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Savvy Shoppers
Today's kitchen and bath dealers may be enjoying the remodeling boom, but they're not just sitting on their laurels hoping the good times keep on rolling. Instead, they're showing themselves to be savvy shoppers, constantly re-evaluating their buying plans to make sure their product offerings continue to attract quality clients. They're also continually planning toward expansion – of product offerings, of showroom displays, even of the showroom space itself.
That's the finding of a new survey conducted by Kitchen & Bath Design News, which polled more than 200 kitchen and bath dealers and designers across the U.S. and Canada about their product purchasing plans.
The findings painted the picture of an industry in its prime, led by kitchen and bath dealers who are smart shoppers, constantly refining and expanding their offerings. In fact, more than half of those surveyed expected to expand or change their product lines, while nearly a third cited planned to update or expand their showrooms in 2005. Purchasing Channels
When asked where they purchase products, 82.5% indicated that they buy direct from the manufacturer, while 40.3% also reported buying from a distributor or "whotailer." Only 0.5% said they purchase products from a lumber yard, and no dealers reported buying from home centers (see Graph 1).
Some 2.9% of surveyed dealers said they buy from a variety of other sources, as well, including fabricators, Internet sites and buying group vendors. "I need the products I need, and I'll go wherever I have to in order to get them for my clients," said one dealer. "However, I have good reps and can usually get what I want without trouble from the manufacturers' reps. But even though I haven't bought off the Internet yet, I would if they had something I couldn't get elsewhere."
The vast majority of those surveyed (87.9%) said they were happy with their supply sources, and did not plan to significantly change these in 2005, while 3.9% expressed plans to change their sources of supply this year, and 8.2% said they were unsure about whether or not they would be making changes.
As one dealer explained, "It really depends on them. I prefer to deal with vendors I know and trust, but if a vendor becomes unreliable, that would cause me to rethink things. Also, if someone came out with a great product that I couldn't get from any of my existing sources, that would impact it, too. My goal is to offer the best products at reasonable prices from reliable sources, and I will do whatever I have to in order to meet that goal."
Expansion Plans
While many people believe the old adage about not fixing things unless they're broken, savvy kitchen and bath dealers know better – and as such, many are willing to continue to change and expand their product offerings, even in a strong remodeling economy. That's because, as one dealer puts it, "That's the way you stay ahead of the competition."
It's no surprise, then, that 56.9% of dealers surveyed said they expected to change or expand their product offerings in 2005 (see Graph 2).
Said one respondent, "Even in good times – especially in good times, in fact – you want to always examine what you're offering to make sure you're keeping up to date and selling all of the cutting-edge products people want. And, you want to add products because there's always great new stuff being manufactured, new trends, new technology. If you get lazy about staying ahead of the curve, your competitors will steal your customers!"
Another dealer swore, "As long as I live, I'll never stop looking for new products. That's why I attend events like last month's Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas. That's what this industry is about, products that can help make your designs look and work better. You have to always know what's out there, your customers count on you for that. I can never get enough of new products."
But, while there's no doubt that kitchen and bath dealers are buying product, the real question is, what, specifically, are they buying?
When asked what product categories they were changing or adding to, the majority of those surveyed cited cabinetry as the category they're most apt to add to. In fact, 59.5% of those surveyed said they were planning to add to or change their kitchen cabinet lines this year (see Graph 3).
Countertops were also a popular choice, with 47.9% saying they expected to add to or change their countertop material offerings in 2005. The next popular category was bathroom vanities, with 44.6% of survey respondents saying they would add to or change their bath vanity lines this year.
Always a hot product, decorative and functional cabinet hardware is also a category dealers like to stay on top of, with 38.8% of those surveyed saying they were planning to add to or change their hardware offerings in 2005.
Additionally, 33.1% of dealers expected to change or add to their other-room cabinetry offerings, 33.1% said they would change or expand their bath sink and faucet lines, 28.9% expected to change or grow their specialty lighting products, 27.3% said they would expand or change their bath hardware and accessory offerings, 25.6% expected to change or add to their kitchen accessory products, and 24% expected to expand or change their appliance offerings.
Likewise, 22.3% of survey respondents expected to change or add to both their bath tub and fixture lines and their kitchen and bath flooring lines, while 20.7% said they had expected to revamp or expand their shower and tub enclosure lines and interior fittings/storage aids/closet systems offerings. Another 19.8% expected to change or grow their medicine cabinet and mirror lines, 13.2% said they would enhance their shower system, spa, sauna and steambath offerings, 11.6% expected to expand or change their whirlpool tub selections, and 6.6% expected to change or increase their product offerings in the area of bath heating and ventilation.
Showroom Growth
With all of these great new products, dealers are always looking to maximize their showroom space, be that by expanding the showroom entirely or just constantly reworking and upgrading displays to show off the latest, greatest new lines. In fact, a full 30.6% of dealers said they were planning to expand or change their showrooms out in 2005 (see Graph 5).
By comparison, only 0.5% of those surveyed said they expected to decrease their showroom space.
"It's not rocket science," explained one. "It's just how you do business. You add lines, test them out, get rid of what's not performing and bring in better offerings, and you'll continue to reel in business. As far as showroom space is concerned, bigger is better – and changing things out frequently helps keep your showroom fresh."
The same seems to hold true for product offerings, according to dealer response to the survey. Indeed, dealers reported offering more kitchen and bath lines in 2005 as compared to 2004, with dealers' average number of kitchen product lines being offered in 2005 reported as 10.2, as compared to 9.5 in 2004. Likewise, surveyed dealers reported carrying an average of 9.8 bath lines in 2005 compared to only 8.7 in 2004 (see Graph 4).
"Clients not only want quality, they expect choices nowadays. These are not the clients of yesteryear who came to a designer and expected to be told what to do. Today's consumers watch TV and read magazines and know what's out there, and if you don't have what they want, they'll go elsewhere," noted one dealer, in explaining the importance of offering a wide selection of products.
Added another, "The trend toward personalizing your space means people no longer want the same thing as everyone else. So you have to offer enough choices to make them feel like they can make a unique statement with their kitchen or bath. We make a point of having displays that are traditional and contemporary, in light colors, dark colors, and even a few daring bright colors like red and green. People need to feel like you can give them something special that no one else has, and you can't do that without having a good selection."
A healthy number of kitchen and bath dealer respondents also noted plans to expand the number of displays in their showroom this year as compared to last year, with 29% of those surveyed planning to expand the number of kitchen displays and 23.8% saying they were planning to expand the number of bath displays in their showroom this year (see Graph 6).
In fact, nearly two thirds (65.8%) said when they add new product lines, they make it an addition to their showroom, rather than a substitution for another product, compared to only 34.2% who generally substituted new products for non-performing lines (see Graph 7).
"Don't get me wrong, we'll get rid of a product that doesn't sell," said one dealer. "But we like to give them time to find their legs. Our goal with adding new products is to make our showroom bigger and better. That's why we add displays, too, and why we're planning a major expansion of our showroom at the end of the year."
Showroom Makeup
When it comes to their showrooms, kitchen and bath dealers are always looking to figure out the best possible use of space. "And it changes," noted one dealer. "You have to watch what sells; sometimes it's full displays, sometimes it's vignettes, sometimes it's the live ones, and something totally different."
Of those surveyed, there seemed to be a consensus that no matter how much showroom space they had, space is always at a premium. Dealers surveyed noted an average showroom space of 2,491 square feet, and said that, of that, they devoted an average of 82.2% of their display space to kitchen products and 17.8% of their display space to bathroom products (see Graph 8).
The survey showed that dealers participating had an average of 4.1 full kitchen displays and 5 kitchen vignettes or partial displays, as well as an average of 2.7 full bath displays and 3.8 bath vignettes or partial displays. And, many expressed that they change these around frequently.
"Part of it is keeping things fresh," said one dealer. "That's not just for your clients, it's for your salespeople, too, because they'll sell better when they're excited about what you have on the floor, when it's not just the same old, same old. But you also have to pay attention to your [geographic] area, what people are responding to, whether it's a hot new color or some great new cooking technology."
Added another surveyed dealer, "Some people like full kitchen displays because they can't envision their kitchen without seeing that sort of live environment. You can show them product samples or drawings, but they can't feel it until you show it to them in a whole kitchen set up that they can walk through and imagine themselves using. But other people find it crippling. They see the display and think, 'I don't like that countertop,' and now the whole kitchen is ruined for them. They can't get past that one thing [that they don't like]. Those people do better with just product samples; full displays just confuse them."
The bottom line, dealers agree, is that you have to know your market. As one dealer advised, "Know what works for your clients, know how they think, how they experience product, whether it's visually, or by touch, or by smell when it's cooking appliances. Figure out whether they like to imagine or whether they need to physically walk through it…anyone can buy product, but how you display it, how you sell those possibilities…that's what really counts."
Of course some dealers are not so quick to make changes. "Things are good, sales are strong, so why change things around?" asked one dealer. "Change for change's sake is silly. Your clients will tell you if they're not happy with your product choices by their decision [to buy from you or not to buy from you]. That's when you change things, when your customers aren't happy."
Another dealer warned about the danger of getting "change crazy." He said, "This industry has so much product, and a lot of it is actually very similar. Some people make constant changes in the name of 'keeping things fresh,' when what they're really doing is like a kid in a toy store who just wants to play with all the toys at once. They're doing it for themselves, not their clients. If you change too much, too often, your showroom never has a chance to find its own personality, its own voice. Your business shouldn't change so much that no one can tell what it's about, or who it's for. Especially when business is good, I don't recommend constantly changing out displays or product offerings. Do a little at a time; in this case, less can actually be more…"
But many others disagreed. As one said, "The technology changes fast, not just the trends. If you aren't cutting-edge, your clients will know it. The new thing they saw on HGTV, they expect you to know about it, they expect you to have it. Otherwise it's like you're a clothing store carrying last year's styles."
Concluded another designer, "Even if your clients aren't buying that apple green cabinet, they want to see it in your showroom. This is a design business, so you have to be hip to what's new and hot. And there's always something new in design. That's why buying is so much fun."


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28.07.2013 /
MILLVILLE, Minnesota - Red Bull KTM Factory rider Marvin Musquin took 2nd overall in the 250 Motocross class at the ninth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross National Championship Series. His teammate, Ken Roczen, did not finish the first moto after a bad crash but came back strong to finish 2nd in the second moto to earn 9th overall for the day.
In the first 250 moto, both KTM riders got off to top five starts. Ken Roczen quickly moved into the top three and was soon challenging Wil Hahn for the lead. Unfortunately as he was trying to find different lines to make a pass he suffered a hard crash. Roczen was shook up pretty bad and unable to finish the race.
"Luckily, I walked away from that crash with no broken bones," stated Roczen. "I know I will be feeling pretty banged up tomorrow, but I am thankful I was not seriously injured and I will be able to race the second moto."
His teammate, Marvin Musquin had better luck in the first moto. He ran as high up as 3rd position before he lost one spot near the end of the moto. He remained in that position and finished 4th for moto one with the KTM 250 SX-F.
In moto two, Musquin launched off the line to a 4th place start while Roczen was two positions back. The two teammates found themselves together early on and battled for a few laps before Roczen made the pass. Roczen then moved up a few more spots before battling with Blake Baggett for the lead. He moved around Baggett and held the lead for a few laps before Eli Tomac began to challenge for the position. Tomac made the pass on Roczen and Roczen remained close for about five laps before he began to suffer from arm pump and fell back a few seconds. Roczen held on to finish the moto in 2nd place while Musquin duplicated his first moto finish and earned 4th.
Roczen's DNF the first moto coupled with his 2nd place finish in the second moto earned him 9th overall for the day. Musquin's 4-4 moto results were strong enough to land him in the runner-up position and helped him gain a boost in the championship point standings.
Next Round: August 10, 2013 - New Berlin, NY
Results 250MX Class Millville
1. Eli Tomac (USA), Honda (1-1)
2. Marvin Musquin (F), KTM (4-4)
3. Jason Anderson (USA), Suzuki (3-5)
4. Jeremy Martin (USA), Yamaha (2-7)
5. Blake Baggett (USA), Kawasaki (6-3)
Other KTM
9. Ken Roczen (D), KTM (DNF-2)
Standings 250MX Class after 9 of 12 rounds
1. Tomac, 405 points
2. Roczen, 378
3. Musquin, 334
4. Baggett, 295
5. Zach Osborne (USA), Honda, 261

subset: commoncrawl


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Portola Reporter legal notices for the week of 7/3/2013
Notice of Correction
The Graeagle Fire Protection District has published in a Public Notice their acceptance of construction bids for the construction of Station 2 in the last two weeks, ending the 12th of July at 12 noon. It has been brought to our attention in the Plumas County Building Permit Issued List, that the GFPD has a contractor for this project. This is a misunderstanding and error on our part in acquiring the Building Permit. The contract HAS NOT BEEN AWARDED at this time.
Please accept our apology for this misunderstanding and note that the Graeagle Fire Protection District is still accepting construction bids per the two notices published in the paper. The Bid opening is scheduled on July 12th at 12 noon after the close of Bid acceptance.
Published PR
June 26, July 3, 2013|
Portola property sale
Grizzly Way
NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE TS No. 13-0003518 Doc ID #0008719805072005N Title Order No. 130043074 Investor/Insurer No. APN No. 125-111-006-000 YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 07/21/2005. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. Notice is hereby given that RECONTRUST COMPANY, N.A., as duly appointed trustee pursuant to the Deed of Trust executed by PAUL A HUBERT AND MARI A HUBERT, dated 07/21/2005 and recorded 7/29/2005, as Instrument No. 2005-0007819, in Book N/A, Page N/A, of Official Records in the office of the County Recorder of Plumas County, State of California, will sell on 07/17/2013 at 11:00AM, At the Main Street entrance to the County Courthouse, 520 Main Street, Quincy, CA 95971 at public auction, to the highest bidder for cash or check as described below, payable in full at time of sale, all right, title, and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust, in the property situated in said County and State and as more fully described in the above referenced Deed of Trust. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 277 GRIZZLY WAY, PORTOLA, CA, 96122. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. The total amount of the unpaid balance with interest thereon of the obligation secured by the property to be sold plus reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $79,341.17. It is possible that at the time of sale the opening bid may be less than the total indebtedness due. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept cashier's checks drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state. Said sale will be made, in an ''AS IS'' condition, but without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession or encumbrances, to satisfy the indebtedness secured by said Deed of Trust, advances thereunder, with interest as provided, and the unpaid principal of the Note secured by said Deed of Trust with interest thereon as provided in said Note, plus fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on a property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder's office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call 1-800-281-8219 or visit this Internet Web site www.recontrustco.com, using the file number assigned to this case TS No. 13-0003518. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. DATED: 06/15/2013 RECONTRUST COMPANY, N.A. 1800 Tapo Canyon Rd., CA6-914-01-94 SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 Phone: (800) 281 8219, Sale Information (626) 927-4399 By: Trustee's Sale Officer RECONTRUST COMPANY, N.A. is a debt collector attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. A-FN4390992 06/19/2013, 06/26/2013, 07/03/2013
Published PR
June 19, 26, July 3, 2013|
Estate of McGushin
TO ADMINISTER ESTATE of Rose Geraldine McGushin, aka Rose G. McGushin, aka Rose McGushin, decedent
Case Number PR13-00028
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of: Rose Geraldine McGushin, aka Rose G. McGushin, aka Rose McGushin,
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: Andrew D. Smith in the Superior Court of California, County of Plumas.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that: Andrew D. Smith be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests the decedent's wills and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: August 12, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., at the Superior Court of California, County of Plumas, Room 104, Probate Room, Courthouse, 520 Main Street, Quincy, CA 95971.
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code.
Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.
Attorney for Petitioner: John C. Schaller, 1458 The Esplanade, Chico, CA 95926; (530) 893-8891; SBN: 39375.
Endorsed June 18, 2013
Deborah Norrie, Clerk of the Court
By P. Marchetti, Deputy Clerk.
Published PR
June 26, July 3, 10, 2013|
Budget hearing
Budget Notice
The Graeagle Fire Protection District, on June 20, 2013, adopted a preliminary budget; the budget may be viewed at the GFPD station located at 7620 Highway 89, Graeagle, CA on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. The GFPD Board of Directors will meet on August 15, 2013 to adopt the final budget; any person may appear at that meeting to be heard regarding any item on the budget or additions to the budget.
Christy Randall, Administrative Assistant
Graeagle Fire Protection District
Published PR
July 3, 2013|
City utility billing ordinance
Ordinance No. 340 was introduced by the City Council of the City of Portola at a regular meeting held on June 26, 2013. The Ordinance is scheduled for adoption on July 10, 2013.
The ordinance makes revisions to the City's utility billing regulations.
A copy of the Ordinance is available for review in the City Clerk's office at 35 Third Avenue, Portola, California.
Leslie Chrysler
City Clerk
Published PR
July 3, 2013|


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Zimmermann gives Phillies true test in finale
Chasing NL East perch, Nationals can split series against Kendrick
At this point, the obvious goal for the Phillies and Nationals is to close the gap on the first-place Braves in the National League East.
For now, however, the two clubs are in a tense fight for second as they wrap up a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, with Washington trailing Atlanta by five games and the Phillies 7 1/2 back.
Philadelphia has won six of nine games this month, and manager Charlie Manuel believes his team has come together recently more so than at any other point this season.
"Especially the guys that have been around -- they know what baseball is all about," Manuel said. "I think sometimes people don't really understand what it's all about. But there's nothing like being a team."
The Phillies will face one of their toughest tests of the month in Washington's Jordan Zimmermann. The right-hander leads the National League with 12 victories and has posted a 2.57 ERA on the season.
All year long, Zimmermann's efficiency has been one of the most vital parts of his repertoire. But on Saturday against the Padres, he struggled a bit in that department, needing 101 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision.
"I was just deep into counts all game, and they were battling and made me work out there," said Zimmermann, who has struggled a bit against the Phillies, going 2-4 with a 4.62 ERA.
Opposite Zimmermann will be Kyle Kendrick, the first right-hander to get the ball for the Phillies in this four-game set. Kendrick is coming off a pair of very poor starts. In his last outing, he surrendered a career-high 12 hits against the Braves, and he gave up 10 hits and four runs to the Dodgers in the start before that.
Kendrick did sustain a mild concussion when he was hit on the helmet by a pitch against the Dodgers, but it didn't cause him to miss a start and he said he's OK. Kendrick is 4-6 with a 4.63 ERA lifetime against the Nationals.
Nationals: Searching for arms
• The struggling Nationals could use some rotation depth, but manager Davey Johnson doesn't think it would be in the club's best interests to sacrifice Minor League pitching talent.
"One of the areas that we have very little depth in is starting pitching," Johnson said. "But after this year, going into next year, some of our young starters will be knocking on the door. So as far as making a move -- picking up somebody at least for the short term -- I don't think that's in our plans."
Phillies: Hip soreness for Papelbon
• Manuel said Jonathan Papelbon has been dealing with occasional soreness in his hip, but the closer downplayed the ailment.
"It's when you throw five out of seven days," Papelbon said. "It comes with the territory. It's the life of a closer."
The right-hander has blown saves in four of his last 10 opportunities, but wouldn't attribute the struggles to any soreness or injury.
Worth noting
• Kendrick has faced Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman more than any other opposing hitter. Zimmerman is 11-for-37 with seven doubles and a home run for a .568 slugging percentage.
• Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard underwent successful surgery on his left knee Wednesday. His estimated recovery time is six to eight weeks.
• The Phillies are 28-24 in games against teams with winning records, but they've gone just 17-23 against clubs at or below the .500 mark.
AJ Cassavell is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Kennedy to face Dodgers for first time since fracas
Nolasco hopes to earn series victory against D-backs in debut
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks escaped their first game since the June 11 fracas without any hit-by-pitches Monday night.
Next up: Ian Kennedy's turn on Tuesday night.
Kennedy was the centerpiece of the fracas the first time around when he plunked Yasiel Puig in the nose with a 92-mph fastball. Zack Greinke, who threw seven shutout innings in a 6-1 win on Monday, retaliated by drilling catcher Miguel Montero in the back the following inning. Both sides were warned, but Kennedy then went after the pitcher, nailing Greinke in the shoulder the very next inning. Kennedy was immediately ejected along with manager Kirk Gibson.
Kennedy has since served a 10-game suspension, while Gibson served his one-game suspension.
Mattingly served one game and reliever Ronald Belisario was suspended for one, while J.P. Howell and Skip Schumaker were suspended for two, though Schumaker is still awaiting word following an appeal.
Kennedy said he won't be looking for trouble on Tuesday.
"There are a lot of people here today, I know it's getting a lot of attention, but I'm not expecting a whole lot other than them coming out hard to play and so are we."
Manager Kirk Gibson supported Kennedy.
"We would never try to hit somebody, but does it happen? Yeah," he said. "[Willie] Bloomquist is going to miss 6-8 weeks, Aaron Hill missed 6 weeks and [Did] Gregorius got hit in the head. But we recognize it as not intentional.
"We've always had spirited games with the Dodgers. We hope we can execute well. We know we have to pitch, they've been swinging the bats better. We have to stay focused on that."
Mattingly said the Dodgers wouldn't be looking to retaliate since they can't afford to lose any players either.
The Dodgers have been on a tear of late, winning 13 of their last 16 games. And they'll get a fresh look at newly-acquired starter Ricky Nolasco, who will be tasked with boosting a starting rotation that has been one of the best in the league. As of Monday, the Dodgers ranked fourth in the Majors with a starting rotation ERA of 3.51.
"He's a veteran pitcher so it certainly doesn't hurt them, it makes their rotation stronger," Gibson said of the Dodgers' acquisition. "But I think in general you have to worry about yourselves and take care of what you do."
Nolasco is having his best season since 2008, posting a 3.85 ERA with 90 strikeouts to 25 walks in 112 1/3 innings.
D-backs: Goldschmidt considered for Derby
Paul Goldschmidt has 21 homers and 74 RBIs, so he certainly caught the attention of National League Home Run Derby captain David Wright.
Even though he wasn't chosen, his stellar first half deserves respect.
"I really am sorry that Carlos Beltran, Domonic Brown, Goldschmidt, [Joey] Votto, [Pedro] Alvarez -- they were all obviously on the original list," Wright said. "The three guys I asked to do it [Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer and Bryce Harper] all said yes and jumped at it.
"It's a lot tougher than you would think it is. You don't want to leave anybody out and there are obviously guys I left out. I apologize for that, but some people had to be left out."
Dodgers: Kemp to DL
Matt Kemp was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday after irritating the acromioclavicular joint in his left shoulder on a swing Friday night. He tried testing the shoulder during batting practice but it didn't go well.
Kemp will fly back to Los Angeles to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery to repair his torn labrum and rotator cuff fraying last year.
"I think we're being a little cautious," Mattingly said.
Worth noting
• The Dodgers have two hitters with averages above .400: Hanley Ramirez is hitting .419 through 105 at-bats and Puig is hitting .409 through 132 at-bats.
• Since Aaron Hill's return from a broken hand on June 25, the second baseman picked up right where he left off: He's hitting .300 (15-for-50), and .302 overall on the season.
Jason Mastrodonato is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @jmastrodonato. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Kristi Bellock scored 17 points, Karla Gilberadded 11 in a reserve role and No. 19 Texas A&M beat No. 17 South Carolina 61-52 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals Friday.
The Aggies (22-9) snapped a three-game losing streak and will play No. 9 Tennessee in the semifinals Saturday.
Ashley Bruner finished with 19 points and Ieasia Walker added 15 for South Carolina (24-7).
Texas A&M survived a scare early in the second half when All-SEC center Kelsey Bone fell to the floor with a leg injury, but she later returned wearing a right knee brace after missing about 6 minutes.
During Bone's absence, South Carolina took its first lead 1 minute later when Bruner's layup made it 30-29.
But with Gilbert helping the front-line offense while Bone was off the
floor, Texas A&M followed with an 11-1 run to go up 42-33 on Adrienne
Pratcher's two free throws.
No. 19 Aggies top South Carolina in SEC women's hoops tourney
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rutherford ruth·er·ford (rŭð'ər-fərd)n. A unit expressing the rate of decay of radioactive material, equal to one million disintegrations per second.
Rutherford Ruth·er·ford (rŭð'ər-fərd, rŭth'-), Ernest. First Baron Rutherford of Nelson. 1871-1937. New Zealand-born British physicist who classified radiation into alpha, beta, and gamma types and discovered the atomic nucleus. He won the 1908 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Our Living Language : Current theories of nuclear fission and fusion reactions are well accepted; these reactions now drive nuclear power plants and atomic bombs. But when the notion that some atoms could spontaneously disintegrate into other atoms was first advanced in 1902 by Ernest Rutherford, it found resistance among his colleagues, who believed that the chemical elements of which known matter was composed were indestructible and immutable. Undaunted, this New Zealand-born physicist then made a large number of discoveries in rapid succession, including the discovery of three kinds of radioactivity (alpha, beta, and gamma rays), and his brilliance and prodigious output soon won over his critics. By the time he garnered the Nobel Prize for chemistry six years later, he had written 80 more scientific papers. His explanation in 1903 of the radioactive decay of uranium—that pieces of uranium atoms were literally breaking off and being emitted, thereby transforming the uranium into a new element—was compelling and soon well accepted. Astonishingly, what are arguably his greatest discoveries came three years after he won the Prize. In 1911, he showed that atoms were composed of smaller constituents: electrons orbiting around a positively charged nucleus. While the rudiments of this idea had already been proposed by others, Rutherford's experimental research conclusively demonstrated its correctness. Rutherford later identified the proton, one of the particles found in the nucleus. The Rutherford atom, as it came to be known, is the model of atomic structure from which today's well-established quantum mechanical theories of atomic structure derive. Rutherford also succeeded in inducing the first artificial fusion, fusing deuterium atoms together into radioactive tritium and a light isotope of helium.


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Tigers welcome Yanks to Detroit for home opener
Though intended to be a celebration of sorts, the American League champions' flag-raising ceremony prior to Friday's home opener at Comerica Park will likely serve as a reminder of what could have been for the Tigers.
The ceremony kicks off Detroit's home-opening weekend against the Yankees, but the focus for the Tigers -- who were swept in last year's World Series -- is already on making sure there's a different kind of banner being raised at this time next year.
Nonetheless, after dropping two of three in Minnesota to start the season, the Tigers are eager to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this season -- or ever, in the case of newcomer Torii Hunter.
"It's going to be crazy, electrifying, and it's going to be a lot fun," said Hunter, who signed with the Tigers after spending last year with the Angels. "These guys are just going off winning the ALCS, getting to the World Series, and the support system's going to be crazy, bigger than I've probably ever been a part of. Because I've never been on a team that's been to the World Series and won the ALCS. This will really be my first time experiencing this."
The Tigers, after getting pummeled in Thursday's series finale against the Twins, will look to rebound when they send Doug Fister to the mound in Friday's series opener to square off against Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova.
Nova, coming off a disastrous second-half last season, had his share of struggles in Spring Training.
After starting last season 10-3 with a 3.92 ERA before the All-Star break, Nova went 2-5 with a 7.05 ERA in 11 starts the rest of the way. He turned in a 4.19 ERA in five Grapefruit League starts this spring, but that doesn't include his final spring outing in which he was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits, including two homers, against the Blue Jays' Class A Dunedin lineup.
"He had a pretty good spring. I thought he had better command of his fastball, which is important," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I thought his curveball was really good in Spring Training. For him, it's consistency. If he's consistent, and he's consistently down on the outer thirds, he's going to be pretty good."
Nova finds himself in the rotation in part because of the injury to Phil Hughes. Both Nova and David Phelps broke camp as starters with Hughes on the disabled list alongside shortstop Derek Jeter, center fielder Curtis Granderson, first baseman Mark Teixeira and third baseman Alex Rodriguez, among others.
So while the defending AL champion Tigers take the field Friday not only with most of last year's lineup intact, but the additions of Hunter and a healthy Victor Martinez, the Yankees will be continuing to search for chemistry with their makeshift lineup.
"You never want to lose games," said outfielder Vernon Wells, acquired on March 26 to help compensate for the injuries. "Obviously they're going to come, but we haven't played good enough baseball to win. That's the bottom line. We haven't clicked in all three phases of the game. It's just a matter of time before we do. It'd be nice for it to happen sooner than later."
Yankees: Kuroda receiving treatment for finger
While Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda has some discomfort in his bruised middle finger after being struck by a line drive in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, he still hopes to make his next start.
Kuroda has been receiving ice, tape and laser treatment since the injury, with an X-ray and CT scan showing no fracture or other damage.
"The bottom line is, I'm going to try to make my next start," Kuroda said through an interpreter. "I'd have to say I don't feel normal. I feel a little discomfort there. It's a batted ball that hit my hand in my fingers, so that's natural, I think."
• Outfielder Brennan Boesch will return to Detroit as a member of the Yankees less than a month after he was released by the Tigers.
Boesch, who spent his first three big league seasons with Detroit, was signed by the Yankees two days after his March 13 release. A third-round pick in 2006, Boesch hit .259 with 42 homers and 175 RBIs while playing in 380 games over his three seasons with the Tigers.
Entering New York's series finale Thursday night against the Red Sox, Boesch had made just one appearance in the first two games, striking out Wednesday as a pinch-hitter.
Tigers: Valverde signed to Minor League contract
After extensive debate throughout the offseason and Spring Training about the Tigers' closer situation, it took only two games into the regular season for Detroit to offer former closer Jose Valverde a Minor League contract.
Valverde, who recorded 110 saves in three seasons with the Tigers, will report to Lakeland, Fla. where he will throw to hitters in extended Spring Training before joining Triple-A Toledo. There is an opt-clause in the deal if Valverde isn't in the Majors by May 5.
Detroit chose not to re-sign Valverde after he lost his closing job with a disastrous postseason, electing to give rookie Bruce Rondon a chance to compete with other relievers for the role. Rondon was instead optioned to Triple-A last week and, on Wednesday, the Twins rallied past the Tigers with two ninth-inning runs off Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke.
"We're not looking to prolong this," general manager Dave Dombrowski said of Valverde's comeback attempt. "It's a situation where he can either pitch and come back and help us here, or we probably end that relationship at that time."
Worth noting
• Detroit legend Willie Horton, who helped lead the Tigers to the 1968 World Series title, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Horton's teammate on that club -- and current Tigers radio broadcaster, Jim Price -- will be on the receiving end of that pitch.
• Boesch is 7-for-12 (.583) with a homer and three RBIs in his career against Fister, with whom he was teammates in Detroit from 2011-12.
Paul Casella is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_casella. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: A warranty for a road or bridge project in Michigan? Could be, with a legislative proposal moving through the state House. Local State Rep. Dan Lauwers of Brockway Township says it would be a handy tool for protecting taxpayer dollars. Lauwers says residents are tired of seeing road and bridge projects fall apart too soon after they're supposedly fixed. Meanwhile, Governor Rick Snyder is trying to win legislative approval for an additional $1.3 billion dollars a year to fix Michigan's roads.


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The Library of Birmingham opened in Centenary Square on 3 September 2013. The Library and the Birmingham REP are sharing a number of facilities to create a unique centre for knowledge, learning and culture.
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Collections in this library have been designated as outstanding collections by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
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City to pay for some engineering at library
The wheels on the Carnegie Public Library restoration and remodel project are again in motion after the Dell Rapids City Council agreed to pay for some of the library board's engineering costs.As a part of the $1.6 million library renovation and expansion efforts, a quest in its second decade, underground utilities now beneath the 103-year-old building are to be rerouted into the right of way at the intersection of Orleans Avenue and Sixth Street, a standard in modern municipal sanitary sewer procedure.However, project progress stalled in January when the library board said it couldn't afford the engineering costs. The total cost of moving the plumbing into right of way is expected to cost $300,000 to $350,000.The City Council voted to pay for those engineering costs at its meeting July 15."We're going to remove the roadblock of this $300,000 utility relocation … if the library board would pay for the utility relocation, build the building with a completed main floor and get the remodeling of the existing building done," said Councilor Mark Crisp.Library board member Tom Early said the conditions set by the council are reasonable and obtainable."We feel that if we can get over the Mount Everest of utility relocations I think we can really start to make some forward motion," he said.
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Overview of content related to 'resource discovery'
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Resource discovery encompasses locating and retrieving information in large, complex networked environments, including the internet. As volume increases year on year, digital information can be increasingly hard to find. JISC's resource discovery work seeks to provide advanced technical solutions that can help users within academia find their way through volumes of information, and more easily access published material. (Excerpt from this source)
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A Policy Context: eLib and the Emergence of the Subject Gateways |
Derek Law and Lorcan Dempsey outline some of the features of the policy environment which led to the setting up of the influential 'subject gateways' as part of the UK Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib). |
September 2000, issue25, feature article |


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The Creative, The Artist and The Communicator
There has been much discussion and debate in the recent past surrounding the emergence of the "new agency model." These discussions focus on the apparent need for ad agencies to work differently in the digital and social world, and on which new model will emerge as the most suitable. In his post New agency models and what we can learn from them, Edward Boches highlights three new agencies with radically different approaches from each other and from traditional advertising models. He postulates that each of these models has the chance to succeed for two reasons: one because of the new digital technologies that are available that allow for new levels of collaboration, and two because "they all started from scratch, free of the constraints, muscle memory or DNA of an existing advertising agency."
While questioning the norms and trying something new is to be celebrated, deliberately straying from an established approach or model requires a holistic evaluation of the pieces and parts that make up that machine. Most often, new ideas spring from specific frustration points in current working patterns or associated results. An evaluation of these elements leads to key insights and areas for improvement.
Unfortunately, these identifiable areas of change are voiced in narrow focuses: "We need more team collaboration," or "Our customers need to have a stronger role in our decisions." The problem with this is that working differently in one area of a model eventually influences every aspect of that model—as it must in order for real change to occur. In the agency world every aspect of the business—from sales activities, client relationship models, creative approaches, and the makeup of talent—must be evaluated for its role in making a new way of working successful.
The biggest hurdle in redefining established approaches is often falsely predetermining the priority areas of change. We become victims of the "muscle memory" of what we have come to know.
Take, for instance, the topic of how we assemble teams. In Boches' descriptions of the agencies, most of what is touted as "new" are processes or workflows that traditional roles are now working within. These are new approaches to how teams should work to deliver on the new requirements of the new age, but very little is discussed regarding who is on the teams. Disciplines are still the ingredients that make up the recipe of a team. Account service, design, UX, technology, strategy, etc.—each skill-set plays an important part in what it takes to deliver. But this isn't really new; it is rearranging the same puzzle pieces.
The real need for new agency models is born out of the demand to think differently. This includes being able to react to an ever-changing, hyper-speed, level playing field that is focused on providing seamless interactions with and between brands and customers, and between customers and peers. It has also become necessary to evaluate needs and deliver updates and enhancements in real-time—not scheduled releases—and help companies work through becoming comfortable with transparency and humanizing their brand. The agency's role today is as a mentor as much as a partner or vendor, and this requires a complete lack of ego in order to help facilitate the ongoing cultivation of relationships required to keep a client relevant.
So which department does that fall under? Which disciplines take the lead on delivering on those roles?
What if we were to explore the roles needed to produce innovative, successful outcomes in today's world, and not just the position titles that are traditionally the cornerstone of team makeup? It appears that creativity—how it is applied and the ability to articulate the solution—is paramount in the highly collaborative environments we are operating in. So perhaps instead of "UX Designer" "Account Supervisor" or "Technical Architect," new roles that are based on and defined by their contribution to the creative process are what we look for. The roles of the Creative, the Artist, and the Communicator are interesting delineations to explore.
The Creative
The Creative's role is to be unbound by guidelines and to guide the team through exploration. They are comfortable being uncomfortable and their ego is checked enough to have found the freedom to think beyond what is known, or what is thought to be known. Their role is also to challenge—to not take anything at face value or as truth. The Creative role excels at making others reframe their own questions and perceptions of any given problem. The role requires ensuring that each solution starts from a clean slate, not a default answer. This mandates continually challenging with the question, "What if?" Not in a haphazard way, but based on connection points and opportunities where others may not see them. Uncovering the relevant dots and connecting them in unexpected ways is an essential talent.
The Artist
The Artist role excels at taking the thoughts and ideas born out of the Creative's role and breathing life and expression into them. They excel at making ideas or concepts tangible and actionable. They maintain a deep understanding of why the dots have been connected in the way they have, and build from there to establish what is needed to make the output real. The role requires creativity in its ability to marry the non-conventional with the conventional to make something new. The Artist maintains a holistic view of an idea and strategically plans the touchpoints that will most successfully express the true intention. They arrange the dots in the right way to paint the correct picture.
The Communicator
The Communicator traditionally has not been defined as an independent role. Traditionally, the act of communicating ideas, solutions, strategies, or concepts has fallen to the architect of each. Business analysts author their reports. Creative directors present their concepts. But the nuance and talent that makes for a great communicator are specific and unique, and it's often a disservice to the project to force each role to be solely responsible for telling its story. In this context, communicating is not copywriting. The Communicator excels as seeing the entire picture of the creative thought and the artistry of the solution built off of it, and structures a story tailored to the audience needing to understand it, whether for internal teams or client deliveries.
What would the structure of these new roles look like? There may be multiple scenarios and configurations that could be implemented and customized based on a given agency's work and philosophies. But in establishing these roles, agencies would have the core advantage of evaluating team members on how they think, not merely for what deliverable they produce.
Agencies traditionally grow in size to support more production. But businesses need their agencies to deliver meaningful, relevant innovations, not just more widgets. There lies the disconnect. At the core, an evaluation needs to be done regarding the validity of the solutions being concepted, and what roles and talent are really needed to successfully deliver those solutions. Is the question really whether we need an art director or UX designer on the team, or is the real question whether we need help connecting dots or bringing an idea to life? The conversation at its core needs to be changed. The ripple effect of redefining our working roles is evident.
These roles may never completely replace the need for traditional disciplines in an agency. But as a first step, in addition to ensuring the representation of each discipline on your teams, the presence of each of these roles should be considered as well. The Creative thinker may live in technology, and the Artist in account service. Who is best suited for the role is not as important as understanding the importance of each of these roles in the makeup of an entire team.
Can one person possess all three? Yes. In fact a key success factor is making it a priority in the new agency model to cultivate and grow each team member across each of these roles. We all need to strive to develop our creative thinking, our ability to translate ideas into relevant, actionable tactics, and our aptitude at telling the story as much as we develop the traditional skills of our chosen profession. A model that encourages this cross-role development is rare in most traditional models. But if we are looking at redefining roles, we must look at how we support and grow them as well. Otherwise failure is inevitable.
Change is hard. Real change is rare. We cannot simply shuffle exisiting chairs and expect to have it result in more available seating. New work and new ideas require new roles to bring it to life. Where do we begin? Start with you. Are you The Creative, The Artist, or the Communicator by nature? Now build from there.
Add new comment
Compelling article. Having worked with and for ad agencies for more than 15 years I agree a change is inevitable for them to meet the demands of the day. I believe nomenclature will be important to consider as this thought catches fire. I'm getting hung up on 'creative' vs 'artist'. The term 'artist' connotes a naturally playful and creative role to me. I'm wondering if 'architect' might put some distance between the 'creative' term and better symbolize the "connecting the dots" role.
The term 'creative' as you've used it could be adopted by any title in the agency. The creatives i've known in the biz might take issue sharing that term which could create a hurdle to adopting this structure. I'd like to suggest 'the explorer', 'the architect' and 'the storyteller'.
Thank you for sharing - I really like the way explained it.
While I read your article an older article passed through my mind - with an interesting comparison of agency workers and lawyers:
quote, 'We have to act in a team, although every team member is a kind of lawyer: lawyer of budget, of the client, of utility, of usability, of look and feel, of brand and finally of the user himself. Because at the end of the project, our user/customer is the final judge.', unquote
(source: http://boxesandarrows.com/view/ux-design-planning)
if I understood it correctly - it compares:
lawyer of budget = account manager
lawyer of the client = project manager
lawyer of utility = user experience expert
lawyer of usability = usability engineer
lawyer of look and feel = designers
lawyer of the brand = each one


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(→List of Supplies and links for purchase) |
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* [http://www.lowes.com/pd_23781-138-307560_0__?productId=1067279&Ntt=cpvc+pipe&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dcpvc%2Bpipe%26page%3D4 CPVC Primer (~$1.00)] | * [http://www.lowes.com/pd_23781-138-307560_0__?productId=1067279&Ntt=cpvc+pipe&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dcpvc%2Bpipe%26page%3D4 CPVC Primer (~$1.00)] | ||
* [http://www.lowes.com/pd_23776-138-31128D_0__?productId=3133009&Ntt=cpvc+pipe&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dcpvc%2Bpipe%26page%3D4 CPVC Cement (~$1.00)] | * [http://www.lowes.com/pd_23776-138-31128D_0__?productId=3133009&Ntt=cpvc+pipe&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dcpvc%2Bpipe%26page%3D4 CPVC Cement (~$1.00)] | ||
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+ | '''Total Projected Cost: $22.07''' (oh yeah...did I mention commercial probes cost in excess of $400?! | ||
===Things to keep in mind=== | ===Things to keep in mind=== |
Revision as of 22:29, 3 May 2011
Contents |
Introduction to dissolved oxygen
Why is oxygen important? For us humans, if we have oxygen, we survive...yay! If not, we don't...boo. So, superficially, this may not seem like a very important parameter to know - you either have oxygen, or you don't. However, for many microorganisms, there are a lot of shades of gray.
For a bacteria or a yeast, different amounts of oxygen produce different results. For instance, starving a yeast cell of oxygen produces ethanol as a metabolite product instead of carbon dioxide. Starving a lake of oxygen not only prevents fishies from living in it, but also promotes the formation of large algae surfaces. Cool, right?
The biggest problem with measuring dissolved oxygen currently is the cost of the equipment available to do it. Typically, dissolved oxygen probes run well into the $400+ range, thus placing them well out of the realm of hobbyists. The cost is not wholly unwarranted - dissolved oxygen meters used a platinum catalyzed reaction with very specific membranes to measure oxygen response. By cutting out the platinum catalyst and the specialized membrane, the cost of a DO meter could drop considerably...enter the optode!
Building a dissolved oxygen probe
How an optode works
In order to reduce cost, we'll be building a dissolved oxygen optode instead of the more common dissolved oxygen electrode.
In an electrode, a small change in a voltage or current is used to detect a change in oxygen concentration. In an optode, a small change in reflected light intensity is used to detect changes in oxygen concentration:
There are advantages and disadvantages to each system.
Properties of commercial dissolved oxygen electrodes:
- Very robust - easily waterproofed
- Very accurate
- Need to recalibrate is rare due to non-reactive nature of the membrane and platinum
- Very small amperages are produced - an amplifier circuit must be built at the amp meter position
- Very, very expensive - $400 and up
Properties of commercial dissolved oxygen optodes:
- Film must be intact for proper sensing - not as robust
- Film must be permeable to oxygen, but impermeable to media (i.e. water)
- Calibration is difficult - more frequent recalibration necessary due to film degradation
- Chemicals in sensing foil respond at visual wavelengths, so background light can interfere with accuracy and precision
- Very cheap components needed
- No need for an amplifier circuit!
- Commercial probes are very, very expensive - $400 and up as well, but based on the design components, could it be made for cheap?
Although the optode has several drawbacks that make it impractical for some uses, there are enough benefits in its simplistic design to make it a potential probe that can handle many situations for $20 or less!
Background & plans to overcome technical hurdles
Flourescent Film Material
The sensor film material must not only fluoresce when exposed to light, but it must also fluoresce at different intensity levels depending on the amount of oxygen in contact with the film. Thankfully, some really smart chemists have already thought of a material to do this...get ready...its a mouthful! The chemical is formally named Tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II). Since this is such a mouthful, we'll be referring to this chemical in the rest of the document as Ru(dppf) which is chemistry-speak for the above name.
Because ruthenium is a metal missing 2 valence electrons (that's the II in the full name for Ru(dppf)), you can only purchase this chemical in one of many complexes. A complex in chemistry is when ions of an opposite charge are associated to an already charged, but unstable molecule. This creates a bond that stabilizes the unstable molecule making it safe and/or easy to handle. Typically, the complexing agent doesn't change the properties of the molecule its bonded to - it just holds on for the ride.
For our application, choice of a complexing molecule isn't very important, so we found the cheapest complex of Ru(dppf) that we could, and ordered some! It happens to be the Ru(dppf) complex (shown to the right).
Our particular part is product number 76886 from Sigma-Aldrich, which at the time of this writing was selling for $59/mg. Yes. You read that correctly - per milligram! If this material is so expensive? How do we expect to make a dO sensor for cheap? Thankfully, we don't need much of it...1mg was enough for us to make 5-6 films to test, thus bringing the price of this chemical to only $10 - $12 per film. Not too bad when you consider a commercial probe costs in the $400 range!
Detecting Film Fluorescence
Now that we have identified a film material which we know will change color when exposed to varying oxygen levels, how will we be able to detect its change in color? Thankfully, the optical properties of Ru(dppf) are very well known and the manufacturer is very happy to provide technical information on their data sheet:
The graph to the left is showing us two very valuable pieces of information. The curve near the left part of the graph is the absorbance curve. The higher this curve travels on the y-axis, the more light is absorbed by the Ru(dppf). When Ru(dppf) absorbs light, it immediately re-radiates it at a different color. The color that the Ru(dppf) emits is given in the right hand part of the graph known as the emission curve. Note that it does not emit a single wavelength of light - instead it is a range starting at ~550nm, and extending into the infrared spectrum.
What does it all mean? What this graph means is that if we can illuminate our Ru(dppf) film with a bright light which has a wavelength near 455nm, our film will respond by emitting quite a bit of light ranging from 550nm (orange) - infrared. Cool! If we take a quick peek into our electronics catalogue, we quickly find several high intensity blue LEDs with 470nm wavelengths for $1.40/each. Additionally, because infrared is such a popular frequency for use in remote controls, it is very simple to find phototransistors that are very sensitive to light near 940nm for only $0.35!
A phototransistor varies the amount of current flowing through the collector/emitter junction based on the amount of light impacting on the phototransistor's light sensing surface. The amount of current produced can very simply, and reliably be read by a using a voltage divider circuit plugged into one of our Arduino's A-D converters. Additionally, if we take a quick peek at the datasheet for the mentioned phototransistor, we can see that the listed phototransistor is extremely insensitive to light emitting at wavelengths lower than 500nm. Therefore, with a proper LED mount design, it may be possible to detect the orange light given off by the Ru(dppf) film without having to implement an optical filter...neato!
Film Permeability to Atmosphere
We need to ensure that the Ru(dppf) complex only senses oxygen change from the side of the film that our experiment is on, not the side of the film that the LEDs are on. Although this may seem to be a difficult problem at first, thankfully there are many polymers which have vastly differing oxygen diffusion properties. Additionally, it is very common that polymers list a number known as an oxygen diffusion coefficient. For super extra credit, and if you wanna be a chemistry geek, you can figure out what this means mathematically by studying Fick's law of diffusion. However, a short explanation of this will suffice for our needs.
The higher the value of the diffusion coefficient, the faster oxygen will move a certain distance. So, in order to block oxygen from getting to one side of the film, you want to use a film with a very small diffusion coefficient, and/or a thick layer of film. If you want to allow oxygen to easily transport through a film, use a thin film with a very high diffusion coefficient...simple as that!
For our project, we ended up using a 0.002" thick layer of mylar film ($1.90/foot) as the oxygen permeable film, and sandwiched our Ru(dppf) film between the mylar film and a ~0.5cm thick layer of clear vinyl adhesive ($3/tube...but you don't need much) as an oxygen barrier layer. Details on the construction of this film can be found below.
Water & Light Sealing
Since this device operates in the visual light spectrum, it must be sealed from ambient light in order to ensure low signal noise. Additionally, since the sensor is designed to measure dissolved oxygen, it must also be able to be submerged in a fluid. Although both these goals could be easily accomplished by building a custom mount on a mill or lathe, it would also make the overall device much less transferable to those without access to these expensive pieces of machinery.
Instead, I turned to the plumbing aisle of my local hardware store, and found enough elbows, o-rings, and PVC cement to make a water and light tight mounting structure for under $10 that can be assembled without any special tools or training! See details below in the build section.
How to build it
List of Supplies and links for purchase
Below is a list of links to the suppliers needed to get all the parts to build your own! Cost is listed on a per sensor basis, although you may have to buy more than the listed amount of cash from one supplier to get started.
Optode Film
- 0.1 - 0.2mg Ruthenium(II)-dppf dichloride complex (~$12)
- 0.002" clear Mylar film (~$0.50)
- Clear Vinyl adhesive (~$0.50)
- Pure Acetone Nail Polish Remover (~$0.10)
Electronics and Control
- 1x 470nm high intensity blue LED ($1.35)
- 1x 940nm phototransistor ($0.35)
- 1x 1k ohm resistor ($0.03)
- 1x 100 ohm resistor ($0.03)
- ~2 feet of old telephone cable to make your life easier (look in dumpsters people...jeez)
Mount and Housing
- 2x ~0.5" diameter circles of 0.75" thick scrap wood (again...look in dumpsters).
- 2x 1/2" CPVC couplings ($0.19/ea = $0.38 total)
- 2x 1/2" CPVC elbows ($0.19/ea = $0.38 total)
- 1x 3/4" CPVC compression coupling ($3.67)
- ~2 feet 1/2" ID CPVC Pipe ($0.78)
- CPVC Primer (~$1.00)
- CPVC Cement (~$1.00)
Total Projected Cost: $22.07 (oh yeah...did I mention commercial probes cost in excess of $400?!


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I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
Purpose of FormThis form is used to request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if you are temporarily in the United States. If you are authorized to work in the United States without restrictions you must also use this form to apply for a document that shows this authorization. Number of PagesForm 1; Instructions 10. Edition Date08/06/2014. (Previous editions, dated 05/27/08 or later, also accepted.) Where to FileE-File Your Application: Applicants in certain eligibility categories may be eligible to file this form online. Mail a Paper Application: The filing address depends on the eligibility category you entered in Question 16. Please check the Filing Addresses for Form I-765 for a list of mailing addresses Filing FeeThe filing fee for Form I-765 is $380. If you request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals, category (c)(33), you must also pay an $85 biometric services fee for a total of $465. There is no biometric services fee for any other employment category. Some filing types are fee exempt. See the form instructions for more information. Special InstructionsIf you are filing your application at a USCIS Lockbox facility:
Notes: To be considered for deferred action for childhood arrivals, you must file Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and Form I-765WS, Form I-765 Worksheet, with the correct fee or your request will be rejected and returned to you. In order to renew DACA:
For more information about DACA or requesting a renewal, visit www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals or watch a video on DACA. You may not e-file your form I-765 if you are requesting consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals. The 90-day period for reviewing Form I-765 filed together with Form I-821D begins if and when USCIS decides whether to defer action in your case. If you are an asylum applicant, you may be a member of a class action lawsuit (known as the ABT class action lawsuit) that addresses how USCIS and the Department of Justice calculate time credited to asylum applicants for eligibility to work in the United States. A settlement has been reached in this lawsuit. Please read the Class Notice regarding the settlement and the asylum web pages on uscis.gov for more information. This page can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/i-765
Last Reviewed/Updated: 11/03/2014
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text: 100 min | PG This nuanced portrait of the ultra–Orthodox Hasidic community won Israeli Academy Awards for best film and best actress, and was celebrated at film festivals around the world. Eighteen year old Shira and her family are struck by tragedy when her older sister dies in childbirth. As her sister's husband is pressed to remarry, her mother makes a startling proposition. Hadas Yaron delivers a pitch perfect performance in the lead role of a dutiful daughter who nevertheless remains resolutely her own woman. Written and directed by an Orthodox woman, FILL THE VOID offers a unique exploration of the ultra–Orthodox world from an insider's perspective.


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