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opinionBy Michael Oche
Days before the final report was presented to President Goodluck Jonathan, labour unions and opposition parties had raised fears that the report of the 21-man Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force under the chairmanship of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu may not find favour with the government and that there were strong attempts to kill the report to cover a massive fraud. Although the report has been presented with unusual controversy, thanks to Steve Oronsaye's outburst, the bubble burst when another presidential spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe stated with finality that the report is shoddy. MICHAEL OCHE reports.
It took the presidency three working days to go through the entire 146-page report that took three months of hard work to put together. In Nigeria, especially considering the attitude of civil servants, you could say that was very fast.
The manner with which the report was killed now brings to question President Jonathan's sincerity in sanitising the petroleum industry. What is, however, obvious is that, despite the startling revelations from the report, nothing has changed and the country is back to the very beginning where oil cabals continue to hold the country hostage.
But even before presenting its report, the work of the Ribadu committee was dogged by controversy as a result of the leakage of the panel's report as reported by the International News Agency, Reuters. From the leakage to the lecture on courage and integrity Ribadu gave to the president while presenting his report, all point to one direction - Ribadu suspected something would happen to the report.
Though Dr. Doyin Okupe, the President's Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs has opined that the report is inconclusive and has not indicted anyone, the report of the Malam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Task Force has further confirmed the long spoken rot in Nigeria's petroleum sector.
His statement is however, not enough to change some things about the oil industry as well as Nigerians' perception about events in the industry. Few days before the committee submitted its report, the presidency had threatened to prosecute those indicted in the report, warning that it is determined to fight corruption at all levels.
But it backtracked on its promise to the Nigerian people, choosing instead to rubbish the report, following a controversy that was started by the former Head of Service of the federation, Steve Oronsaye during the presentation of the report to the president.
While responding to the leaked report, Okupe had said the report "still requires full accent of all members of the committee and clarification." The question is, did Okupe have a premonition that members of the committee would not give accent to the report?
The hullabaloo surrounding how the Ribadu report was discredited is something that is becoming synonymous with probe committees in Nigeria - Elumelu power probe, Oteh Capital market, Farouk Lawan subsidy committee - the hunters all ended up becoming the hunted. And when the dust gathered by the controversy generated by the hunted finally settles, the real issues that led to the committees being set up in the first place are quickly forgotten.
But unlike the other probe committees, someone in the Ribadu committee outsmarted the cabal by leaking the report to an international medium, Reuters. A sign that it suspected beforehand the drama that played out during the presentation or perhaps, as most analysts now see it - lack of trust for the presidency.
When Nuhu Ribadu and Steve Oronsaye accepted to head the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, they knew they were walking into murky waters of controversy. The Nigerian oil industry is not a stranger to controversies. It is public knowledge that the petroleum sector in Nigerian is the most corrupt sector of the Nigerian economy.
Although not many Nigerians knew the extent of the corruption in the sector until the House of Representatives decided to expose the can of worms by setting up the Farouk Lawan committee to probe the fuel subsidy regime between 2009 -2011, which later discovered a mind boggling sleaze of N2.7 trillion.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) made matters worse when it later added to the figures, stating that Nigeria has lost $4.3 million over the last two years as a result of oil theft in the Niger Delta. The government has also not helped matters by repeating in its advertorial that "more than $7 billion is stolen annually in Nigeria." Such 'scary' figures are troubling to many Nigerians who feel such monies could go a long way in addressing the many challenges facing the Nigerian people.
Despite being the 7th largest producer of oil, Nigeria remains one of the poorest countries of the world with many of its citizens living below $1 (N157) per day. Social amenities such as healthcare, education, power and transport are all in a mess.
Nigeria's proposed budget for 2013 is N4.92 trillion. And the figures above show that 80 per cent of the budget is lost to corruption. A commentator puts it simply: "corruption is the only thriving sector in Nigeria".
Although, there have been several attempts in the past to sanitise the petroleum industry in Nigeria, all have ended in futility.
As the few cabals who have benefited from the sleaze smiled to the bank, poverty continued to ravage millions of poor Nigerians who looked helplessly to their government to salvage them from the cabal, which appeared to be holding the nation hostage.
Over the years, the cabal have frustrated any attempt to investigate the petroleum sector. It didn't help matters after online whistleblower, WikiLeaks, shocked Nigerians by revealing that a multinational oil giant, Shell has planted its officials into all the main ministries and every relevant department in the Nigerian government and so knew "everything that was being done in those ministries" and even boasted that the Nigerian government had 'forgotten' about the extent of its infiltration and were unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations.
How it all started
Over the years, it has been alleged that the Nigerian government does not know as a fact, the quantity of crude oil produced everyday in the country. And if it does not know, then it cannot say precisely how much is earned from the product which accounts for over 80 per cent of the country's income.
It is also an established fact that some multinationals and their collaborators have been short-changing and exploiting Nigeria in the absence of strict regulation on how the country manage its revenue from oil and gas.
It is also a known fact that the country's refineries have been producing at less that 40 per cent capacity, while millions of dollars is being spent annually on fuel importation. It is an established fact that the Nigerian petroleum sector has an organised cabal that has been holding the country hostage.
But it was after the protest that greeted his January 1, 2012 increment of price of petrol that the president vowed to sanitise the petroleum industry. While announcing that the Federal Government had accepted to reduce pump price to N97 per litre, the president said, "Let me assure Nigerians that this administration is irrevocably committed to tackling corruption in the petroleum industry as well as other sectors of the economy. Consequently, all those found to have contributed one way or the other to the economic adversity of the country will be dealt with in accordance with the law."
The president had seized every opportunity to tell anyone who cares to listen that he is ready to fight corruption to a standstill. He was so carried away that during his 52nd Independence anniversary speech, he claimed that the global corruption watch body, Transparency International, (TI) rated Nigeria second after the United States (US) in anti-corruption efforts.
The claim was later found to be untrue after TI refuted the claim when it was contacted. The president's handlers later revealed that the President's statement was based on 'notorious facts' from a newspaper report.
In February, 2012, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, the pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was named as the head of a 21-member Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force set up by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Dieziani Alison-Madueke.
When Jonathan decided to appoint Ribadu to head Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, many felt the president took a gamble, but by appointing the former EFCC chairman, the president wanted to give his anti-corruption crusade credibility.
However, the controversy that surrounded the killing of the report now raises several questions. But as leadership Sunday investigation had shown, some of the committee members and perhaps the cabal underestimated the capacity of Ribadu to do a thorough job.
A committee member told leadership Sunday that "Of course, Ribadu told the task force members that nobody would be allowed to dictate to him and I am sure that this did not go down well with certain members. Their thinking was that having been so close to Aso Rock, their views must be accepted.
"But because Ribadu has a distinct personality and some of us stood our grounds during the course of the task force, they felt threatened. I can also tell you that these members underestimate the capacity of Ribadu to manage a situation where some people have a mindset of what should be the outcome of a given assignment. Once we began the assignment, he (Ribadu) effectively took charge and told us that this was the time to leave a worthy legacy, saying that the task force must do a job that would stand the test of time."
Summary of the report
The report found out that billions of dollars of revenue was missing in unpaid debts from signature bonuses and royalties; that oil majors - Shell, Total and Eni - bumper profits from cut-price gas, while Nigerian oil ministers handed out licences at their own discretion. Hundreds of millions of dollars in signature bonuses on those deals were allegedly missing.
The report further alleged that international oil traders sometimes buy crude without any formal contracts, and NNPC had short-changed the Nigerian treasury of billions of Naira over the last 10 years by selling crude oil and gas to itself below market rates.
After the report was leaked to Reuters, stakeholders, including labour unions and civil society organisations, had accused the Federal Government of attempting to cover up the fraud. But the allegation was denied by the Presidency.
In his bid to prove his sincerity, Jonathan directed Ribadu and the chairmen of the two other task forces set up on the oil and gas sector to submit their reports to him on Friday.
The Drama
A prolonged drama played out at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday as Ribadu, and two members of the committee - Mr. Stephen Oronsaye and Mr. Ben Otti - openly disagreed about the process that produced the report and its reliability.
The presentation started smoothly with the Chairman of the Task force on Governance, Mr. Dotun Suleiman; and the Chairman, National Refineries Special Task force, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, taking their turns to summarise their reports and formally presenting same to Alison-Madueke.
The drama started when Ribadu was called upon to make his presentation. He saluted the President's courage for setting up the committees and expressed the hope that he would also display courage in implementing the recommendations.
He said all the issues raised in his report were the truth that would set the President and the country free if properly implemented because they would strengthen institutions and increase government revenue.
The former chairman of the EFCC frowned on the use of traders to sell the nation's crude oil, saying only Nigeria and Republic of Congo did so throughout the world.
"The FG should take action on issues of outstanding royalties, petroleum revenue tax and various penalties, for example, gas flaring penalties," Ribadu said.
"The companies that are operating in Nigeria today are making huge money from our country. Many of them are going out and investing in other parts of the world.
"We've found out that so many of them, even simple thing as royalties they don't pay. We need the money. We need them here. We need them to continue to do business but also let them also look at us and give us what is certainly our own entitlement.
The drama proper started when he concluded his remarks and made to present the report to Alison-Madueke.
As Ribadu was moving towards the minister, Oronsaye raised his hand signifying his intention to talk. Immediately after Ribadu handed over a copy of the report to the minister, the President recognised the former Head of Service of the Federation, who was at the time making frantic efforts for his raised hand to be noticed.
After the president recognised him and asked him to speak, Oronsaye fired the salvo by stating that the process leading to the submission of the report is flawed.
He said: "I want to say to you Mr. President that the process that has been followed is flawed and the report that has just been submitted to the honourable minister is the immediate reaction of the president's directive that the report be submitted.
The controversy
Commentators now believe that the protocol officers must have been acting a script when they allowed Oronsaye and Otti to break protocol, and in an unprecedented manner interjected when the President of the federal republic was seated.
It was an unusual situation for the two men to argue in front of the president, and it gave further credence that there was a grand plan from the beginning to discredit the report and the theatrical display put up by some members of the task force was to create an open show of a disagreement between members of the task force.
Jonathan, who was obviously taken aback by the drama that played out before him, said he was not completely surprised about the development because "oil business is always too oily." The President said any issue that had to do with revenue would naturally attract controversy. He said rather than the confrontation, any member of the committee who has additional issues to raise on the report should do so and forward them to his office through the minister or his Chief of Staff.
"Mr. President, you are doing well in fighting corruption but you still have to do more. With corruption you cannot get anything ... From my own personal experience which I want to share with you, carrying out reforms requires integrity, otherwise it will come to nothing." Those were the words of Ribadu while presenting his report to the president.
When Ribadu started his sermon on courage and integrity, was he suspicious of the president? He must have been, otherwise why would Ribadu educate the president on integrity during his presentation? Did he suspect the president would not implement his report? Ribadu himself has alleged that there were plans to scuttle the submission of the final report of the committee to Jonathan.
But Ribadu has accused Oronsaye, "During the work of the committee, Oronsaye got himself appointed on the board of the NNPC. The other gentleman, who spoke, Otti, became the director of finance of the NNPC and they decided to more or less bully everybody to take over. And they wanted us to write for them but the committee members refused".
The president did not help matters when he said becoming board members of NNPC does not disqualify them from being members of the task force.
Recall that the NNPC was also indicted for sundry economic crimes in the recommendations of the task force and the ACN has already capitalise on the president's remark by stating that it showed that the Federal Government has ulterior motive. If not, it would have waited for the task force to complete its assignment before naming Oronsaye into the board of the NNPC and Otti as the Director of Finance of the same body.
Oronsaye is not new to controversies. As head of a presidential committee, he had recommended the scrapping of 102 government parastatals, a recommendation that won him more enemies than friends.
Though he continues to insist that his disagreement was borne out of his inclination as a 'process man.' many believe rather than putting on a show in the presence of the president, he would have written a minority report.
The Presidency on Thursday rubbished the Ribadu-led Report on Petroleum Special Task Force, sayingn that the report was incomplete and incapable of indicting anyone.
"Due to the time frame of the assignment, some of the data used could not be independently verified and the task force recommends that the government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations" Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe said.
Though the report has been killed and buried, the development has confirmed the rot in the petroleum industry, of which Nigerians are already aware. But it is the Nigerian people who end up as losers.


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ELIZABETHTON — During the Civil War, it wouldn't have been all that uncommon to see slaves working in the fields while smoke rose into the sky from chimneys and campfires as Confederate soldiers camped around the property of the historic Reuben Brooks Farm in Stoney Creek, according to historian and re-enactor Grant Hardin.
The Brooks family was one of the most prominent Confederate families in Carter County, a predominantly pro-Union area. In the past, the county's Civil War history has often been overlooked, but thanks to historians and re-enactors like Hardin, that history is beginning to resurface.
While still in its infancy, the annual "Battle of Brooks Farm" has become the county's leading Civil War re-enactment, educating many about a time when much of Carter County and its surrounding areas were split politically, Hardin said.
"This area was split really bad but it wasn't heavily populated, so thereby there wasn't a lot of fighting except skirmishing and guerilla warfare," Hardin said Saturday as the re-enactment kicked off its third year.
The house that sits on Brooks Farm, which is owned by Dr. Daniel Schumaier, was built in 1820, and was originally owned by Smith Peters, who was given a land grant for his service in the Revolutionary War. Later, the property was sold to Reuben Brooks, a plantation owner, before it was passed down to his son, William Brooks, who became an officer in the Confederate Army. During the Civil War, the property became a seat of the Confederacy in Carter County.
"It was a very important place, because people that had Confederate leanings and even irregulars stopped here. There's lots of history that has taken place right at this spot," Hardin said.
While the Battle of Brooks Farm never really took place, the skirmishes and other fights that took place on and around the property served as the inspiration for the weekend's re-enactment, including the fight that led to the death of William Brooks on July 1, 1863.
While riding through Stoney Creek to recruit men to join his company, Brooks was shot and mortally wounded. He managed to reach his home and was carried upstairs to his bedroom, where he died. Hardin said Brooks' bloodstains can still be seen on the floorboards of the room.
"So this house has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of that time," he said.
In addition to the battle re-enactment, the event also featured a Civil War-era fashion show and demonstrations of the various types of soldiers who fought in the war, including infantrymen, cavalrymen and artillery men.
Hardin said re-enactments are some of the most educational ways of teaching people how the country was formed and the various "growing pains" it has endured.
"We fought the Civil War, establishing ourselves as a people by engaging each other and showing that even though we had a division among Americans big enough to cause such a horrendous war as that, they still came together and built a nation that's now went to outer space," he said.
Activities at the site will continue today. The Battle of Brooks Farm will be presented at 2 p.m., following a church service this morning.
To reach Brooks Farm, take Tenn. Highway 91 North (Stoney Creek Highway) from Elizabethton to Mile Marker 9, where the four-lane section of the highway ends. Turn right on Blue Springs Road and travel a quarter mile to the battle site on the left.

subset: commoncrawl


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Programs >Lung Health>C.O.P.D
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic progressive lung condition that produces symptoms such as shortness of breath, increased mucus, and coughing. COPD includes primarily two major respiratory diseases—chronic bronchitis and emphysema. With chronic bronchitis, the airways in the lungs are narrowed because of swelling and excessive mucus, which obstructs air going in and out of the lungs. With emphysema, the air sacs at the ends of the airways are damaged, which can limit the amount of oxygen available to the tissues of the body.
Smoking causes 90% of cases, but some COPD is caused by heredity, second-hand smoke, air pollution, or a history of repeated childhood lung infections
COPD can't be cured, but with the right treatment, people with COPD can lead active lives and live for many years. Quitting smoking can slow the progression of COPD.
If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, you may have COPD – ask your doctor about having a simple breathing test called spirometry to confirm a diagnosis.
Visit our Resource Room to order COPD resources or learn more about COPD on our national website:
The Lung Association's Breathworks program is a public health program created especially to provide free COPD information, resources, and support. Talk with a COPD educator by calling
1-866-717-COPD (2673) or visit the Breathworks website to learn more.
The Better Breathers Group is a support group where you can learn about tips and techniques to better manage your chronic lung disease. Talk with others who might have your same questions, share stories of support, and connect with others in your community who know what it feels like to be short of breath. To join a Better Breathers Support Group in your area, or to begin a local chapter, contact us by telephone at 1-800-565-LUNG (local: 506-455-8961 ext 107), or by e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
COPD Training and Educator Course (COPDTrec)
Developed by the Lung Associations of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, COPDTrec is a professional development program which will give health care professionals the skills needed to educate patients more effectively in the self-management of COPD. Participants learn about health education principles and the latest information about COPD care based on national guidelines www.copdguidelines.ca produced by the Canadian Thoracic Society. An exam to become a Certified Respiratory Educator (asthma and COPD) is expected to be offered in Spring 2007.
Visit www.asthmatrec.org for more information or to register for COPDTrec
Reference Canadian Lung Association. (2006). COPD
© 2007 New Brunswick Lung Association. All Rights Reserved.
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Hands-On: Samsung Continuum
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not two displays
I was at the event and it's pretty clear this is one large 4.0" display. if you look closely, the "capacitive buttons" are made up of pixels from the AMOLED.
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YIELD: Serves 6
For zabaglione:
Whisk Champagne, sugar, yolks and corn syrup in large metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Whisk constantly until mixture has tripled in volume and candy thermometer registers 160°F., about 10 minutes. Remove from over water. Using electric mixer, beat zabaglione until completely cool, about 5 minutes.
Beat cream to soft peaks in medium bowl. Fold cream into cooled zabaglione. Chill until ready to use. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated. Stir lightly to lessen texture before serving.)
For fruit compote:
Using small sharp knife, cut off peel and white pith from oranges. Working over bowl, cut between membranes to release orange segments. (Oranges can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover; refrigerate.)
Using tip of vegetable peeler, cut out eyes from pineapple; discard eyes. Dice pineapple. Combine pineapple, quartered strawberries, kiwis and pear in large bowl. Mix in oranges.
Spoon fruit into 6 stemmed glasses. Pour 1 tablespoon Champagne over fruit in each goblet. Top fruit with zabaglione. Garnish each serving with whole strawberry and serve immediately.


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Our Calfskin, 48", is a flat round piece of calfskin without hair. All skins sold "AS IS". We do our best to eliminate skins that have possible defects; however, our prices are based on an "as is" basis. This means, on average, you can expect to lose one out of ten skins. Obviously the tightness during installation will alter this ratio, so figure this loss in your cost.
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NMR spectrum description
1 Attachment(s)
Being a biochemistry student I have done NMR workshop using Lysozyme; now I need to describe the spectrum. I wasn't taught how to do it on the lectures and have no idea how describe the spectrum. It would be really helpful if someone could give me some guidance on what to include in this description.
Please see attached image for spectrum.
Thank you!
Re: NMR spectrum description
I think having had a look at this, the best thing would be to describe each written word, and what the graph is showing for the reader to understand it. This may not be much help, but I am only at A2 level sorry.
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The current population of Lake Charles Metro is 210,198 with the median age of 41. Lake Charles Metro's median household income is $54,549, and the average household net worth is $358,883. 39% of Lake Charles Metro's population are long term residents having lived in their homes for more than 5 years, while 11% of Lake Charles Metro's population have moved in the last year.
|Lake Charles Metro
|United States
|Median Household Income
|Average Household Net Worth
|Long-term Residents (5+ years)
|Annual Turnover
|Median Age
|41 years
|35 years
|37 years
Age distribution represents the distribution of the population in Lake Charles Metro by age group. In Lake Charles Metro, the male-to-female ratio is 102,570:107,636, which is 1% lower than the ratio of Louisiana, which is 2,288,032:2,387,256. Age demographic data is sourced from census, 2015.
Crime rate index represents the average crime rate for a local area in comparison to nearby areas and the national average. A crime index of 100 represents the national average. Lake Charles Metro, has 3% less property crime than Louisiana, and is 13% above the nation's average. Lake Charles Metro, has 14% less personal crime than Louisiana and when compared to that of United States, Lake Charles Metro is 21% above the national average.
Marital status represents the percent of residents in Lake Charles Metro that are single, married, widowed and divorced. In Lake Charles Metro, 69% of people are married and 31% of people are single. The percent of people married is 3% higher than the ratio of Louisiana, which is 66%. Marital data is sourced from census, 2015.
Household income distribution represents the distribution of Lake Charles Metro income brackets at the household level. Overall, the median household income for Lake Charles Metro is $54,549, which is 20% higher than that of Louisiana ($45,494). Income data for Lake Charles Metro is sourced from census, 2015.
Education data represents the highest level of education attained by residents in Lake Charles Metro. In Lake Charles Metro, 17% of residents 18 and over graduated from high school and 19% completed a Bachelor's degree or higher, which is 3% lower than that of Louisiana. Education statistics is sourced from census, 2015.


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If you ever want to report against a graphical program, "ubuntu-bug -w" and then click on the window of that program or "ubuntu-bug $PID" with $PID being the process ID of a running program.
This is so complicated that a 2 years old kid could to it. Now what new excuse do you have?


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United Medical Center
Md. woman says she was robbed while under cardiac arrest
Nurse accused of sexually assaulting patients at 4 D.C.-area hospitals
United Medical Center employee allegedly embezzled $400,000Comment
An employee at the D.C.-owned United Medical Center has been fired after an employee embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the facility.
Police investigating Southeast infant's deathComment
An unresponsive infant taken to United Medical Center in Southeast was pronounced dead early Thursday morning, police say.
Vincent Gray wants United Medical Center to pay back federal fundsComment
According to Ben Fischer's report, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and the city's Health Care Finance department will seek to recoup $11 million in federal funding that United Medical Center in Southeast has reportedly already spent.
Two killed in fiery Southeast crashComment
A fiery car crash killed two teenagers early Friday morning, police say.
Bed bugs found at D.C. hospitalComment
United Medical Center is dealing with its second case of bed bugs since March.
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text: PUBLISHED 12:32 15 February 2012 By Andrew Barringer JOHN STILLPosition: ManagerBio: The manager, the boss, the gaffer. Still joined the Hatters in March 2013 having enjoyed a hugely successful 10-year spell at Dagenham & Redbridge where he guided the Daggers to the Conference title as well as promotion to League 1. In his first season in the Hatters' hot-seat he guided the club to the Conference title with 101 points. It was the third time he had won the division in his career.TERRY HARRISPosition: Assistant managerBio: John Still's right-hand man who had been with Dagenham & Redbridge since 1999. As a player he starred for the old Dagenham FC – scoring a winning goal at Wembley – and has also coached at Dartford, Enfield and St Albans.HAKAN HAYRETTINPosition: First team coachBio: During the 2012/13 the coach was manager at Grays Athletic, and led the Blues to the Ryman League Division One South title with 102 points. Held in high regard by John Still, he arrived at Kenilworth Road in early July 2013. DAVE RICHARDSON Position: Fitness coachBio: Fitness coach Dave made the switch from Dagenham & Redbridge in the summer of 2013 to be reunited with John Still and Terry Harris.SIMON PARSELLPosition: PhysiotherapistDARREN COOKPosition: Kit man


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"Work from HOME and earn $300 weekly... the job will only take 1hr of your time daily and it's between Monday and Friday... the job is done at your free time... kindly get back to us ASAP if you care to know more about the job offer."
The chance to earn $300 a week may sound appealing. But this language above is from a real e-mail sent by a fraudster trying to scam a CU-Boulder student. In this case, the student became suspicious and contacted CU Police. Others haven't been as fortunate. One victim recently reported a nearly $2,500 loss to CU Police. Two other students last week attempted to deposit fraudulent checks from swindlers. Elevations Credit Union at the UMC became suspicious and warned their members before they could deposit them.
CU Police and The Internet Crime Complaint Center offer the following tips:
For more check scam prevention tips, see the CU Police webpage.


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|Mr. Peter Banko
|President & CEO
|St. Vincent Health System
Peter Banko is the President and Chief Executive Officer at St. Vincent Health System in Little Rock, Arkansas. St. Vincent is part of a Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Denver and the second largest Catholic health system in the United States. St. Vincent currently has three campuses and is currently developing an ambulatory/outpatient campus in West Little Rock. The system also is comprised of a joint venture rehabilitation hospital with HealthSouth, joint venture surgical centers with physicians, and an employed medical group with both primary care & specialty physicians.
Peter Banko is the 2014 recipient of the UALR Fribourgh Award. Read more about it here: http://ualr.edu/www/2014/02/25/fribourgh/.


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falling in and out of love with BART
Call me Capricious, but as much as I'm predisposed, I can't seem to embrace public transit consistently.
I love to sit in one of the Capitol Corridor's reclining seats with an AC (not to be confused with the bus agency) outlet nearby so I can watch DVDs of old movies uninterrupted on my laptop. Ahhh, this is commuting, I think. Did I mention the little Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007
Under: AC Transit, air travel, BART, Bicycling, Buses, Caltrain, Capitol Corridor (Amtrak), connectivity, driving, rail, Transit vs. driving | 1 Comment »


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Mia Farrow
Students Breathlessly Describe We Day Experience
Amazing, inspirational and life-changing. Those are just a few of the words being used to describe the first We Day Minnesota. Carly Rae Jepson capped off a fantastic event with 18,000 students and teachers at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center. The kids earned their way to We Day by planning one global and one local service project.
Video: Highlights From We Day Minnesota (Part 1)
It's finally We Day, something students in Minnesota have been looking forward to for months. About 18,000 students and teachers came to the Xcel Energy Center to listen to live music and hear words from inspirational speakers.


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From Mill Creek Village:
Whether you are looking for your first home or in need of a carefree living experience, Mill Creek Village is the perfect choice. With a total of 87 freehold town homes with a condo element for carefree living, Mill Creek Village has something for everyone.
Mill Creek Village is also introducing a first time design to the area for those who like the maintenance-free condo lifestyle, but would prefer to have their own garage and front door. Take a look at these unique back-2-back designs. Choose from 7 different floor plans and professionally designed interior packages by Karen Sealy from Sealy Design, an award-winning designer and regular décor expert on the national TV show, CityLine.
Nestled in the gorgeous landscape of Kitchener, Ontario, discover Mill Creek Village at Country Hills, a beautifully designed town home community brought to you by Dunsire Developments.
* Professionally designed interior packages and finishes by Karen Sealy of Sealy Design.
* Energy Star rated
* Walk-out units available
* Maintenance-free exterior finishes
* Upgraded party wall system for minimization of sound transfer
* Colonial style interior trims
* Pocket doors as per floor plan
* Satin nickel lever handles
* Kitchen stainless steel double sink with pull out spray
* Low flow shower head and toilet
* Shower pot light in standalone showers
* Rough in for central vacuum
* 3 months of free television and internet service
* New fiber optics cable community
Updated: Ceiling Heights, Project Summary
Updated: Sales Center Email, Current Incentives, Percentage Units Sold
Only four townhomes remain at Mill Creek Village in Kitchener
Be sure to drop by the sales centre if you're hoping to call the new enclave home.
Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:21 PM
Incentives at Mill Creek Village will put a spring in your step
Choose between three different offers (including a vacation getaway for two).
Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:42 PM
Free this weekend? Looking for a home? Check out these events!
Have spare time this weekend? These real estate events are definitely worth attending.
Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:54 PM
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Jean Elizabeth Muir
1 portrait of Jean Elizabeth Muir
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Jean Elizabeth Muir
by Baron Studios
5 x 4 inch film negative, 9 April 1965
Given by Baron Studios, 1999
Photographs Collection
NPG x125399
Click on the links below to find out more:
Sitterback to top
- Jean Elizabeth Muir (1928-1995), Fashion designer. Sitter in 10 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Baron Studios (active 1954-1974). Artist associated with 1297 portraits.


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Don't confine memories; display them. This magnetic frame floats your precious moments between two pieces of acrylic. Just slide your snapshots—or two, back-to-back—into this unassuming frame, and watch them take center stage.
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The Message audio Bible is now available on Bible Gateway! Click to learn more.
the curb put into the mouths of horses to restrain them. The Hebrew word (metheg) so rendered in Ps. 32:9 is elsewhere translated "bridle" (2 Kings 19:28; Prov. 26:3; Isa. 37:29). Bits were generally made of bronze or iron, but sometimes also of gold or silver. In James 3:3 the Authorized Version translates the Greek word by "bits," but the Revised Version by "bridles."


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Revenge Season 2: Who Is Helen Crowley, the Woman From Americon Initiative?
With all of the new characters strolling around the Hamptons this season on Revenge, it's getting hard to keep track. So when a mysterious brunette sashayed her way into the Graysons' lives, Wetpaint Entertainment was quick to dig up all the dirt on this member of Americon Initiative.
Here's what we've learned:
First off, this lady loves her leather. We first saw her in Episode 4, "Intuition," when Conrad visited an unknown swampland and homegirl traipsed in wearing her dominatrix outfit like it was just another day.
Also, her name is Helen Crowley. Thanks to a spoiler from back in August, we know she "exudes power and can easily dominate anyone who makes their way into her office."
This domineering diva is played by actress Wendy Crewson. Though you couldn't tell this by looking at her, Wendy played Laura Calvin Miller in The Santa Clause. Right now, you're probably searching for confirmation. Trust us, it's true — check out the proof on the left!
After busting Conrad out of jail for the murder of the White-Haired Man, Helen's set to play an even bigger role in this Sunday's episode.
We've seen photos of her attending an event at Grayson Manor for Grayson Global investors. She's also warned Conrad that by getting him out of jail, she expects something in return.
There's another terrorist event set to go down, and we can only imagine the people it will affect this time!
Do you like this new character? Weigh in below!
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Corrupt traffic police officers are to blame for the fatal road accidents on the highways, a Nakuru matatu Sacco has said.
Stephen Muli, the chairman of the Central Rift Public Service Sacco, yesterday said bribe demands by traffic police officers compromise the enforcement of the new traffic laws.
"Even if a matatu is new and does not have any defect, the driver and conductor must part with some money to be allowed to pass through a road block," Muli said in Nakuru.
Last week, a matatu crashed into a quarry in Molo, killing 21 people. The matatu, said to have been ferrying about 30 passengers, had just passed through a police road block in Muchorwe on the Olenguruone-Molo road.
Muli warned that the new traffic rules will be rendered useless by corrupt police officers. "We have held meetings with the traffic department in Nakuru, the provincial police boss and the traffic commandant to push for change in the traffic force," he said.
Muli cautioned matatu operators against yielding to bribe demands by officers.Meanwhile, police in Nakuru have mounted a major crackdown on all unroadworthy vehicles and boda boda motorbikes. Most of these vehicles and motorbikes have shied away from the road in fear of being arrested.


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SER Steakhouse To Open Atop The Hilton Anatole In October
SER Steakhouse is moving in to Nana Grill's perch on the 27th floor of the Hilton Anatole. Fine dining and fantastic views await!
Josh Groban To Release His Own Wine
Soon enough fans can sit back and relax, not only to the sounds of Josh Groban, but the taste too.
My New Favorite Discovery: Winesicles!
Yesterday I had a chance to attend Taste of Dallas at Fair Park and take in some amazing local concepts, products and freshly prepared deliciousness. The highlight was hands down something of pure genius…Winesicles!
Video: Harry Potter Themesong Played On Wine Glasses
Check out this video of the Harry Potter theme song played entirely on wine glasses. It must have taken a lot of hard work, and several long days to figure this out.
Rob Thomas On Matchbox Twenty's Bad Exes And The New Cameras In His House
"My wife and I are sitting in bed… 'Let's go look at the cameras!'" Rob Thomas may be a music superstar but it's still the little things in life, like the fancy new security system […]
Sip And Stroll At Cedar Springs' Wine & Pet Walk Tonight!
The folks on Cedar Springs know how to throw a party, and tonight is a party you don't want to miss! Tonight is the Cedar Springs Wine & Pet Walk, an evening of fun, wine, […]
10 Places Katy Perry Should Vacation
"I swear, after this song, I'm taking a f******* vacation," Katy Perry told the world after she collected an award for Artist of the Year at the NARM Music Awards last week. She's pushing out […]
Train Talks Wine And Giving Back
With Northern California producing some of the world's most celebrated wines, it comes as no surprise that San Francisco Bay Area natives Train are really into making their own.
Lady Gaga Wine Enthusiast
Could New York's own Lady Gaga be house-hunting in Sonoma Valley with her Vampire Diaries beau Taylor Kinney? Grub Street reports that she may be looking above and beyond simple housing and also hoping to […]
Dining Bliss At Oak In The Design District
Head west on Oak Lawn Avenue in to the Design District and you will find a wooden gem. The Oak Restaurant stand in the shadow of its namesake and is an urban oasis of culinary […]


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Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Power Rankings For Season 3, Episode 15
Who's livin' large, and who's been relegated to the pool house? We rank The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for Season 3, Episode 15: "The Real Housewives of Paris: Part Un," in our weekly Power Rankings. Let the countdown begin!
Ranking: 7 (out of 7)
Last week: 6 (out of 7)
Here's why: Taylor wasn't involved much this week — except when people were discussing their problems with her. We do give Taylor credit for not getting combative during Kim and Kyle's intervention, and for not making a scene when Yolanda asks why she doesn't like her. However, there is clearly tension between Yolanda and Tay, so they would be best to address the real problem ASAP. Squash it, you two!
Ranking: 6
Last week: 1
Here's why: After last week's surprising first-place finish, this week was a mixed bag for Kim. On one hand, we admire her for helping Taylor. However, when Kim is late to meet the ladies in Paris and is sounding a bit on the incoherent side, we wonder if Kim wouldn't be better off just concentrating on her own issues for the time being. Regardless, we now know that if we ever need to get Kim a gift, we'll choose something turtle-related.
Ranking: 5
Last week: 4
Here's why: Kyle's involvement this week was limited, other than supporting her sister to meet with Taylor. We definitely enjoyed seeing Kyle and Kim get closer, as Kim bravely reveals her secrets to getting drunk around Kyle. And we loved the look on Kyle's face when she thought Giggy followed the ladies all the way to Paris on his own. Apparently, Giggy loves a good croissant as much as the rest of us do.
Ranking: 4
Last week: 5
Here's why: First and foremost, our hearts go out to Marisa and Dean and their family, as they deal with Dean's father's sudden passing. Very sad. Also, it was nice to see how calmly Dean handles Marisa's crack about wanting to sleep with other people, as he clearly realizes she's just being silly. Still, she might want to tone down the whole "I want to cheat" thing just a bit.
Ranking: 3
Last Week: 3
Here's why: Brandi was at her best in Paris this week, as she good-naturedly jokes with the other women (happy endings!) and opens up about the tough times in her own marriage (threesomes!). Sure, we love seeing Adrienne Maloof on the show, but it's no coincidence that things are a lot calmer when Brandi and Adrienne aren't face to face.
Ranking: 2
Last week: N/A
Here's why: Yolanda threw one heck of a party this week — which is no surprise, given what a great hostess she is. We also continue to love how well she, David Foster, and ex-husband Mohamed Hadid all get along. Sure, things were close to getting messy between Yolanda and Taylor, but we do admire Yolanda's willingness to put everything out in the open.
Ranking: 1
Last week: 1
Here's why: After her successful trip to visit Ken's son in Saint-Tropez, Lisa is back in the top spot where she belongs! Lisa and Warren's wife, Sue, might not be the best of friends, but we appreciate Lisa making the effort to stay close with her. We also loved Lisa and Ken's playful squabbling before their trip about who deserves a cup of tea. You've more than earned that cup, Lisa!


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Video helps bar employees nab theft suspects | News
Belongings taken from the purse of a 34-year-old Middleton woman were recovered after bar employees used video to identify two thieves who had targeted the unattended purse Saturday night, according to Madison police.
The staff at Whiskey Jacks Saloon at 552 State St. reviewed surveillance video after a woman said she placed her purse on a bar stool and turned her back to it to talk with friends. They told police they identified two thieves. One man was in the bar and one was leaving the bar.
Employees said they chased, caught, and held the man who was leaving the bar until police arrived. They told police the man had the woman?s phone, credit cards and cash.
Police said the purse was found inside the bar.
An employee helped an officer detain the second man inside the bar when the man tried to run, according to police.
Police said the video showed the two men were working together.
Edinson German Rosconi Soarez, 31, of Fitchburg, was arrested on suspicion of theft and Alvaro A. Lema Mosegue, 32, of Stoughton was cited on suspicion of resisting an officer.


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Tablet. Hotels for Global Nomads
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They say everything is bigger in Texas, and if you look at both the truck count and attendance figures for the National Hot Rod Diesel Association's annual visit to the Lone Star State, you'd have to agree. Last year's event was plagued by rainy and cold weather, which hurt attendance, but this year, the Eyes of Texas and the sunshine were upon the NHRDA at the Texas Motorplex, in Ennis, Texas, just outside of Dallas. (more…)
Motortopia > Diesel World > Events
Archive for the 'Events' Category
NHRDA at the Texas MotorplexMonday, August 1st, 2011
NADM Texas Diesel RoundupTuesday, May 10th, 2011
The old saying "Everything is Bigger in Texas" may or may not be true, but in the case of NADM's Texas Diesel Roundup, this year's event was most definitely bigger than the inaugural held last year. Nearly 3,500 fans packed the "Concrete Palace," as Dallas Raceway is known, to see a full day of side-by-side diesel drag racing and sled pulling. (more…)
Big-Rig Racing – - Why? Because You CanFriday, April 15th, 2011
Imagine the spectacle: Two triple-axle Peterbilt trash compactor trucks edge into the burnout box and light up the tires, building to a fine crescendo of white smoke. They stage, the Christmas tree counts down, Detroit Diesel engines rage, black smoke blasts from the stacks and the two are off––rear ends hopping, lumbering down the track in slow motion, turbos whining like a dental drill, with dueling train horns blasting back and forth all the way down the track. OK, so they're not exactly fast. But take it from us: You haven't lived until you see it for yourself. (more…)
Big Power Highlights the Annual Dyno ExtravaganzaFriday, March 18th, 2011
For their second year in a row Industrial Injection held their famous dyno event, bringing in some of the highest horsepower trucks in the western region. With some aggressive advertising and good old fashioned word-of-mouth, the folks at Industrial were able to make this event even bigger and better than the last. With two dynos on site, they were able to test over 50 trucks, most of which were in the mid 400 horsepower plus range, which lends credence to the belief the diesel aftermarket industry is still alive and strong in the central Utah area. (more…)
ATS Diesels On The Mountain 2010Friday, August 27th, 2010
Lexani Lifestyle Festival – 2010Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
A short video from the Lexani Lifestyle Festival that took place on July 25, 2010.
NADM OhioSaturday, July 24th, 2010
Buckeye Diesel Blast
Rain Does Not Deter NADM's Inaugural Event
We all know the postal carrier motto: Neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night…blah, blah blah…you get the point. The point is the mail is going to get delivered no matter the conditions. In the diesel event business, it's rare an event continues when Mother Nature deals a bad set of cards.
Fontana Big Rig ShowWednesday, July 14th, 2010
DirtyMax Runs 9.08 at IndyWednesday, June 30th, 2010
March Madness-3rd Annual Desert Diesel NationalsMonday, June 28th, 2010
3rd Annual Desert Diesel Nationals
By Kevin Wilson
Photography: Chris Neprasch and Kevin Wilson
March Madness is typically associated with the pairing down of 64 NCAA basketball teams into championship rounds of competition. In Arizona, March Madness means baseball spring training with a whole host of major league teams coming to the Valley of the Sun to play Cactus League games against each other. For the past three years, March is the season opener for the NHRDA's Desert Diesel Nationals at Speedworld, just north of Phoenix.


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Computing Advances Enable More Efficient Buildings
Computers, apps, and visualization tools open up new possibilities to improve the energy performance of buildings.
Computers are becoming ubiquitous devices in the United States: along with countless desktop and laptop computers Americans use at home and at work, more than half of the U.S. population now owns a smart phone, which is essentially a pocket-sized computer. These devices, in turn, open up a world of new possibilities. For instance, the ability for smart phones to use global positioning systems (GPS) to determine their location creates new opportunities for finding a nearby service and determining how to get there.
Computers are also unlocking new powerful possibilities to save energy in buildings, and NREL is at the vanguard of efforts to use design and simulation software—along with tablet computers, apps, massive data storage, and visualization tools—to improve the energy performance of buildings at every stage in their life cycle. As noted by Larry Brackney, NREL's section supervisor for commercial building controls and analysis tools, many decisions go into every stage of building design and operation, and NREL's goal is to help building professionals understand the energy implications of these decisions.
"We're creating the tools that allow architects and designers to assess the tradeoffs that they are making—whether they are aware of them or not—and to visualize and react to the data that's available to them," says Brackney.
One example of such a tool is OpenStudio, an NREL-developed software suite that makes it relatively simple to build a software model of a building and then analyze its energy performance. OpenStudio works with SketchUp, a 3-D drawing tool that architects often use to design buildings. Linking the two tools together encourages architects to analyze the energy performance of their designs before they are set in stone. But for NREL, OpenStudio is a stepping stone to more tools and even greater functionality.
Helping Design More Efficient Commercial Buildings
OpenStudio Shines as a Platform for Building Energy Modeling
Back around the turn of the century—which wasn't that long ago—modeling a building's energy performance was a laborious process generally consigned to engineers, who dealt with difficult user interfaces to model buildings.
NREL changed all that by creating the OpenStudio software platform, which made building energy modeling easier for architects. But the software platform has become much more than this, because many companies have built on it.
"OpenStudio, to me, is a platform for a potentially exponential number of tools and applications to be created from it," says Mary Werner, NREL's program manager for building technologies. "We have numerous private sector companies creating apps on the OpenStudio platform, as are we."
EDAPT and COFEE are just two examples of applications built on the OpenStudio platform, and other companies are using the software for a wide range of applications, such as building energy audits.
"We've seen an explosion in the last three years of new apps that are being developed based on OpenStudio software," says Werner. "Companies can build their user interface piece for whatever market they're trying to reach."
And as demonstrated by COFEE, the OpenStudio platform really shows its power when modeling a large number of buildings automatically.
"The power of OpenStudio is that we're no longer thinking of a building at a time," says Werner "Now we have the capability of doing it at scale."
Consider NREL's work with Xcel Energy, for instance—a utility that operates in eight states, including Colorado, where NREL is located. The utility operates an Energy Design Assistance (EDA) program that offers incentives to companies constructing new commercial buildings or performing major renovations of existing commercial buildings. The incentives are based on how much energy the building will save compared to a building designed to meet the minimum building code requirements.
The EDA program provides energy consultants who help participating companies navigate the process by analyzing the building design, performing energy modeling, and suggesting design alternatives. But the utility struggled to ensure that its energy consultants would perform consistent and cost-effective analyses for its customers, so it turned to NREL for help.
"This is the same problem facing a number of utilities that have EDA programs around the country," says Brackney. "As building codes become more stringent, the viability of these programs is really coming into question, and incentive programs get shut down all the time."
In response, NREL devised a Web service—called the EDA Program Tracker, or EDAPT—that automates the entire process. The system uses OpenStudio software to analyze the energy performance of the building design. OpenStudio, in turn, links to the Building Component Library, an online repository of energy data on individual building components, such as lighting systems and energy conservation measures like increased wall insulation.
Drawing on the Building Component Library, the consultants can examine alternatives to the baseline building design and evaluate their effectiveness. Using the Building Component Library also helps ensure that the energy consultants all use the same assumptions, rather than applying their own "rules of thumb" to the design process.
Once the consultants are done with their analysis, EDAPT automatically generates a report that includes not only all the information that Xcel Energy requires, but also a summary of all the design measures examined by the consultant. In addition, the report flags any findings that seem to deviate significantly from expected results based on best practices. This allows the utility to assess the thoroughness and accuracy of each analysis.
For Xcel Energy, EDAPT also provides a way to monitor their program as a whole. The service provides Xcel Energy with a dashboard that shows the status of all their projects and allows them to analyze whether their EDA program is on track for its energy savings goals.
"We've created a process that reduces the time for the consultant and the time for Xcel Energy," says Brackney. "We've reduced Xcel Energy's administrative costs by at least 20% since this went live, and we've improved the quality."
The project has also gained the attention of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which wants to make EDAPT available to utilities throughout the country. While that will help DOE meet national goals for energy savings, it could also provide an even more powerful tool for DOE: the ability to track EDA programs happening throughout the country.
"Just as the utility has a view of energy performance for their portfolio, DOE is going to have a higher-level dashboard they can look at to see how the country is doing," says Brackney. "Then we can get real impact metrics for our tools and know what measures are being considered, where they're being considered, which measures are not being considered, and how much are measures costing on average. So that's going to help DOE inform their investment in their whole portfolio of emerging technologies."
Such big-picture views could be critical to achieving the aggressive energy saving goals necessary to meet the Obama Administration's greenhouse gas reduction targets, which are part of a global effort to minimize the impacts of climate change.
Operating Buildings Efficiently by Putting Occupants in the Loop
Are you comfortable right now? Feeling a little cold or hot? If you're reading this in an office environment and the temperature seems a bit off, odds are you'll either get up to change the thermostat—and maybe make someone else uncomfortable—or you'll call your building energy manager and complain. But that building energy manager may have no way to judge if you're a lone complainer or an indication of a true problem with the building's comfort control.
At NREL's Research Support Facility (RSF), however, it works differently: each occupant has a desktop application, called the Building Agent, that allows them to provide immediate feedback on their satisfaction with the temperature, lighting, airflow, and noise levels in their area. Occupants can also send a text message.
"What we're trying to do is include people in the control loop," says NREL Engineer Nick Long. "We wanted to have the feedback from the people to also provide some capability of saying, 'It's too hot,' 'too cold,' maybe 'too sunny' or 'too much glare,' 'not enough air movement,' things like that. We want to have that feedback so that we can give that to the building managers in an aggregate, useful way."
The Building Agent knows where each employee is located, so all the feedback and location information goes into a database, along with data from local sensors and the building automation system, to provide a big-picture view of the RSF's energy performance. The desktop application also allows messages to be pushed out to the building occupants; in the RSF, which has operable windows, it is primarily used to tell occupants when to open and close their windows.
The Building Agent has two primary aspects: gathering data and visualizing it. To give the whole-campus view, NREL has created a Web-based dashboard that displays real-time energy usage as an analog dial, with expected ranges of energy use for the campus as a whole. For the RSF, users can drill down to a lower-level dashboard with individual dials for the energy produced by the building's solar power systems and the energy consumed by heating, cooling, mechanical devices, lighting, the data center, and plug loads—the energy used by equipment that is plugged in, like desktop computers and task lighting.
The clever part of these dials, however, is that the expected range of energy use or production changes with the hour, day, and season. The expected solar power production, for instance, is based on actual measurements of solar irradiance at the site. Other dials draw on a combination of models and historical data. Plug loads, for instance, increase in the morning as workers arrive, then tail off in the evening as workers leave for home. The dials provide real-time information for building managers.
"A lot of things can go wrong in a building like this, and some of them are not very self-evident," says Jake Gedvilas, building manager for the RSF. "Our building automation system does have alerts and alarms, but if something is operating within its parameters, we don't necessarily get alarms, even though there might be a problem.
"For solar power, in particular, the dial might show in the red, but we don't get an alarm, so that's helpful for us as a red flag: an inverter might be down or the snow might be covering the solar panels. So there's an explanation, generally, why things are not working within range."
The benefits of the Building Agent have come to light a number of times since it has been launched. One of the visualization tools is a floor plan that shows which parts of the building are running cool and which parts are too warm. This feature proved useful during a recent winter deep freeze, when NREL had to reevaluate its night setbacks—how much the thermostats were turned down at night.
"We did learn a few lessons from that," says Gedvilas. "There were a couple of areas that had night setbacks that were too low. Night setbacks help to save energy, but the building could never catch up during the day; it was just too darn cold outside, and some rooms never achieved the comfort range. So we had to make some tweaks and adjustments. But we never got any alerts on that because it was operating as programmed and designed."
There are many such anecdotes at the RSF, and to Long, this is the sound of success.
"With Building Agent, we're trying to enhance the communication between the building and the occupant and the occupant and the building; trying to connect those two together to give the facility managers a way to save energy, to look at their energy consumption and see where the issues are," says Long.
Analyzing the Energy Use of Massive Numbers of Existing Buildings
So far, we've seen how NREL is helping utilities work with their customers to design and build more efficient buildings—an effort that is slated to go nationwide—and we've seen how NREL is helping building energy managers work with occupants to operate a building more efficiently while maintaining comfort. But what about all those inefficient buildings out there? How can we identify the buildings that waste the most energy in any one area?
That's the question that National Grid, a utility that operates in the Northeast, brought to NREL. And the utility wanted to go big: it wanted to analyze the energy performance of every building in its service area—that's 20 million buildings!
"After we picked up our jaws off the floor, we sat down and thought about it and said, 'Yeah, we could figure out how to do this with OpenStudio,'" says Brackney.
The result is a program called Customer Optimization for Energy Efficiency, or COFEE for short. NREL started by mining National Grid's customer data for building location, type, and floor space for each of its customers. Using Google imagery to determine the area covered by each building, COFEE makes assumptions about the building and automatically generates a baseline model of the building.
"So we have kind of an OpenStudio-based expert system that makes its best guess at what that building model might look like," says Brackney.
The model is then tweaked to make it fit the billing data for that location, and COFEE compares the model to National Grid's incentive programs and creates a customized sales plan for each customer. The plan may include a few questions for the customer, but once those questions are answered, the program is able to determine which energy saving improvements are appropriate, what incentives are available, and what the payback period is for investing in the improvements.
The approach minimizes the marketing outlay for the utility because it can focus its marketing efforts for its incentive programs on those customers most likely to benefit. It also maximizes the likelihood that the utility will get the benefit it aims to achieve. Looking further out, having energy models for all of the buildings in its service area could allow the utility to generate detailed forecasts of its energy demand. And although COFEE was created for National Grid, NREL and DOE hope to make it available to other utilities.
These examples of the design, operation, and retrofit of buildings all demonstrate a key aspect of the NREL philosophy: to try to have nationwide or even global impacts from relatively small-scale efforts. EDAPT was built to help design efficient buildings for one utility, but it may be adopted nationwide; Building Agent was built for the NREL campus, but it is available for licensing and can be applied to any large building or campus; and COFEE offers a large-scale approach to analyzing the energy performance of buildings. All of these efforts will lead to more efficient buildings throughout the United States and perhaps the world.
—Written by Kevin Eber
Creating an Energy Performance Library with the Technology Performance Exchange
Have you visited a hardware store lately? For most energy efficiency items, the choices can be staggering! Just try perusing today's selections of light bulbs, for instance. Professionals have the same problem as consumers. They can't buy every new product, nor can they take the time to download all the manufacturer's specification sheets and study them. They need a simpler way to access this information.
NREL has a software solution to this problem—the Technology Performance Exchange (TPEx). The TPEx is a centralized, Web-based portal for finding and sharing energy performance data for commercial building technologies. The TPEx works on a voluntary basis, allowing individuals who manufacture, supply, test, or evaluate technologies to upload product-specific energy performance data in a standardized way. One key to the approach is allowing multiple entries for each product.
"You're able to gather this performance information for specific products and compare them," says Brackney, "and it's not just a single data point; it's like 10 or 20 or 100 different descriptions of that product's performance, so you start to get a statistically significant collection of data that describes how a particular product performs."
The end result? A catalogue of sorts that can be accessed by anyone needing energy performance data.
"The TPEx allows users to search for technologies, compare detailed energy performance data, and provides the information necessary for end users to evaluate the site-specific energy and cost savings from implementing those technologies," says Bill Livingood, group manager for Commercial Buildings Research at NREL. "Subject categories range from lamps to heating and cooling systems to solar modules, with plans for more categories in the future."


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Defined Contribution Retirement Plan
As of January 1, 2011, WHOI's Retirement Plan will be delivered through a tax-deferred defined contribution retirement savings plan. The Defined Contribution Retirement Plan is a 403(b) plan which allows for employees to contribute a portion of their earnings each pay period on a pre-tax basis into the investment fund(s) of their choice.
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As of January 1, 2010, the Defined Benefit Plan is closed to new participants. As of January 1, 2011, the Defined Benefit Plan will be placed under a soft-freeze for current participants, with all retirement benefits being earned under the new Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.
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Glaucoma is a group of eye disorders that damage the nerve at the
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continue, leading to total blindness over time.
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The shooter in the Trayvon Martin killing, George Zimmerman, has posted bond Sunday evening.
MSNBC reports that the bail was set earlier Sunday at 150 thousand dollars. At that time his family was not able to collect the money needed for bail.
Later Sunday, ABC News reports that Zimmerman has posted the 150 thousand dollars in bail.
Both MSNBC and ABC report that Zimmerman is expected to go into hiding during the time before trial but will be expected to stay in Florida. He will be required to wear and ankle bracelet, refrain from drinking alcohol, and will not be allowed to handle firearms.


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Mount AllisonŌĆÖs hockey Mounties have had a hard time replacing their former all-star goalie Megan Carly-Byrne, shown in action in this file photo.
While his hockey team may not be exactly in the position he envisioned at the beginning of the campaign, coach Zach Ball knows the reason it is languishing in fourth place in the Atlantic University WomenŌĆÖs Hockey League and is confident they have found the solution for success and is taking direct aim at a third place standing and a hot finish heading into the playoffs.
The Lady Mounties got off to a sputtering start due to a combination of factors, not the least being the need to find a solid goaltender, one who could not only take the place of the incomparable Megan Carly-Byrne but also one who had the ability to steal a game or two for the team. And, of course, as with a team starting several newcomers, it was a case of finding the correct line combinations.
"I believe," said Ball during a recent review on the situation, "that we finally have settled on a number one goalie and have the right pieces in place as far as line combinations are concerned."
While the team had recruited strongly, including the acquisition of a pair of highly touted goalies, it has been the sudden emergence of a veteran backup who has stepped up to give the Mounties a good chance of winning games.
"We were outplaying some of our opponents earlier in the year but were coming up short," says Ball. "This wasn't all because of inexperienced puck stopping but also because we didn't have the right combinations - players who complemented each other - on the ice."
Kate O'Brien who was number three on the goalie depth chart a year ago has taken over the role of guarding the twine and has been in nets for 10 of the 13 outings. She has put together an .870 save percentage and allowed just 3.20 goals a game. Going into the lengthy Christmas break, the team has five wins against eight defeats. It also has a history of starting slow and kicking up their game during the second half as the playoffs loom on the horizon.
With O'Brien in goal the Mounties are on a two game winning streak with a pair of close and hard fought victories. They upended the Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 at the local civic centre and the next night journeyed to Fredericton where they took down a nemesis ŌĆō the St. Thomas Tommies ŌĆō by a 2-1 count.
The St. Francis Xavier Xaverians have built a powerhouse over the years and are invariably ranked among the top 10 in the nation but can be vulnerable. Two years ago they were eliminated in the semi-finals by the UPEI Panthers, who proceeded to topple the Mounties in the final for the crown.
Meanwhile, the St. Mary's Huskies have returned from the grave to recruit some of the country's outstanding talent. It was only two years ago that the SMU athletic director announced the demise of ladies hockey but such an uproar ensued that the decision was hastily reversed and they now have come on to hold down second place and provide a challenge for the X-Women.
It's also interesting to note that the University of Moncton, another team that has held a spot near the top of the standings for several seasons, has succumbed to the Mounties this season on two occasions, both by identical 1-0 scores, with O'Brien rising to the occasion.
Ball says local support for his team has grown immensely, especially with girls in the minor hockey system.
"They attend our games in fairly large numbers and offer a lot of vocal and emotional support, he says. "As a result, many of our players will stay and support them and some nice relationships have been forged."
Courtney King has emerged as the scoring leader for the Mounties with five goals and seven helpings in 13 games. Her output shot up when she was united with Lindsay Jones and sophomore Shelby Colton and this is one unit being counted on to play a vital role in the second half drive. Ball said others have made adjustments to their game noting it is a huge step to the level of play experienced at the university level. One with unlimited potential is Danielle Bourgeois of Moncton who has size, speed and reach and should prove to be a vital cog in the years ahead.
Ball doesn't believe a recent decision by the CIS will have much impact on his Mounties since it simply increases the amount of funding lady hockey players can receive. At the moment varsity athletes can receive support equal to the university tuition and fees but the decision would increase this to where they might be able to offer a total coverage of such things as room and board. He believes it might discourage more girls from heading to the US but only by those schools with deep pockets able to afford such expenditures.
Meanwhile, the Lady Mounties offer the best deal in town. They play all their home games at the civic centre with no admission fee charged, even though attendance is fairly consistent. All they ask is that fans purchase a ticket on their 50-50 draw, not only supporting the team but also having a chance to win a fair amount of cash.


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UNCW Board of Trustees Quarterly Meetings Scheduled Oct. 24-25
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Wilmington, N.C. - The UNCW Board of Trustees will hold quarterly meetings on campus on Oct. 24-25 as outlined below. Portions of the meetings may be held in closed session as allowed under the Open Meetings Act.
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013
8 a.m. – Audit Committee, Burney Center,
Ballroom A
9:45 a.m. – Oaths of Office for New Trustees, Burney Center,
Ballroom C
10:00 a.m. -- "Journey of Learning" workshop with presentations by faculty on topics that include the University Studies program, learning goals, applied learning, writing across the curriculum and capstone experiences, Burney Center,
Ballroom C
1 p.m. – Business Affairs Committee, Masonboro Island Room, Fisher Student Center
1 p.m. – External Affairs Committee, Azalea Coast Room, Fisher University Union
3 p.m. – Endowment Board, Masonboro Island Room, Fisher Student Center
Friday, Oct. 25, 2013
8:30 a.m. – Educational Planning and Programs Committee, Burney Center,
Ballroom A
10:30 a.m. – Quarterly Meeting of the Board of Trustees, Burney Center


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« December 2008 | Main | February 2009 »
January 31, 2009
Eleanor of Castile, Queen Consort of England, had 16 children
...and ten of them died by the age of ten.
The four boys lived one day, and five, six and ten years. Of the six girls, the first was stillborn, and the others lasted 1 day, 3 mos, 4 mos, 8 mos, and 2 yrs.
Can you imagine as a mother living through that? This was between 1255 and 1290 AD, in England (and Palestine and France). Her 16th and final child was the only son to survive to adulthood, and he became King Edward II of England about 17 years after his mother died.
I am so glad we live in this day and age of actual medical care based on scientific research.
I was trying to wrap my mind around the timeline of the births and deaths of all these kids, and so I made myself a colorful spreadsheet which I cannot figure out how to make appear in all its glory here on the page (I'm sure Jon Reid will come to my aid, though, because he has a history of knowing about this kind of stuff and charitably rescuing poor clueless souls): Download EleanorEdwardProgeny My chart shows that for a period of 21 consecutive years, there were only five years during which Eleanor didn't either give birth or see one of her children die. There were six calendar years with both at least one birth and one death in the same year, and two years with a birth and two deaths. The graph also shows another thing I was curious about: out of the 16 children, the maximum number ever alive simultaneously was seven - for four whole months after his birth, Edward I had a brother, and then his older brother died at age 10, and he was left only with five older sisters, making him the heir to the throne as the oldest surviving son.
By the way, Edward I and Eleanor of England, who are thought (unlike most monarchs in history) to have been faithful to each other and had all these kids together, are not to be confused with another such fertile, loyal, royal, English couple I posted about in April 2008: King George III and Queen Charlotte (in the 1700s they had 15 kids, the first 12 of which lived between 52 and 81 years each! Quite a different story).
My source: Wikipedia's info on the Progeny of Edward I and Eleanor of England
P.S. Why am I telling you this? My son and I watched Braveheart today, in which Edward I and Edward II of England figure prominently. The movie is rife with completely fabricated events and relationships, but they did get right that Eleanor would have been dead by the time of the events (she did not appear in the movie, but Edward II's wife did, which was wrong because in real life they did not marry until the year after Edward I died; and she made a big difference to the movie tale).
January 31, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
I'm Thinking Maybe My Blog is Dead
Or maybe just dormant? Hibernating for the winter?
The muse seems to have left or been anaesthetized. She only comes up with one-sentence snippets suitable for Facebook status updates.
I'll give you a few links here to add some content to this post:
God's Pharmacy - a kind of cool description of how some foods resemble the bodily organs they help with their specific nutrients. And this is apparently a version with some scientific corrections and references.
Very cool idea of a sports team to bless another.
Don't Waste Your Cancer: ten ideas of John Piper's. I hope I never have to put these ideas into practice - but since both my dad and my husband's dad died of cancer in their 50s, it's not beyond imagining. Interesting, profound thoughts.
While I'm not blogging, I am living life. I am enjoying God. I am enjoying my husband. I am enjoying my children. I am learning German (slowly). I am liking being in Switzerland. I even like the long, cold, freezing, icy, snowy, cloudy, foggy, gray winter here. It feels right. I know spring will come, and it will be all the more glorious for the prolonged suspense and the contrast. So spring flowers came in February when we lived in California - whenever they surface here, it will have been worth the wait. In the meantime, I am super-thankful for a heated house.
I am cherishing God's Words to me between the covers of my Bible daily, thanks to accountability with ladies from our church. I am delighting in conversing with Him in (brief) daily, dedicated, focused prayer times for the first time in many years (thanks to new accountability this year via a small private Facebook group). I am getting my feet wet in some leadership roles (merely because I want the groups to exist). Life is chugging along and I am so thankful for so many blessings.
Maybe this is why I don't have much to write about lately - I am savoring the daily, the regular, the personal. I am immersed in waters that don't feel right to share just yet - waters of prayer, of insecure but thus-far functional leadership (I sweat when I have the floor), and of waiting patiently for spring.
January 31, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 26, 2009
Enjoying with the EyesI drank in with my eyes the gorgeous flowers in the grocery store as I passed today. And had to whip my camera out:
January 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Cat and CrystalsThis neighbour cat is quite a climber. This was his perch today, briefly. I think this might be a Forsythia bush - we'll find out 'round about March I guess.
The crystalline formations of ice on the trees were spectacular on the 14th of January here in our village.
January 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Swiss Sunrise
Different settings on my camera produced quite different colors of this sunrise seen from our house last weekend:
January 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 24, 2009
Thawed River, Reappearing Cub, 10th Grade Skiing, Etc.
A few headlines from the past week or two:
* The Sihl river along our school commute route froze over earlier this month. Then it thawed out again recently. It was beautiful while it lasted, with artistic swirls in the icy surface, and snow covering all the rocky outcroppings.
* Our friendly neighbourhood cat, whom Emily has named Cub, disappeared for a day or two, and I was surprised by my sadness. Then she (?) reappeared and got some more serious petting from the kids and me. Now we are used to her bouts of disappearance, typically on rainy days. So she must have another home somewhere. I am happy to share her. None of the neighbourhood cats seem to have any collars.
* Jason went on the 10th grade ski trip to Wengen (Swiss alps, about 2 hours from home) this week and came home safely (this praying mama was thankful). I don't think I have yet mentioned on here that Jason finished December in 9th Grade, and started January in 10th Grade. That was exciting. Sort of like an Australian school year? It just fit the level of classes for him better. Now he is in a more fitting French class, with an actual mother tongue French teacher (this was a long time in coming, oh, yes). His mother is happy about that. His math and German classes didn't change. He went back to the drama class that he started the year in. So it wasn't as dramatic as it sounds (ha ha). And the lady who orchestrated the switch for him is now his English teacher, so it helps that she knows his situation well. She's also the Assistant Principal. And a wonderful woman.
* David was sick with a bad cold for 5 days (3 days off work). No one else seemed to get it, although this morning Emily was coughing.
* Emily has been loving her drama class in a neighbouring town, with kids from other schools (none from hers), and part of that is making new friends. She said she wished it were twice as often. Today she has a first playdate scheduled with one of them whom she declared from the first meeting to be a soulmate. We'll see how the afternoon goes!
* The newly launched daytime Ladies' Bible/Prayer group from our church has survived its first two weekly meetings with me leading - we are reading through over half the Bible this year in daily personal readings, and then coming together once a week to discuss and pray over what we've read. It's a new format for all of us. We are reading from a different section of the Bible each day of the week, so we'll be in them all, all year long. I like it. It's pared down from the schedule for the whole Bible that I used last year.
* My office is holding the cleanliness from the anniversary overhaul I did earlier this month (wow, that was over two weeks ago), and yesterday I performed an eight-hour internet fast (by turning off my wireless connection, the only way) in order to get through the stack of action items yielded by the great re-org. Not that I actually DID them, but I at least looked through them, typed stuff off all the little sticky notes into a digitized list, and executed a few choice tasks. Now at least I know what's in the pile. I am gearing up to make my annual Christmas stamp collage, and to make our 2008 photo album, God willing. I don't have a lot of traditions, but those are two special ones.
* I obviously haven't been inspired to do much blogging lately, and now that I am doing some anyway, I come up with this long list of boring stuff - but oh well, my mom will like it anyway (hi Mom), and it's a record for the future. I should back up my blog offline somewhere...maybe check out those services that will turn your blog into a book...for my grandchildren or something...this year I will come upon my 5-year blogiversary (in May), so maybe that's be a good point at which to print Volume One...in case we run out of electricity globally or whatever. Or maybe I should just get it on a CD.
January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 21, 2009
The Firmness of Water
An hour fresh-cut in a glass of cool water does wonders for droopy celery.
January 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 20, 2009
First post from iPhone
Just figuring out other neat things I can do with my new iPhone, like take a photo of it (in the bright pink case my man got me) in the rear view mirror while parked waiting to pick up Emily, and "moblog" (mobile blog) by posting it directly from my phone. I had already worked out how to post directly to Facebook, but hadn't thought of it for Typepad (my blog hosting service) until I noticed a photo someone else had posted remotely on their blog. Typing is sure a lot slower on my iPhone than on my laptop! Here comes Emily now!
January 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 13, 2009
Frosty Blue Day in Zürich
Posted some more lovely blue 'n white photos over on Picasaweb (which works so nicely with iPhoto), with the trees completely outlined in frosty white, and brilliant blue sky beyond.
Contrary to how the landscape looks, it hasn't snowed here for about 15 days as near as I remember. It's just been so cold it hasn't melted in all that time. So the roads are nice and clear, but we get this beautiful landscape to enjoy every day.What a generous Artist-Creator You are. Thank you.
January 13, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Cub, the Outdoor Cat we Don't Own
We are merely giving this poor lost cat a more comfortable winter, with enough to eat and drink and a warmer place to sleep (outside but out of the reach of the wind and elements, in our winter garden on a bed of cardboard and old towels, with a roof and free access to the outside). It's so cold out! (-9°C or so this morning = 15 °F) And he's SO beautiful, soft, friendly, clean, and polite. And he purrs so loudly when stroked! We just wash our hands immediately after petting him (outside), since we have two allergy sufferers in the household. He seems delighted with his new luxury abode.
See Cub's beautiful photos here (with a few more details on his accommodation).
January 13, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack