segment rings that have been built for the tunnel.
I saw an interview with tunnel construction manager from STP on tunneltalk.com an industry website for the worldwide tunneling industry. He said that building the infrastructure to support and launch a TBM in an urban environment was far more complex and expensive than the actual tunneling.
Like it or not people, we long ago went "all in" on this project. I guaranty that "canceling" the project at this point isn't really a viable option. We will have spent 3.1 Billion dollars and still need to replace the viaduct.
So stop with this nonsense. This tunnel is going to get built, on time and on schedule, or over budget and behind schedule, this is happening.
So, wake up and smell the coffee.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 7:26 a.m.
I woke up and made some coffee. Then I read your posts, and snorted that coffee out my nose.
acbytesla, you try very hard to spin the story to a pro-bore-tunnel story, but the truth is louder. The tunnel is far too expensive, the WSDOT is far too inept, and the basic fact that Bertha is stuck because of work that was done "for this project" as you say, shows even deeper WSDOT incompetence than most of us thought was possible.
Thanks for illuminating so much.
We simply cannot afford the billions of dollars for this 2-mile stretch of road.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 9:17 a.m.
Agree. While it's true that Brightwater eventually got finished, acbytesla, one of its boring machines is still in the ground as far as I know.
Unfortunately, I do agree with acbytesla that the project will get built no matter what it costs, now or in the future, but those of us who have warned all along about the waste and futility it represents will be vindicated not only by the horrendous costs, but by people's refusal to use it once built.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 11:55 p.m.
Actually that is not uncommon mspat TBMs are frequently buried at the end of a tunnel drive. There isn't really much a used marketplace for them. They are built specifically for a given geoolgy. It is often cheaper to leave them buried than to remove them and store them and refurbish them for a future job. Often they are buried in cement
Posted Thu, Jan 16, 6:24 a.m.
Well, I'm glad I could help you enjoy your coffee cs.
But I'm not trying to spin the story, just present the facts in an avalanche of misinformation and innuendo.
It's easy to say that WSDOT is inept when you really don't have a clue what competent is. As for this project being too expensive. Maybe it is is, but we have already bought it. That is a the factual truth. There is little we can do about it now except monitor it. We have done everything except bore 90 percent of the tunnel and build the highway through it. The money has been allotted, the contracts were awarded and the construction has more than just begun. So much of the cost of this project was and is the logistics to support and launch Bertha. Don't you get that?
Nobody is happy that Bertha is stuck, but abandoning the project at this point does not make financial sense. Do you want to pay STP and the subcontractors for an uncompleted tunnel? Do you want to pay HNTB for all the tunnel segments? Do you want to spend the money to design some other replacement for the viaduct? Should we take another dozen years to figure this out? And how much will that cost?
Posted Sun, Jan 19, 8:24 p.m.
abcytesla, who favors unsticking Bertha at ANY cost, seems unreasonably influenced by favoring continuing to pour more public dollars into the muck that has entrapped Bertha. A paid shill usually spins discussions in just this way.
I'm beginning to feel that we're trapped even deeper than Bertha.
Waste not, want not does not equate to spending any amount to "fix" stuck Bertha and resume drilling. We won't strike it rich on this job.
This is the 2 mile stretch to the poor farm that will sap all our extra dollars from our childrens' future.
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 7:56 a.m.
Well, one I am not in favor as you say "at any cost". I am in favor of not making rash decisions based on a short delay.
Two, neither one of us knows why Bertha is "stuck". We also don't know how much the delay costs. Yet you blame the delay on "incompetence" at WSDOT. Which is reckless. Maybe WSDOT has been incompetent in how they have administered this project. But I haven't seen any actual evidence of that.
I'm sure you will point to the obvious fact that "Bertha" is in the repair shop being diagnosed and repaired. But declaring WSDOT "incompetent" because of this is like blaming the guy who buys a new truck because his new truck broke down.
Your suggestion that we halt a project that has been designed, engineered with the vast majority of the contracts for the construction awarded and a very significant amount of the construction started to stop for the sake of our children. Yet you don't have a clue what is wrong and what it will cost to go forward.
And not once do you acknowledge that it is far more likely to cost our children far more money to abandon the project at this point than to carry on.
That certainly doesn't show a lot of commonsense cs.
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 9:57 a.m.
abcytesla, your patronizing words don't provide any evidence of a well-run taxpayer funded office over at WSDOT.
The total that WSDOT has wasted on this project, on the 520 project, the I-5 derelict bridge falling into the river and many other much quieter, less known errors in judgement, planning and execution of work likely exceeds $100 million dollars in just the last 3 years.
Do we have an annual budget line item for "POOR DECISION MAKING BY WSDOT" in the State budget?
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 5:45 p.m.
"Determining the cause of Bertha's problems is complicated because the area is filled with groundwater. Workers have pumped-off much of the water though this creates a risk that the ground above the machine could sink. Preedy said the agency was monitoring the ground around the viaduct and nearby buildings, and any movement has been minor."
In other words, Bertha has already altered ground water conditions and caused ground movement near buildings. Whoa! The finished bore tunnel (which descends another 60' or so before its ascent to Denny Triangle) will further alter ground water conditions and cause 'major' ground movement below buildings.
Uh, let's not give a single thought about collapsable cavernous voids, new water channels developing who knows where, weak seawall replacement failure causing more water to flow wherever, the potentially devastating affect any earthquake along the Seattle fault will have, like, uh, you know, like whatevuh man. Just think about a new pretty beach and pretty fish and plants and fun waterfront stuff and money, okay? Who wants to think about Seattle collapsing into a pile of rubble? That would be no fun to think about.
La la la la Lah. Sing the Seattler idiot song. La la la, la-lah!
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 11:56 p.m.
Of course they have given thoughts to all that you have mentioned. That is why many core samples along the route were drilled in the last ten years. In fact, understanding the geology and groundwater conditions is the reason Bertha hit a pipe. It was a former well drilled along with other to understand groundwater movement in the area.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 7:34 a.m.
Oooohhhh! All those big, smart engineers thought of it all!!! SWOOOOONNNN .......
Posted Tue, Jan 14, 10:43 p.m.
One of the most interesting topics in the comments is the groundwater. There's a reason Spring Street has its name - early Seattle residents got their drinking water from springs. So, this raises a question. Just how much water are we talking about at the level where the tunnel will be located, once construction is done? Is there water movement and migration that will be blocked by tunnel? If so, what is the plan for dealing with that water?
A related question then: in the first 1000 yards, is the mix of water to soil at the forecasted level? Or is this one of the issues alluded to?
A final question: is there a point at which this whole project becomes too expensive and we look to other options, such as cut and cover or a replacement viaduct?
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 12:03 p.m.
Yes, there is a Plan B.
The project FEIS depicts the ideal Cut-Cover Tunnel/Seawall. It was concealled from voters during the 2007 voter referendum, yet is the only tunnel option possible to construct without first dismantling the AWV. The rallying cry of "horrible construction disruption" was a lie. Wsdot was gambling voter approval of the elevated replacement. The first 1000' of bore tunnel can lead to this Cut-Cover Tunnel/Seawall with a north portal near Pike Street. The construction work at Aurora can lead to an extension of the Battery Street Tunnel. There are two options for Lower Belltown: TWO stoplight intersections or NO intersections with SR99 reconstructed below Elliott/Western.
Plan B is disruptive and expensive, but BERTHA is a murderous whore.
Rename BERTHA: Crunican or Hammond.
The poorly engineered AWV is derelict. Plan B includes a solid Seawall
instead of an unreliable Sea-Fence.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 10:05 p.m.
Repair the Alaskan Way Viaduct as we just did (on time and on budget by SDOT) with the Spokane Street Viaduct.
Posted Wed, Jan 15, 1:54 p.m.
After perusing a story with an astonishingly misleading headline followed by the school yard behavior of the comments and reflected upon other transportation dramas that have played out in Seattle, I have concluded that the behavior of the political leaders, economic movers and shakers, gadfly's and even the voters seriously impedes forward progress for the city and the region as a whole. I see a complete lack of realistic vision. Instead what I see is a combination of personal greed, manipulation wrapped in the delusion that someone knows what is best and sometimes the inability to pick a course of action and stick with it. Argue all you want it accomplishes nothing.
Consider this, the city and region is not well prepared for a major earthquake. While seismic standards are critical, the populace and business community do not appreciate the potential disruption to essential services that will come with such a catastrophic event. How will the city and region function when power, gas, water and even transportation routes are compromised for weeks or perhaps months. For those who have spent millions on their waterfront or hillside view homes will potentially be homeless because they chose to live in places where the land may slide in a big seismic event.
My point is that I see endless fussing about issues which are not insignificant but pale beside the bigger issues which geography and geology play. Ask yourself how important to the regions economy are things such as ports, manufacturing, and adequate transportation.
Posted Thu, Jan 16, 8:05 a.m.
My guess about what's really going on:
The machine's location is sort of a point of no return, conveniently located where there are no buildings or major roads directly above. After this it will go under the existing viaduct and city and be immensely more difficult to rescue. They hit a pipe, and progressed slightly past it. Now the machine's 'warning light' is on, which could be residual effects of eating the steel.
So, WSDOT wants to make absolutely sure that the machine is OK before going past the point of no return. STP - having the 'cover' of WSDOT's clumsy leaving of the pipe would probably be ok with digging forward with the warning light on. But WSDOT is after all the client, so they are reluctantly going along with this plan to send people down there to inspect.
Probably nothing will be found. But they will have checked. The machine will proceed. Maybe it will all be fine from here forward, or maybe not.
Posted Thu, Jan 16, 10 a.m.
I think you have nailed it g_dub. One of the points you didn't mention is that at the present time, STP hasn't officially taken ownership of Bertha.
There are a lot of people covering their backsides at the moment. WSDOT did that by providing the documentation that the pipe was there and STP is doing that by going the extra mile to make sure Bertha is in good condition before continuing on with the tunnel drive.
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 8:15 p.m.
Ummmm, where is the documentation that proves WSDOT provided documentation prior to the dig that the pipe was there?
Everything I have read says they did not realize that they left the pipe there. They provided documentation that says they had wells there, but not that they failed to remove their pipes.
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 7:59 a.m.
That is in the original bid documents commonsense. No one argues this point. However STP says that they were under the impression that the pipe was removed.
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 9:49 a.m.
Yes, abcytesla, that is what my point was. WSDOT did not disclose that they left the pipes there, because they didn't even know. How could they "not know" when that project was barely a decade ago?
Is there no working human memory in WSDOT offices? The rumor I hear is that a secretarial staff member told several WSDOT officials that she wondered if Bertha had fun into those pipes that were not removed.
This all makes WSDOT top brass look incredibly stooped, and proves incompetence.
Since when do we accept incompetence?
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 10 a.m.
Let's just hope the people being "sent down" will be kept totally safe.
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 9:52 a.m.
Do we have to pay the return freight on this machine or just fill in the hole behind it?
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 10:54 a.m.
Los Angeles expressed an interest in purchasing a tunnel boring machine of this size last year, no doubt for a highway tunnel application that isn't as malevolently reckless.
Warshington State DOT is a criminal organization.
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 9:51 a.m.
We can just leave it in the ground, bury it and then in another decade, WSDOT will have some future project, spend lots of money researching everything, award construction contracts, not disclose Bertha didn't get dug up and removed, and let someone new run into it.
Just like with the current pipes-left-and-forgotten fiasco.
Build a new viaduct, and put a park on top of that if you want a new park so badly.
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 1:51 p.m.
I favored repairing the existing viaduct or, in the alternative, putting the incremental cost of any other more expensive solution on the account of the landowners who would benefit most from tearing it down. And actually, the state law does this in a way: the cost overruns are to be paid by LIDs imposed on the landowners who benefit -- not by the City's general fund. So let those who benefit the most pay the most; that seems fair. And then we can slow down on the scare-mongering about the City having an unfair financial burden from foreseeable but as yet unknown cost overruns.
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 6:30 p.m.
(Most of us) "favored repairing the existing viaduct or putting the incremental cost
of another more expensive solution on landowners who benefit most. State law does this.
Cost overruns are paid by LIDs imposed on landowners who benefit, NOT from the City general fund.
Let those who Benefit Most, Pay Most = Fairest.
Dither the Scare-mongering about
"whoever" suffering unfairly with a "financial burden"
from unknown cost overruns or whatever"
Is that what you were trying to say, lowbro?
Note the opening phrase "Most of us"
a suggestion I only pose tongue in cheek.
The viaduct was, always was, crap. CRAP.
The BOX Cut/Cover/Seawall is
'the other' state DOT PLAN B.
Other than WARSHINGFUCKINGTON STATE DOTS & Tranzit PEEPLE!
who say they try, but dont hardly ever achieve overall
transit planning objectives.
U seattler ideeuhts!!
PS: Waterfront soils below sea level at depths 75' to 110'
(roughly between Jackson and King) must be repaired.
Plan B 'upwardly' directs BERTHA
to the BOX Cut/Cover/Seawall at 75' depth.
GOT IT DUMBASSESki?
Duherrr, Which way did they goe?
Posted Fri, Jan 17, 9:24 p.m.
Don't forget that no other proposed configuration (especially this tunnel) for the AWV matches the existing viaduct in any transportation related category. The rights of ways already exist. The configuration already can handle 110,000 vehicles a day. It already provides a bypass for downtown and off ramps for the core, Ballard and West Seattle. It already meets the demands for commercial vehicles. It can incorporate modern seismic protections and other enhancements for noise abatement, bikes, pedestrians and aesthetics. It acknowledges the fact that rubber-tired, multi-passenger vehicles are still the choice of over 90% of us. And it's billions of dollars cheaper than this present mistake in the making.
Should it be refurbished or replaced…YES. Is there anything proposed, including this tunnel, that can better serve regional commuters…NO there is not.
Posted Sun, Jan 19, 8:03 p.m.
"No other proposed configuration for the AWV matches the existing viaduct in any transportation category" yadda yadda repeated one too many times, getting old, forget it, whatever...
The Box Cut-Cover/Seawall (in FEIS) "matches AWV" for essential replacement value. The Surface/transit options were a little more congested, but still possible. The DBT is a goddamn killer.
Picture the bore embedded in soft mud moving in earthquake waves.
If that picture doesn't wake enough Seattler clowns awake,
we'll just feel sorry for your losses!
Nimbwits! Bertha is NOT your friend!
Posted Mon, Jan 20, 8:57 p.m.
What's getting old is speculation about replacement values, capacities, access and congestion relating to a string of unproven designs when there's a working model available for public scrutiny on display right now down on the waterfront, where it's been successfully performing for regional commuters now for over 60 years.
Login or register to add your voice to the conversation.


text:
Greetings from Vancouver — Washington, not Canada; just outside of Portland. This is my home-away-from-home-away-from-home and I'm excited to spend the next 9 days with family.
I was awaken this morning by Chip, the baby of the family who everyone spoils.
Shortly thereafter, my Uncle Rich and I headed out to Lacamas Lake for a run – he for 4 miles, me for 12. Its a popular area for runners, walkers, and lots of dogs. It's 95% trail and marked every half mile.
Though the temperature was a few degrees warmer than I am used to for an early morning run, the trail is mostly shaded so it was still cool.
Actually, it was pretty ideal running conditions, with the exception of being a little "dewey" – I guess its the "lake effect."
My legs were very tired so I just kept things simple. Not being very familiar with the trail, I just took my time taking in the scenery and stopping for photos.
It wasn't as flat as I thought it was. There were tiny rolling hills, which kept things interesting. I cruised along until I got to the end of the trail and realized it was only 3.5 miles out. I thought it would have been about 7. I tried to run past the end of the trail and only got as far as this place, another .25 mile:
The shoulder on the road ended, so I turned around and headed back. It was about this time that the iPod on my iPhone started going bezerk. It would either stop on its own, or start "Voice Control." I don't even know how to work the Voice Control feature, so I have no idea how this all started happening. I couldn't get it to stop. I even powered it off and on, but still no luck. It was driving me crazy so I turned it off and tried to run without music. That lasted all of about 2 miles – maybe. I couldn't take the sound of my breathing and stomping so I sucked it up and put the music back on and dealt with the constant adjustments.
By the time I got back to the start of the trail I had only run 7.5 miles. I thought about running all the way home, but my legs were really tired. I've been having some pain in my left leg, and while it only hurt during the first few miles, my foot also bothered me a little so I dumped that idea. I hated having to repeat. While my iPod was going nuts, I could deal with it. Instead, what almost made it me quit was the chafing on my lower back at my waistline. It hurt so bad that if I wasn't in the middle of the trail, I might have. But I had to get back to the start of the trail so I trudged on and eventually, managed to finish all 12 miles.
While this run wasn't one of my favorites, I must say, runners in Washington made it exceptionally pleasant, despite the challenges. They were really, really friendly. In California we usually get a nod if we make eye contact all. Here, they not only make eye contact and nod, but they also wave AND say "hello" or "good morning." And not just 1 or 2 people – EVERYONE!
Later in the day, after a post-run nap, we headed out to watch my cousin Riley's ballgame. He's on the Columbia Little League All-Star game. It was pretty hot out there, but we had a nice set-up:
The Columbia team won, 11-1 in 4 innings. They normally play 6 innings, but one of the kids hit a grand slam, putting the mercy rule into effect. Riley went 2-3 with a run and a stolen base.
The rest of the trip plans to be pretty much more of the same. Lots of baseball, probably some hiking, and exploring more running paths — including the course for the Portland Marathon!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Windows 8 will allow users to pay for game, movie and music content with a credit card instead of forcing them to use Microsoft Points, as it did in the beta.
According to The Verge, Microsoft's new operating system features the option to pay using Points alongside real money transactions.
Although the change currently only applies to Windows 8, the phasing out of Microsoft's virtual currency could soon carry over to Xbox 360.
In January a report suggested Microsoft will be dropping the use of 'Points' on Xbox Live by the end of 2012. It was said that the change would apply to Windows Phone too.
Microsoft later labelled the brief appearance of real money items on Xbox Live Marketplace an "error", adding that it has no immediate plans to phase out MS Points.


text:
Home → Consumer Help → Credit Troubles
Credit Troubles
Check Your Credit Records with a Truly Free Credit Report
Thanks to a new website created by the three major credit bureaus in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, you may get a free credit report from each of the three credit agencies every 12 months. You may also choose to request the report from just one agency every four months so that you can space out your free credit report and monitor it all year without any fees. Either way, you will get one, two or three credit reports instantly after answering a few questions on the following website: annualcreditreport.com. In addition to the voluntary free credit report offered there, Maine law provides that Maine citizens are entitled to a free credit report every year. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may request your free credit report by phone by calling: 1-877-322-8228, or by mail by writing to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
If you find any information that is not accurate, you have a right to have that information corrected. If you find many open credit accounts that you no longer use, you can improve your credit rating by closing unnecessary credit card or credit line accounts.


text:
Keep it simple, tasty and natural that's the Chunk philosophy.
Use only the best local produce, traditional recipes and handmade methods and you can create pies and pasties that are simply delicious.And when you've got fantastic, natural ingredients, why spoil their flavours with additives, preservatives, colourings and other junk? So we don't.
We just take local, free range meats, local veg, cheeses and ales and combine them with our melt-in-the-mouth, buttery pastry.
The result? Pies, Pasties, Pork Pies and Sausage Rolls
that taste absolutely awesome!


text: Hi, C-DAC, GIST Group is actively participating in this initiative. In fact localization for all 22 scheduled indian languages is in our portfolio. You may like to visit http://www.ildc.in website for seeing Open Office localized in all Indian languages. Please let me know if you need more information. Regards Chandrakant Dhutadmal 020-25503456. ________________________________ From: Swapnil Bhartiya <swapnil.bhartiya at gmail.com> To: ilugc at ae.iitm.ac.in; ilugd at lists.linux-delhi.org; "GNU/Linux Users Group, Mumbai, India" <linuxers at mm.ilug-bom.org.in>; Pune GNU/Linux Users Group Mailing List <plug-mail at plug.org.in> Sent: Sunday, February 5, 2012 1:17 PM Subject: [PLUG] LibreOffice In Indian Languages Hi, I am meeting with the Founder of LibreOffice at FOSDEM and he was interested in knowing what kind of localization work is going on for LibreOffice. I think there are some active communities. I would like to connect them with LibreOffice can you point me to someone? Swapnil Bhartiya _______________________________________ Pune GNU/Linux Users Group Mailing List


text:
The Great Lakes provide an exciting and interesting theme for a lesson, unit or field experience. Our education staff are always willing to offer support and expertise in blending your GLA visit with classroom curriculum. We have a variety of teaching kits and materials available to you at no extra charge. Contact us at 218-740-2027 or email@example.com for information or ideas.
Lake Effects: The Lake Superior Curriculum Guide for Grades K-8
Explore the physical, biological and cultural components of Lake Superior.
Click here to download a PDF copy.
Science Institute for Educators
The lesson plans, worksheets, maps and images from our 2011 workshop season are available for download here. Topics covered include water quality, diatoms, marine debris, Lake Superior geology, and climate change.
Accompanying teaching kits are available to borrow from Great Lakes Aquarium for free! Contact Samantha Smingler at firstname.lastname@example.com or 218-740-2027 for more information or to reserve a kit.
Other recommended Great Lakes and Ocean Sciences resources:
- Great Lakes in My World: Curriculum, interactive CD-ROM
- Project Wet-Discover Water: Interactive website, games, lessons, and activities
- Greatest of the Great Lakes: A Medley of Model Lessons
- COSEE Great Lakes: Lesson plans, content, grants and professional development opportunities
- Bridge: K-12 Ocean Resources
- Project FLOW: Fisheries Learning on the Web
- Lake Superior Streams: Data, curriculum, and community resources
- Ocean Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts
- US Forest Service: Forests to Faucets
Lending Kits
Complete teaching kits are available to borrow for free! Kits include lesson plan, background information, teaching props, and a literacy connection. All kits are aligned to Minnesota Science Academic Standards.
Topics covered include Lake Superior geology, fish morphology and identification, properties of water, Minnesota wetlands, the science of waves and invasive species (zebra mussels).
For more information or to reserve a kit please contact Samantha Smingler at email@example.com or 218-740-2027.


text:
This year's Budget has to create some movement in a positive direction for the many millions of people for whom the past six years have been cumulatively, increasingly difficult. Many people attending foodbanks have jobs. Too often those jobs are insecure, with uncertain hours. Poor people need better base pay, more employment security, more full time rather than part time work.
Much has been reported in recent months about providing food to families who are struggling to make ends meet, but unfortunately there is a much broader and deeper side to this story: a desperate need for everyday essentials, items that are getting left off the weekly shop long before people turn to food hand-outs.
The debate about foodbanks exposes the dark secret at the heart of this government: they just don't care. Asked about the growth of foodbanks, David Cameron always gives the same reply: that demand for foodbanks went up tenfold under Labour. He is implying that things are no worse now than before the election. The facts, however, tell a different story. One of the reasons the extraordinary Trussell Trust has proved so irksome to government is that it keeps meticulous statistics. And it refuses to suppress them.
So let's stop living in a theoretical world where Big Society is what happens when a subsection of those with surplus try to help those in need but don't have enough to meet all the need, and let's start living in the real world where the body best placed to be Big Society and to make Big Society work is you.
What struck me about this exchange was the extent to which it revealed a widening disconnect between the haves and have nots, on the level of morals as well as income, exacerbated by the recession and the current government's policy of making the poor pay for an economic mess effectively created by the greed of the rich.
None of this was necessary. None of it was inevitable. Much of it is a direct consequence of policies introduced by one of the most ruthless and callous governments this country has ever seen. And for that same government to turn around and celebrate the charities forced to pick up the pieces is not only paradoxical - it's an act of gross hypocrisy.
I talked to a constituent who had a stroke and is on benefit. After paying all his bills, he's left with just £12 a week - less than £2 a day - to spend on food. In the new year, thanks to the government's so called welfare "reforms", his housing benefit will be reduced - by £12 a week. He will have nothing at all left to pay for food.
Last week Vickie and Mathew, a working couple, were helped by the foodbank. Their finances were stretched to breaking point after they had been made redundant from well-paid jobs and were forced to take low-paid ones instead. They've sold everything that they can and Vickie had gone without food for four days before she was referred to the foodbank by a children's centre. She told us that they can't afford any Christmas presents for their two young children, so she's been hiding some of their toys to give them something to unwrap on Christmas day.


text:
Lufthansa Cargo managed to increase traffic in November despite ongoing strikes by pilots, while its leading European rivals posted lower volumes as they prepare to downsize their freighter operations.
- Air Cargo
- Cargo Airlines
- Air Cargo
- Cargo Airlines
- British Airways World Cargo
British Airways World Cargo
- Air Cargo
- Cargo Airlines
- British Airways World Cargo
British Airways World Cargo
31 Oct 2014
IAG Cargo's revenue declined nearly 8 percent in the third quarter as a reduction in British Airways freighter operations offset an improved performance at its Spanish partner Iberia.
08 Sep 2014
The gap between the sluggish European air cargo sector and the resurgent global market looks set to widen with two of the region's leading carriers posting declines in freight traffic in August.
13 Feb 2014
Iberia Airlines has reached a deal in principle with its pilots' union, SEPLA, to "introduce permanent structural change and improve the airline's viability," effectively ending...
More on JOC
Dec 11, 2014 2:00PM EST
Nov 11, 2014 2:00PM EST


text:
More Recipe Collections
desserts too
(12 Recipes) Created by GRANPATTIE
Recipes in this Collection
Good 3.6/5
(30 ratings)
This variation is made with silken tofu. It has all the flavor of the original, with no cholesterol, plus the nutritional benefits of soy protein. Submitted by TLBEUK Carbs: 30.2g | Fat: 5g | Fiber: 2.1g | Protein: 5.6g | Calories: 172.6
Incredible! 5.0/5
(1 rating)
This is avery good tasting cake and very moist. Submitted by LRRSNDRS Carbs: 11.7g | Fat: 2.6g | Fiber: 1.2g | Protein: 1g | Calories: 70.7
Very Good 4.0/5
(1 rating)
Only 14 net carbs and 0.2 grams of sugar!! I adapted this recipe from a Hershey's recipe. Make sure to use oat flour and Hershey's Cocoa for best results! Submitted by ELISE17 Carbs: 16.1g | Fat: 9.1g | Fiber: 3.2g | Protein: 4.6g | Calories: 138.3
(1 rating)
My sister-in-law sent this recipe to my husband when he was diagnosed with diabetes. He absolutely loves it and it doesn't raise his glucose levels. Submitted by CBURROWS211 Carbs: 35.6g | Fat: 15.5g | Fiber: 3.4g | Protein: 4.1g | Calories: 286.4
(no ratings)
Good for diabetics who do not like sugar substitutes. Submitted by KJSPORTINK Carbs: 21.8g | Fat: 13.6g | Fiber: 2.5g | Protein: 6.6g | Calories: 227.1
(no ratings)
Submitted by CHEFGLORIA1030 Carbs: 16.3g | Fat: 5.8g | Fiber: 1.7g | Protein: 2.1g | Calories: 121.3
(no ratings)
This rich chocolate brownie easily fits into a diabetic's meal plan Submitted by TNLORI Carbs: 12.1g | Fat: 5.4g | Fiber: 0.8g | Protein: 2.4g | Calories: 100.8
(no ratings)
(no ratings)
note i bought generic grahams as they were lower fat but hershey brand cocoa as it was lower calories so shop brands carfully. I dont work for any company and am not adverttising any product but if it says a product brand they were best health wise. Submitted by REDI2BME Carbs: 10.7g | Fat: 4.6g | Fiber: 1.6g | Protein: 2.7g | Calories: 86.2
(no ratings)
A perfect way for diabetics to have their cake and eat it too! So easy, your kids can help. Submitted by HOYTCA Carbs: 25.6g | Fat: 4.8g | Fiber: 1.2g | Protein: 6.1g | Calories: 173.4
Very Good 4.0/5
(1 rating)
a fudge that is low calorie and only has 2.6g of sugar Submitted by PHOTOMOMOF2 Carbs: 4.9g | Fat: 1.5g | Fiber: 0.3g | Protein: 1.4g | Calories: 38.4
(13 ratings)
A nice sweet flavor that's a wonderful dessert. Submitted by SIBLEY Carbs: 3.7g | Fat: 2.3g | Fiber: 0.5g | Protein: 9.6g | Calories: 78.7


text:
Technology and Today's World
Technology is the fast growing industry as of right now and it has no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact everything will be ran by technology in the near future. Technology is around us all the time, lately with computers, smart phones and televisions. So much has changed within this particular field over the years, it has come a long way since the days of the printing press and the first cellular phones. Computers and cellular phones are used everyday all over the world, in many different ways. Computers and cell phones help with businesses and work from home opportunities. Social networking and games are also a big part of everyday life of people all over the world within the technology aspect.
Technology is big business in Asia and also in the southern parts of the United States. There are a lot of schools with a specific focus on technology and it is definitely a great field to be a part of. Within this field you could have a distinct passion for engineering or the information technology aspect. Communication is also another very big part of this largely growing industry as well as medical technology. But whichever aspect you have a passion for will definitely be a rewarding and insightful career.
Seeing as technology is around us all the time, young kids have access to such complex items. Recent surveys have found that nearly 18% of elementary school age kids have cell phones. In a time where technology is king, computers and typing are learned from a very young age. Preparing them with such knowledge is honestly helping them out in the long run. Technology isn\'t going anywhere anytime soon, it will quickly keep advancing and improving everyday. With children obtaining such knowledge with such little age, they will likely be the ones able to advance this already amazing technology.
There are a lot of big technology businesses especially located in the Southern United States. The Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina is one of the most well known technology parks in the Southern United States, as well as The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park Most graduates within the technology field will find themselves relocating to states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. These states will be more beneficial in the long run for technology majors.
Technology is a very broad field and whichever aspect of it anyone decides to major in would definitely be an amazing choice. It\'s not a field that will ever become obsolete, there will always be more information to research and more programs and software to test. Robots and Artificial Intelligence will become even more widespread and well known as technology grows. Technology is rapidly advancing and improving everyday, no matter what type it is, manufacturing or medical or engineering or even domestic. There\'s no way to escape it, it\'s here to stay so you must embrace it or risk losing a ton of lucrative opportunities for the future.
Navigation Menu:
Phone technology
Consumer Electronics Show
Technology and Today's World
Technology Publications
Tech 50 2007
Tech 50 2008


text:
Raby admits her farthest trip from Bradley County was to New York once, but the 24-year-old says she had no plans of visiting the Republic of Uganda in East Africa.
When her older brother Jared had a scheduling conflict with his new job, Raby volunteered to go in his place with Visiting Orphans, a nonprofit organization that leads mission trips to orphanages around the world to aid orphans in their distress.
Raby learned Uganda is a cultural melting pot with a population of 33.8 million people, speaking English, Swahili, Luganda and various Bantu and Nilotic languages. Of the 2 million known orphans in Uganda, an estimated 940,000 were orphaned due to AIDS.
Still, Uganda is considered the "Pearl of Africa." It is a country with breathtaking natural scenery and a rich mosaic of tribes and cultures. Visitors are often captivated by its beauty, accessibility and friendliness. The natural beauty of its people and its landscapes are renowned. Uganda is also regarded as Africa's friendliest country.
Raby arrived there with 17 other people, including her sister-in-law. They stayed from March 11-23. What she saw — and more importantly what she felt — left an indelible mark on her world view and innermost feelings.
"I didn't know what to expect," says Raby. "I just wanted to love on as many kids as I could and hope I affected them somehow. Our whole point was to show them that we are the arms, hands and heart of Jesus — to love them and show them that God loves them — that was our whole point."
In addition to sharing love and compassion, Raby and her associates brought shoes, clothes, undergarments, dolls, mattress pads, sports equipment and other items for the orphans.
But what the children of Uganda gave their American visitors was of more intrinsic value than words could fully express. The Bradley Central High School graduate says she learned lessons she'd forever cherish and received a first-hand education in appreciation for the simple things in life.
"The biggest thing I noticed over there is that everything is so relaxed," says Raby. "Even in a Third World country where they're going through all of these horrible wars and diseases, they have fun in the morning.
"Instead of exercising, they do songs — dancing and jumping around. Nobody is, 'Hurry, hurry, hurry — you have to do this!' It's always relaxed and happy even in those circumstances. They live every day and enjoy it. They don't take it for granted.
"There are kids over there literally sleeping in mud huts with straw for a roof. There's no rooms, no doors — just one room. We take for granted our space and our ability to block everything out. We have to have alone time. We have to have our own environment. That's completely unheard of over there."
Raby said Americans tend to take for granted their basic amenities that countries like Africa regard as a luxury due to poverty.
"There are kids over there who don't have pillows. They don't sleep on pillows!" she says. "They have one little blanket and sleep on flat cots. In our hotels we have to have the fluffiest pillows and the nicest things. We take things for granted.
"Over there they have such joy. We gave the older kids deodorant and magic markers and it was like we gave them a million dollars. They were so ecstatic about it! They wanted everyone to smell their deodorant."
According to Raby, the temperature was 80 degrees all the time and very warm when she visited Uganda, despite it being the rainy season.
"It rains for about 45 minutes to an hour and then it dries up," she says. "The landscape was so beautiful. But they're lacking clean water and I don't think they realize it."
What Raby realized from the moment she arrived in Uganda to the day she left is how connected these people became to their visitors. For her, the connection came with a pretty little girl named Favor.
"The first day I go there she just ran up to me and sat on my lap," Raby recalls. "After that she would be there when I woke up every morning. On the days she went to preschool she would get off the bus and come right to me. I guess they pick who they like."
The bond became so strong that the day she left, Raby's emotions got the better of her. She confessed that she and Favor starting crying and could not stop. They hugged long and tight, not wanting to let each other go.
"I would love to go back and help them do anything I can," says Raby. "I loved it there. I miss those kids."
Although it was her first trip off American soil, Raby doesn't think it will be her last. Now that she has gone the distance in showing love, generosity and care for orphans of a foreign country, her desire to love and help other children in need has awakened a sense of nurturing and wonder in Raby.
"We taught vacation Bible school, we taught songs and played with the children all day. We learned their dances and taught them our dances. We talked about America also. They didn't know what snow was, what a peach was or what a horse was. It was very interesting."
Being able to show them what love was, however, was a gift Raby not only gave but also received. She says she is forever changed by the exchange.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Uganda was the first country to be eligible for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and had virtually all of its foreign debts forgiven by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other major donors.
Visiting Orphans conducts many missions trips for schools, churches and individuals from around the U.S. to orphanages all around the world including China, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Ecuador, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, India and Costa Rica.
For further information, visit www.visitingorphans.org.


text:
This site was built by and is maintained by Digital Crew Ltd.
More information on Digital Crew is available on our website at www.digital-crew.com.
The concept and passion behind the website comes from Peter Coppinger and Daniel Mackey, both senior software engineers at Digital Crew. Accounts Administration & Marketing is overseen by Cormac McCarthy.
I wanted to build a website that addresses the needs of fellow ColdFusion developers. To make this industry profitable, we need to build quality Websites and Intranets as fast as possible. I've often thought, this MUST have been done before when developing projects, but searching the web is often fruitless as the few websites that cater for component exchange are often difficult to navigate and use. I wanted to change that.
Rapid Development using solid, proven Components is the way forward for development companies. Dan and I built this website as developers, for developers. We added all the features that we as developers wanted to see. I sincerely hope that you as a developer reading this will appreciate our effort and prehaps contribute to the site with your coding talent (your tags and components) and your suggestions.
Finally just a note to say that Dan and I are comitted to harshly reviewing all components and tags on this site to ensure that you, the developer get the highest quality tags and components that you need fast!
Best Regards and Thanks for using this site,Peter
Coldfusion is an amazing product and its real power comes from its extensibility through custom tags. There have been many times where I wanted to incorporate a feature in a project I was working on fast, but went about re-inventing the wheel because I couldn't find a reliable source for other developers custom tags!
My belief is that every programmer and designer has different strengths and weaknesses. The time spent looking for custom tags would be better spent developing the main project in this day of high competition and tighter deadlines. Thats where CFTagStore comes in! Leave other highly skilled developers build the components you need!
Peter and myself have worked hard to develop this great tag market place and will work in the future to maintain its high quality through extensive reviewing and informative opinions!
If you would like more information about anything on CFTagStore, dont hesitate in contacting me!
Thanks for using CFTagStore!Daniel.


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noun \ˈpin-ˌtāl\ plural pintail or pintails
Definition of PINTAIL
: a bird having elongated central tail feathers; especially : a slender duck (Anas acuta) of the northern hemisphere with the male having a brown head, a white breast with a white line continuing up the side of the neck, and chiefly gray upperparts
First Known Use of PINTAIL
Rhymes with PINTAIL
abseil, airmail, all hail, assail, avail, bake sale, bangtail, blackmail, blacktail, bobtail, broadscale, broadtail, bucktail, bud scale, canaille, cattail, chain mail, coattail, cocktail, contrail, curtail, derail, detail, doornail, dovetail, downscale, ducktail, e-mail, entail, exhale, fan mail, fantail, female, fife rail, fire sale, fishtail, folktale, foresail, foxtail, fresh gale, full-scale, gapped scale, Glendale, gray scale, greenmail, guardrail, Hallel, handrail, hangnail, headsail, hightail, hobnail, horntail, horsetail, impale, inhale, junk mail, Longueuil, lugsail, mainsail, mare's tail, Mondale, moon snail, oxtail, pass-fail, percale, pigtail, pinwale, plate rail, pot ale, prevail, rattail, regale, resale, rescale, retail, right whale, ringtail, Sangreal, Scottsdale, sea kale, shavetail, shirttail, skysail, slop pail, small-scale, snail mail, soft hail, split rail, springtail, spritsail, square sail, staysail, strong gale, surveil, swordtail, taffrail, tag sale, telltale, third rail, thumbnail, timescale, toenail, topsail, travail, trysail, unnail, unveil, upscale, ventail, voice mail, wage scale, wagtail, wassail, whiptail, white sale, whitetail, white whale, whole gale, wholesale, yard sale
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)Any of four species (genus Anas, family Anatidae) of sleek, long-tailed, long-necked dabbling ducks that are swift fliers and popular game birds. The common, or northern, pintail (A. acuta), widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, is a long-distance flier; some Alaskan birds winter in Hawaii. It is 26–30 in. (66–75 cm) long. The male has a white breast, gray back, and black tail; the female is mottled brown. The preferred diet is seeds. The brown, or yellow-billed, and the Bahama, or white-cheeked, pintails are primarily found in South America. The red-billed pintail is a grayish African species.
Learn More About PINTAIL
Next Word in the Dictionary: pin–tailed
Previous Word in the Dictionary: pintadoite
All Words Near: pintail
Previous Word in the Dictionary: pintadoite
All Words Near: pintail
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Lawmakers approve more prostitution conviction removals
Under current law, women with prostitution convictions stemming from being forced into the sex trade may have those convictions removed only if they have since had a clean record, are facing no new criminal charges and have never previously had a prostitution conviction vacated.
The bill, passed Monday by a vote of 91-1, would remove those restrictions.
Bill supporters said it would make it easier for victims of the prostitution trade to find work and housing and help them to get their lives in order.
House Bill 1292 heads next to the Senate.


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Wycliffe (WYC) | New International Version (NIV) |
29 And when they went out of Jericho, much people followed him. [And they going out of Jericho, many companies followed him.] | 29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. |
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only. (Wycliffe Bible) | 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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World English Bible (WEB) | New International Version (NIV) |
1 <> When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, We were like those who dream. | 1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. |
The World English Bible is in the public domain. (The World English 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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Dying Light shows off all the things you can expect to experience in its expansive open world.
Views: 17,916 | Posted: 01/23/2015
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare shows off new gameplay from the new Exo Zombies mode, starring John Malkovich, Bill Paxton, Rose McGowan, and Jon Bernthal.
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The Crew's Extreme Live Update features new cars, parts, paints and missions!
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Become a Master Builder and Help Save the LEGO Universe in The Lego Movie Videogame on mobile devices.
Views: 574 | Posted: 01/23/2015
Trials Fusion adds a new dynamic to its repertoire with some online multiplayer madness.
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Parkour pioneer David Belle explains the relationship of the craft in Dying Light.
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Does this hellish expansion honor the Saints Row name?
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After some recent tragic misfires for the franchise, the definitive version of Resident Evil is here to remind us what survival horror can be.
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Hang out with historical figures like Vlad the Impaler, Blackbeard the pirate, and fictional ones like William Shakespeare from all those movies about poems and love in Saints Row IV: Gat out of Hell.
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Decorate your shelf with an official Dying Light figurine thanks to 3D printing technology.
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CBS 2 - Search Results
Hy-Vee Cake Decorators Square Off
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS 2/FOX 28)--Things got pretty tasty at Lindale Mall today.
30 of Hy-Vee's creative cake decorators from Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas squared off in a challenge to name the company's best cake decorator for 2014.
It takes a lot of practice and a lot of focus.
"I actually used to watch my mom decorate cakes all the time, said Micheala Wolfram, Hy-Vee Cake decorator.
"I'm shaking just a little bit, said Ranelle Meyer, another decorator.
To make it to the semi-finals of the Hy-Vee cake decorating challenge.
Ranelle Meyer and 29 others have three tension filled hours to decorate two different cakes.
"One elegant cake and then one whatever we want kind of cake, said Wolfram.
Under the watchful gaze of an audience.
The cakes aren't edible but it's also a chance to showcase talent and maybe pick up a few pointers from peers.
"It's a dummy cake. They are made of Styrofoam, said Wolfram,
"You're going to find something that you can't even believe people can do with icing, said Meyer.
Many contestants are here for the fun, but for others winning would just be icing on the cake.
"I'm not going to lie to you it would be fun to win, said Meyer, but only one can take the top price. Thats Sara Young.
"Getting first, this is incredible I don't even have words for it. I'm so stunned, Young said.
As are many who came out to watch.
The top three finishers earned 500, 300, and 200 dollars respectively.
All three move on to the company finals in West Des Moines on March 25th.


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Recent Comments:
Breakfast Topic: 'Every female WoW player has healed at least once' {WoW}
Mar 12th 2012 9:44AM In my guild the guys are healers and the ladies are DPS. Refuted. Moving on.
Know Your Lore: Cataclysm for Dummies, Act II {WoW}
Feb 13th 2012 12:27PM This article really cleared things up for me. Thanks!
Know Your Lore: Top 10 lore developments of 2011, part 2 {WoW}
Jan 9th 2012 2:12PM The voice acting is by far the worst single aspect of WoW. Most of the voices sound like placeholders made by the programmer that were then kept for the final product. You can almost hear the office environment they were recorded in. As a lot of the other posters have mentioned, a lot of the quotes are written poorly and voiced poorly. The quality is far below those other games with far lower budgets, which is a shame sense it pulls gamers right out of the immersion of playing WoW.
One exception: the voice actress for Jaina is top notch. She really gets her character across.
The OverAchiever: How archaeology could get a lot worse (and why we hope it won't) {WoW}
Jan 5th 2012 4:47PM I'm a big archaeology fan but I also see room for improvement. I do like how the fossil lore is actually factual information customized for the WoW world. Very clever. There's also the fact that I'm a real archaeologist so I'm working when I'm playing.
A few things: The problem with true randomness is that it creates patterns. Sometimes I have a run of Tolvir sites, and sometimes (like last week), I get all NE all the time. I thought one of the recent patches was to make the randomness "iPod random" instead of "true random," but I can't find any evidence of it now.
Piecing together an extra green item with the artifact would be a nice and modest bonus. Maybe even a site-appropriate item for transmogging.
DonSerrot's idea for site quotas would be good for the stated purpose of focusing one's efforts.
What might Mists of Pandaria mean for healing? {WoW}
Jan 4th 2012 9:20AM It's an increasingly common sentiment that healers have nothing to do in a lot of fights when the tank is uber. Other healers have asked half jokingly for fight strategy to be ignored so some damage would be dealt to the party. I've taken to dealing bad dps in my off time. Some kind of balanced heal/dps mechanic would be very refreshing.
Breakfast Topic: How do you decide which is your main? {WoW}
Jan 3rd 2012 9:58AM I think the concept of main and alts is a false dichotomy. There is one character who is the acheevo collector, but I play whomever has stuff to do.
Breakfast Topic: Have transmogrification limits stymied your character's look? {WoW}
Dec 18th 2011 11:58AM Winter. Hats.
Patch 4.3 PTR: Shaman class changes {WoW}
Sep 28th 2011 9:26AM Apparently I've been playing 4.3 already since I'm an Earthquake/Chain Lightning machine. These changes will only make my playing better.
Impressions: Rock Band Network (Creation) {Joystiq}
Sep 1st 2009 9:26PM Seasoned programmers don't fear the Reaper....


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Can I grow this? I've noticed that I see wild clematis on my hikes above my neighborhood and am thinking of giving it a try.
My main questions are: Is this something that will do well in my yard? I'm at 8250 elevation and usually see this up higher, starting at around 8500. I can put it in sun or shade or a little of both. I can plant it at the base of a ponderosa pine if that will make it happier but it would be an almost entirely shady area. Can it grow in a normal flower bed or should I stick it where the soil has not been amended? I do amend my soil with compost but there is a ton of yard that I don't bother with. It is just too much work. So, I have tons of rocky 'local' dirt that I can plant in. And, for those out there who know their taxonomy, I'm having trouble getting the name right. Is it Clematis pseudoalpina or Clematis columbiana? Thanks for any input! Jennifer |
Here is a link that might be useful: cute little picture
Follow-Up Postings:
just letting this slide down the forum since I received a response on the native forum... |
Hi jclepine, If this the same as the native here in New Mexico, I dug one up and put it in my garden and it is doing well. It is about 2 or 3 years old and gets bigger every hear. It was under a tree and I moved it to a raised bed with amended soil in the shade.Hope that helps, Gloria |
Thanks, Gloria, that does help! J |
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Entomological Research
© 2014 The Entomological Society of Korea and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Edited By: Yeon Jae Bae
Online ISSN: 1748-5967
Recently Published Issues
Current Issue:January 2015
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Submission to the Journal is open to those interested in:
systematics | ecology | physiology
biochemistry | pest control | embryology
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medical entomology | apiculture and sericulture
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News and information
Entomological Research is now offering authors the option of publishing under an optional Open Access model, called Online Open. Rather than an article being only available to journal subscribers, the author or the author's funding agency or institution pays a fee, to ensure that their article is made available in the journal to nonsubscribers upon publication.
For more information and to order an Online Open agreement for your article, please see here.
Highlight contents from Entomological Research
Read these highly downloaded papers published in 2012
Anthropo-entomophagy: Cultures, evolution and sustainability
Julieta Ramos-Elorduy
Edible insects: Traditional knowledge or western phobia?
Alan L. Yen
RNAi-based functional genomics in Tribolium castaneum and possible application for controlling insect pests
Mi Young Noh, Richard W. Beeman, Yasuyuki Arakane
Research and utilization of medicinal insects in China
Ying Feng, Min Zhao, Zhao He, Zhiyong Chen, Long Sun
Isolation and analysis of natural compounds from silkworm pupae and effect of its extracts on alcohol detoxification
Mu-Gil Kwon, Deuk-Su Kim, Jung-Hwan Lee, Sang-Won Park, Young-Kug Choo, Yeon-Su Han, Joo-Sung Kim, Kyung-A Hwang, Kinarm Ko, Kisung Ko


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[844] Neoplastic Retraction Clefting on Prostate Needle Biopsies: Is It a Prognostic Factor?
Wagner J Favaro, Athanase Billis, Valeria HA Cagnon, Luciana Meirelles, Leandro LLL Freitas, Betina D Lins, Joao FL Bonfito, Larissa BE Costa, Paola H Poletto. University of Campinas (Unicamp) School of Medicine, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Biology Institute, University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, Brazil
Background: Neoplastic periacinar retraction clefting (NPRC) is an additional criterion for the diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma, especially when prominent. A recent study showed that NPRC on surgical specimens from patients submitted to radical prostatectomy (RP) predicts time to biochemical recurrence (TBR) following surgery. We studied on prostate needle biopsies a possible prognostic value of NPRC.
Design: The study was based on 358 biopsies from patients submitted to RP. NPRC was considered as absent (grade 0), slight (grade 1), evident (grade 2), and intense (grade 3) according to the distance of the epithelium to the stroma. In cases with several grades present in the same biopsy it was considered the higher grade. Grading of NPRC was related to several clinicopathological variables: age, race, clinical stage, preoperative PSA, RP tumor extent using a semiquantitative point-count method, biopsy and surgical specimen Gleason score, pathologic stage, and surgical margin status. For statistics, we used the Kaplan-Meier product-limit analysis, and the Cox stepwise logistic regression model and the binary logistic regression for univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results: From the total of 358 biopsies, 49 (13,7%), 176 (49,2%), 127 (35,5%) e 6 (1,7%) biopsies showed grades 0, 1, 2 e 3, respectively. For statistical analysis we considered group 1 (grades 0 and 1) vs. group 2 (grades 2 and 3). There was no statistically significant difference comparing the 2 groups according to age (p=0.05), race (p=0.49), preoperative PSA (p=0.74), clinical (p=1.00) or pathologic stage (p=0.12), biopsy (p=0.72) or surgical specimen Gleason score (p=0.58), positive surgical margins (p=0.59) and TBR following surgery (log-rank, p=0.95). Tumor extent in the surgical specimen was significantly higher in group 2 (p=0.03). Group 2 was not significantly predictive of biochemical recurrence or TBR in univariate or multivariate analyses. Group 2 was significantly predictive of tumor extent in the surgical specimen in univariate (p=0.01) and multivariate analyses (p=0.04).
Conclusions: In our study, evident or intense neoplastic retraction clefting on prostate needle biopsies was associated with and significantly predictive of more extensive tumors in the surgical specimen of patients submitted to radical prostatectomy. It seems that retraction clefting is associated and more intense with tumor growth.
Category: Genitourinary (including renal tumors)
Monday, March 19, 2012 1:00 PM
Poster Session II # 186, Monday Afternoon