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Meet the primary members of our virtual agency. We're a group of senior-level
practitioners who love to roll up our sleeves and immerse ourselves in your business challenges.
Building upon a diverse public relations and marketing background spanning more than two decades, Jeff launched Huggins Consulting Group in 2009. Assembling the best talent from his vast network of communication professionals, the virtual agency offers cost-effective, senior-level thinking and exceptional program execution.
Before forming his own firm, Jeff helped integrate full-scope public relations capabilities into the service offerings for leading regional advertising agencies in Des Moines, Iowa and Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff started his agency career more than two decades ago with an Iowa-based Young & Rubicam affiliate, CMF&Z. He also was a principal at Zimmerman, Laurent & Richardson in the late-1990s.
Throughout his career, Jeff has specialized in broad spectrum of communication solutions. He is professionally accredited by the Public Relations Society of America and has earned industry recognition for effective writing and successful campaign implementation, including media relations, internal communications, community relations, issues management and event marketing.
With a detailed and creative approach, Jeff has helped many organizations implement successful communication strategies that have met and exceeded campaign objectives. His track record includes marketing and reputation management successes with a diverse group of clients, including: the 1999 US Senior Open Golf Championship; Beam Industries; CII Technologies; Dice.com; First Financial Bank; Fisher Controls; Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Iowa Health System; Jimmy Dean Foods; Meredith Corporation; National Pork Producers Council; Pfizer Pharmaceutical; RSM McGladrey; and Wells Fargo Mortgage.
Jeff earned a degree in Mass Communication and Public Relations from the University of Northern Iowa in 1986. He is a past president of the Central Iowa Chapter of PRSA, a member of the University of Northern Iowa President's Club, and for many years served as a professional advisor to the public relations degree program for his alma mater.
Kendra is a catalyst – she makes things happen. Focusing on both the big picture and the smallest of details, Kendra seamlessly anticipates every aspect required to transform an idea into a reality. These unique capabilities serve her well as a project manager and as a specialist in promotions, publicity and event marketing.
Kendra works with industry leaders and renowned icons to create effective relationship building programs targeting both internal and external segments. Bravo Greater Des Moines contracts with her to develop, coordinate and execute the Annual Bravo Gala – a black-tie event to celebrate Des Moines' arts and cultural organizations. Dubbed the "party of the year" by Des Moines business leaders, Kendra continues to increase the number of party-goers and event revenue every year. Former University of Iowa star and retired NFL receiver, Tim Dwight turned to Kendra to develop and organize a youth football camp from the ground up. This campaign challenge involved everything from sponsorships and promotions to registration and wrangling twelve-year olds during the event.
While always rooted in sound strategy, Kendra's professional endeavors are anything but routine. Smaller businesses demanding huge results often turn to Kendra for complete marketing plans that help them compete against bigger brands. She also enjoys the smaller challenges, such as brainstorming a snappy theme for an event and carrying it through – from invitation to decorations to follow-up mailings. Or, reminding a company's CEO, that a hand-written thank you note is the only item left on his task list. Or sometimes just delivering holiday baskets to a client's top customers – simply to spread the cheer!
A graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa – earning a bachelor's degree in Communications Studies – Kendra was honored among the 2003 Des Moines Business Record's "40 Under 40″ up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
Pat Fultz has worked in the Des Moines area for more than 25 years. During that time, he has honed his skills as an award-winning graphic designer with an extensive list of clients and projects throughout the Midwest.
In 1984, Pat began his entrepreneurial career by creating Fultz Communications, a full-service graphic design firm. Over a nine-year period, he grew the company to employ 12 people and establish an additional office in the Kansas City area.
Pat sold his firm to CMF&Z in 1993, a premier advertising agency and affiliate of Young & Rubicam in New York. For the next five years, Pat handled responsibilities as a Creative Director in CMF&Z's Des Moines office. Working on ad campaigns, branding programs, displays and collateral materials for regional and national clients, he further developed his creative and marketing skills.
In 1998, Pat went back on his own and established Fultz Design, a full-service, multi-disciplinary marketing/design firm. Now only employing external resources when needed, Pat enjoys being involved with all steps of the marketing and creative process and working with a fast-growing list of clients.
Pat has developed a strong reputation for taking on design projects with complex objectives and aggressive time constraints and creating successful end results. His list of notable client partnerships includes: Jacobson Companies, First American Bank, Metro Waste Authority, Barton Solvents, Inc., CIPCO, Etrema Products, Des Moines International Airport, Wells Fargo Financial, Barker Lemar Engineers, Iowa Health Systems, Studio Art Center International, Computer Transportation Services, the City of Altoona and the City of Des Moines.
For more than 15 years, Alex Schroeder has wowed clients in Des Moines and beyond. Specifically, Alex has created award-winning campaigns and projects in almost every medium ranging from print to video to animation and web design. In addition, his work has been recognized with regional, national and international awards as well as published in several design books and magazines. Four years ago, Alex founded a full-service graphic design company called Stilt Studio, Inc.
Prior to becoming a successful entrepreneur, Alex served as Creative Director for The Integer Group where he led and inspired a large creative team and worked hands-on as a designer and copywriter. Alex also contributed his talents to other notable agencies and led creative efforts as a Senior Art Director at both Strategic America and Mauck • Groves Design Company.
What makes Alex a valued member of our team is his ability to uniquely solve clients' creative challenges. He maintains a strategic viewpoint and executes the perfect combination of artistic approaches to achieve stellar results. But don't just take our word for it. Just consider the broad range of clients who have benefited from his creativity. Clients such as: Coca-Cola, Home Depot, ADT Security, Canon, PetSmart, NAPA, Benjamin Moore Paint, Michelin & BF Goodrich Tires, Economic Development & Tourism of Iowa, Iowa Lottery, EMC Insurance, Farm Bureau Financial, AllState Insurance, Ruan Transportation, Verizon, Chrysler, Fiat, Hyundai, and Mazda, to name just a few.
A Cyclone at heart, Alex is a graduate of Iowa State University where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Graphic Design and minors in Advertising and Speech Communication.
Travis is the product of three of the world's most elite writing programs: the University of Iowa, Trinity College Dublin, and Texas State University. In addition to the hours he's logged in the university setting, he also has half a dozen years of experience working for a full-service advertising agency along with a Fortune 500 financial institution.
In his professional endeavors, Travis plied his skills as both a copywriter and public relations consultant. He has worked for a diverse group of organizations, including: Iowa Motor Truck Association; Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa; Airport Fast Park; Master Builders of Iowa; Association & Legislative Resources; Pfizer Pharmaceutical; Western & Southern Financial Group; Mercy Health Systems of Southwest Ohio; Frisch's Big Boy; Golden Corral restaurants; and more. He specializes in creative copywriting, as well as media relations, social media, event marketing and internal communications.
At Huggins Consulting Group, Travis combines his writing talents with strategic marketing expertise to help our clients both formulate and execute their communication objectives. The Des Moines native earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa and a master's degree from Texas State University. When he is not developing copy, promotion campaigns and reputation management solutions for our clients, he is busy working on his first novel.
Ginger offers clients a rare combination of a sound strategic thinking and exceptional design talent. As a result, she has a proven track record for delivering creative communication that breaks through the clutter, delivers powerful impact and inspires desired consumer reactions.
Prior to launching i&g design in 2006, Ginger progressed through the creative ranks with some of Des Moines' largest advertising agencies. She was Associate Creative Director at Relationship Marketing, Senior Art Director for Zimmerman, Laurent & Richardson, and an Art Director with Meyocks & Priebe. She also has made the leap to the client side as the Director of Marketing for technology startup Palisade Systems.
Over the years, Ginger has helped unify the corporate image, strengthen product positioning and communicate differentiating personality for many distinguished brands. Her client relationships include: Abbott Laboratories; Ameriprise Financial; Beam Industries; Drake University; Hy-Vee; the Iowa Department of Public Health; Iowa Department of Transportation; Iowans for Consumer Fuel Choice; Iowa State University; Novartis Pharmaceuticals; Pioneer Hi-bred International; Time Warner Cable; and UCB Bio-Pharmaceuticals.
Perhaps Ginger's most notable grassroots effort to date has been the "Just Eliminate Lies" anti-smoking campaign targeting Iowa teens. It's a comprehensive and effective hybrid campaign combining traditional marketing and street-level grassroots initiatives.
Ginger has received several honors for creative expertise, including: national TELLY and NAMA awards; national and regional Addy Awards, including the 2003 Best of Show honors in the local competition; and local recognition from the Art Directors Association of Iowa (ADAI), the Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) and the Central Iowa Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The Des Moines native has a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Grand View College.
With a perspective as both a client and agency professional, Tom gives you a wealth of marketing experience. He has worked on brands large and not-so-large, across an array of industries and product categories. He has held marketing positions with Chrysler Corporation, the Tappan Company and Litton Industries. He has held executive leadership positions in the Pittsburgh and Chicago offices of Ketchum Communications. Before founding TJS&A in 2001, he was President of Porter & Associates in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tom's category experience includes Industrial Business to Business, Association Marketing, Sports and Leisure Activity, Health Care, Financial Services, Consumer Packaged Goods and Consumer Durables.
Tom holds a BA from the University of Dayton, Certification in Integrated Communications from Northwestern University and is a certified Continuous Quality Improvement Facilitator from the Center for Continuous Quality Improvement at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He is a Past President of the American Marketing Association Cincinnati Chapter.
Ann is all about helping clients to meet their communications goals in results-driven environments. She has more than 20 years of experience in strategic corporate and executive communications, media relations, issues management, crisis communications, stakeholder communications and event planning. Highly attuned to understanding the diverse needs of all stakeholders, Ann excels at creating and delivering effective strategies that position projects for success.
Before recently forming her own consulting firm, Thelen Public Relations, Ann worked for more than a decade in the energy and utilities industry. She was the primary spokesperson and chief media strategist with state and national media for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company and its two subsidiaries, MidAmerican Energy Company and MidAmerican Renewables. Ann is a seasoned pro when it comes to working with the media.
As the communications director for MidAmerican's global businesses, she ensured clear, concise and unified messaging to internal and external audiences. She led cross-functional communications teams to support these businesses and effectively promote and position them as industry leaders in the global market. Her recent accomplishments include developing integrated communications strategies to support MidAmerican Renewables' construction of the world's largest solar generating facility, located in central California.
During her career, Ann has worked with a diverse client base, including the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, John Deere Financial, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, UnityPoint Health-Fort Dodge, Minneapolis Heart Institute, Hy-Line International and the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, just to name a few. She was the editor of Iowa Commerce magazine, which for decades was the state's premiere resource for business and industry news, and its companion City Spotlight magazines. In that role, she worked closely with cities, chambers of commerce, associations, and economic development groups across Iowa to promote Iowa's thriving business climate.
Ann is a graduate of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and has received numerous awards recognizing her strategic communications skills. She is a graduate of the Association of Business and Industry's Leadership Iowa program. She is involved with several professional organizations, including the International Association of Business Communicators (Iowa Chapter), the Public Relations Society of America (Central Iowa Chapter), and serves on the board of directors for Project IOWA.
Recognized for his ability to assemble and lead teams to overcome organizational inertia and achieve their vision, Randy is a global IT executive who leverages program/project management expertise to deliver organizational change. His unique talent of blending IT knowledge and business acumen is supported by collaboration, people development, and an exceptional capability to see both the forest and the trees. In addition, his expertise in utilizing Lean-Sigma multiplies the efforts of his teams by assuring that they seek to eliminate waste and improve consistency of processes as they deliver new systems and technical capability.
With expertise stemming from more than two decades of experience, Randy offers a proven track record of developing IT strategy then leading IT and corporate-wide change initiatives in the insurance, manufacturing and travel industries. He has worked for Aviva North America, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Maytag Corporation.
Randy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Math and Physics from the University of Northern Iowa and an MBA from the University of Iowa. A life-long learner, he has continually participated in career development engagements including multiple week long sessions with the Center for Creative Leadership and with INSEAD/CDEP Business School in France. An active advisor in developing IT capabilities in Iowa, Randy has leveraged his leadership prowess through engagement in advisory boards at the University of Northern Iowa, Indian Hills Community College and through the Technology Association of Iowa.
Copyright © 2011 Huggins Consulting Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved


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Meetings & Events
Business event organisers can utilise private work areas that include boardrooms large enough for 18 people.
The beautifully decorated banquet hall, the Sapphire, sparkles with delicate chandeliers hanging from 16-foot-high ceilings, lace wood veneer panelling and intricate hand-woven carpet.
Enjoy these meeting amenities at the Radisson Blu Hotel Rudrapur:
- 3,810 square feet of function space
- Ceiling-mounted mood lighting
- Ceiling-mounted projector
- Drop-down screens
- High-tech audiovisual services
- Pre-function area
- Sixteen-foot ceilings
- Technical support
- Wireless broadband Internet

subset: commoncrawl


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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 30, 2008) – Carl Edwards may have crossed the finish line running on the fumes from his fuel tank, but it was enough to carry him to a ninth-place finish, the best of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career at the paperclip-shaped track in southern Virginia. Edwards used pit strategy midway through the race to gain track position, and was able to cash in on the gamble on Sunday afternoon.
Edwards took the green flag in the 27th position, but quickly moved his way towards the front of the field. By lap 19, Edwards advanced the No. 99 Claritin Ford to the 18th position. He reported in the early running that the handling of his Fusion was perfect, telling the crew that he had the best car he's ever had at Martinsville. As the laps continued to click off, Edwards continued his climb through the field, showing in the 11th position when the caution flag was displayed at lap 43.
Crew chief Robbie Reiser elected to bring Edwards to pit road for tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. Many of the leaders elected to stay out and hold onto their track position, dropping Edwards to the 20th position for the lap 47 restart. Edwards reported early in the run that the air pressure change improved the handling, and it showed as he began to pick up the positions he'd lost when he came to pit road. Edwards cracked the top-10 at lap 83, when he worked his way around the No. 12 car. The No. 99 was in the eighth position by the time the caution flag was displayed at lap 105 for a spin involving the No. 96 car. Edwards followed the rest of the leaders down pit road to the attention of the Claritin crew, who performed routine service of four tires and fuel. Quick work on pit road gained Edwards two positions, sending him out in the sixth spot for the lap 109 restart.
Edwards continued to hold his own in the early part of the next green flag run, racing with Roush Fenway Racing teammates Jamie McMurray and David Ragan for the fourth and fifth positions. While he looked strong in the early going, Edwards began to backslide through the frontrunners, dropping back to the 11th position at lap 176. Edwards reported to Reiser that the chassis had become very loose, wanting to spin out in the corners. Edwards caught a break at lap 181 when the caution flag was thrown for debris on the racetrack, allowing him to come to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.
Edwards restarted in the 12th position, and reported early that it felt like the Claritin Ford had lost overall grip. Edwards did what he could to continue making forward progress and caught a break again at lap 260 when the caution flag was displayed again after the No. 77 car spun. Reiser and Edwards decided to come to pit road, taking on tires, fuel and undoing the track bar adjustment made on the previous stop. The No. 99 crew pulled off a fast stop, sending Edwards back on track in the eighth position for the lap 264 restart.
Edwards continued to hold his position inside the top-10 over the course of the next green flag run. When the caution flag was displayed at lap 362, Reiser elected to take a gamble, bringing Edwards down pit road when most of the leaders stayed out. Edwards got four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment to help the handling of the No. 99 Ford. Since some of the leaders elected to stay on the racetrack, Edwards lined up 11th for the restart at lap 366. The driver and crew chief agreed that it was a bit of a risk to come to pit road when others stayed out, but both felt it was the right decision to make.
It wouldn't take long for the No. 99 Claritin team to see the benefit from their choice. When the caution flag was displayed at lap 386 for a spin involving the No. 41 car, the leaders that stayed out on the previous caution came down pit road for what would be their final stops on the day. Edwards stayed on track, advancing to the third position. Reiser and Edwards knew that their gamble would leave them extremely close to running out of fuel, but felt they would catch some breaks in the final 100 laps that would help them to make it to the finish.
Edwards jockeyed for the third and fourth positions over the course of the green flag run, eventually settling into the fourth spot. As the laps clicked off, Reiser began to radio Edwards about being short on fuel to make it to the distance. Hoping to get caution periods to stretch their fuel mileage, Reiser kept his driver posted on what their plan would be should different scenarios unfold. Unfortunately for Reiser, the caution flags he hoped for never came, and it appeared Edwards would have to come to pit road for a splash of fuel. Reiser made the call to bring Edwards to pit road at lap 490 for a splash of fuel, but called it off when Edwards reported that the fuel pressure gauge was not fluctuating. With the Claritin crew poised on pit road ready to service the car if needed, Reiser left the decision to Edwards.
As each lap passed, Edwards reported that the fuel pressure remained constant. Edwards took the white flag, and all the crew could do was cross their fingers and hope that they had the fuel to make it the distance. As Edwards headed into turn three, the fuel tank went dry. Edwards was able to coast to the finish line in the ninth position, recording his best finish at the speedway in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career.
Following their ninth-place finish at Martinsville, Edwards and the No. 99 team advanced two spots to the 14th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. The Sprint Cup Series races next at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 6, 2008.
About Claritin®
All CLARITIN brand products are available without a prescription, including: CLARITIN Tablets, a once-daily full prescription strength, non-drowsy formulation; CLARITIN® RediTabs® Tablets, a novel once-daily formulation in a quickly dissolving tablet for ages 6 and older; CLARITIN-D® 24-hour and 12-hour Extended Release Tablets, with the decongestant pseudoephedrine now located behind the counter; CHILDREN'S CLARITIN® Syrup, a liquid formulation for children ages 2 and older in grape and fruit flavors; CHILDREN'S CLARITIN® Grape Chewables, a chewable tablet for children ages 2 and older; and CLARITIN Hives Relief™ tablets.
CLARITIN is the No. 1 physician-recommended and pediatrician-recommended over-the-counter antihistamine brand for allergic rhinitis. The CLARITIN Rx-to-OTC switch in 2002 was the largest switch ever-and the first and only for a non-sedating antihistamine. For more information on allergies and treatment, visit www.CLARITIN.com.
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing operates 13 full-time motorsports teams, five in NASCAR Sprint Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; four in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun; three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Darnell, Braun, Kvapil and John Wes Townley; and one in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.


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3D coastal path will give hospital patients a virtual room with a view
Posted: December 08, 2012|
A virtual reality reconstruction of a picturesque Westcountry coastal path could soon be helping patients to recover from serious surgery at a hospital that treats injured troops evacuated from Afghanistan.
The digital rendering of Wembury Bay in the South Hams has been developed by researchers from the University of Birmingham.
They are due to demonstrate their work in a 3D show involving hi-tech screens and computers at Wembury village hall on Thursday, starting at 7.30pm.
The team will reveal how a 3D reconstruction of the nearby coastal path is being developed to provide rehabilitation benefits for patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
The hospital treats all the military casualties evacuated from Helmand Province in Afghanistan, as well as civilian patients.
Professor Bob Stone, director of the human interface technologies team at the university's school of electronic, electrical and computer engineering, said: "For the past three years, we have been looking at how virtual reality could help patients recover from serious surgery. Evidence from research demonstrated the restorative power of exposing patients to real-world natural scenes, viewed from their bedside windows.
"In hospital environments without such views, we believe that 'windows' to a virtual rural scene, complete with appropriate sights, sounds and time-of-day lighting effects, can be just as powerful.
"We also believe that those same virtual worlds can be developed to provide motivational interactive exercises to help amputees."
Villagers will be able to experience demonstrations of the virtual environments using technologies from gaming controllers and motion sensors to the latest virtual reality head-mounted display.
They will also get the chance to see how a huge commercial dock and railway complex, once planned for Wembury but never built, would look now. The doomed project, mooted just after the turn of the 20th century, has been digitally created by the researchers using "augmented reality" technology.
Prof Stone said: "The exercise demonstrated just how much of Wembury Bay would have been dominated by the presence of multiple quays, cranes, railway tracks, breakwaters and dockside services, not to mention the housing infrastructure necessary to support such a massive venture.
"Had the proposals not been rejected by the House of Lords in 1909, this development would have decimated the village and coastal areas beyond recognition."
At the suggestion of the Wembury Historical Society and villagers, all proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity.


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Machine or telephone control by voiced commands is attained by translating the electrical signal derived from an acoustic signal or spoken word into a plurality of binary parameter waveforms each indicating sequentially the instantaneous condition or measurement of the corresponding parameter in terms of its being on either one side or the other of a preselected threshold or norm. A command output signal is generated only when the waveforms are found to have a particular sequence of binary parameter combinations that is acceptable to a sequential logic recognition circuit.
Revendications disponible en
Description (Le texte OCR peut contenir des erreurs.)
United States Patent 1191 11 3,742,143 Awipi June 26, 1973 LIMITED VQCABULARY SPEECH 3,416,080 12/1968 Wright 179/1 sA RECOGNITION CIRCUIT FOR MACHINE Ef e g: a1: AND TELEPHONE CONTROL 3,261,916 7/1966- Bakis 179 1 SA [75] Inventor; Mebenin Awipi, Ocean, NJ, 3,470,321 9/1969 DerSCh 179/1 SA [73] Asslgnee: fifggxgaz kszgg gfi a J Primary ExaminerKathleen H. Claffy Assistant Examiner-Jon Bradford Leaheey [22] Filed: Mar. 1, 1971 Attorney-W L. Keefauver and Edwin B. Cave 21 A 1. No.: 119 551 1 pp 57 ABSTRACT Machine or telephone control by voiced commands is 179/1 SA, 179/1 g attained by translating the electrical signal derived 58] Fie'ld SA 1 SB from an acoustic signal or spoken word into a plurality 90 B 1 5 5 of binary parameter waveforms each indicating sequentially the instantaneous condition or measurement of the corresponding parameter in terms of its being on [56] References Cited either one side or the other of a preselected threshold UNITED STATES PATENTS or norm. A Command output signal is generated only 3,234,392 2/1966 Dickinson 179/1 SA when the waveforms are found to have a particular se- 3,198,884 8/1965 Dersch 179/1 SA quence of binary parameter combinations that is aciii; gullllkllthun i ceptable to a sequential logic recognition circuit.
usc 3,238,303 3/1966 Dersch 179/1 SA 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures M P] SECONDARY SPEECH PARAMETER VOCABULARY W3 k uil ri m INPUT EXTRACTOR 1 fggfig'g 'g W4 CONTROL,
1 MEMORY PN W5 & DISPLAY REPERTORY Reta T RECEIVER SET R M I04 PAIENTEIIJUIIZB I973 SHEET 2 if 4 FIG. 2
INITIAL STATE: SYSTEM POWER ON, AWAITING COMMAND w| DETEcT I RINGING NO RINGING INCOMING ORIGINATING AUTOMATIC WAIT FOR ANSWER 0N w| wz oR W3 DIGIT DIALING MODE START DIAL CYCLE & SET
START CLOCK TO SCAN REPERTORY FOR ERRoR CORRECTION ADDRESSES IF ERRoR occURS W2 AS DIGITS ARE START ADDRESS 5 BEING STORED CLOCK, STORE QZ S S IN BUFFER MEMORY, NUMBER AT A ADDRESS SAY wa TO ERASE LOCATION SELEcTED LATEST DIGIT WHEN coMPLETE w4 NUMBER IS SToRED, WAIT FOR w4 ORW5 DIAL NUMBER STOREDIN W4 SELEcTED ADDRESS GENERATE DIAL ToNES To cENTRAL OFFICE W5 IF wE WANT SAME NUMBER A LITTLE ANswER BUSY/NO ANSWER LATER STORE IN 60 TO INITIAL STATE,
60 ON-HOOK ON WI REPEAT ADDRESS SNEEI 3 W 4 3 .Illllll lllllrlllll-I FIG. 48
PATENIEI] JUII26 I973 CONTROL 5 E-L-H-E SPECIALE H-L-E-H-E LIMITED VOCABULARY SPEECH RECOGNITION CIRCUIT FOR MACHINE AND TELEPHONE CONTROL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to systems and machines, including telephone sets, that are operatively responsive to acoustic power. More particularly, the invention relates to voiced command recognition arrangements used for control purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art In the area of machine control, the effective and economical use of mechanical translation of voiced commands to achieve machine operation is an attractive but elusive goal of long standing. Viewed from the standpoint of pure theory, machine translation of the human voice into written speech or corresponding mechanical indicia based on word recognition would appear to be well within the reach of the powerful tools provided by modern computers and related electronic technology. Early steps toward machine translation of voiced speech are illustrated in US. Pat. No. 2,195,081 issued Mar. 26, 1940 where H. W. Dudley discloses a sound printing mechanism. By an essentially electromechanical system, voiced speech is translated into electrical signals that are used for the actuation of keys that type out corresponding phonetic symbols. Further translation of such symbols into machine commands, however, is not a simple undertaking owing in part to the awesome complexities of human speech, including, for example, the countless variations that occur among individuals in terms of dialect, accent, pronunciation and acoustic quality. Nevertheless, some additional progress in the field of machine translation has been made and currently available systems include the capability of converting a dozen or two different voiced orders into electrical machine control signals. Such systems are still unduly complex, however, and as a result lack the reliability required to achieve a substantial degree of effective machine control capability in any broad commercial sense. Additionally, their high cost continues to create a barrier against practical exploita- I tion much beyond laboratory or experimental application.
Accordingly, a broad object of the invention is to reduce the cost and complexity of acoustically responsive machine control systems, including systems based on command recognition for the acoustic operation of telephone sets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The stated object and additional objects are achieved within the principles of the invention by a system that employs a relatively limited vocabulary of commands,
such as a half dozen or less for example. These com- 4 mands are selected on the basis of how closely they in fact describe or fit a particular ordered action and how readily they may be identified in terms of a sequence of different combinations of preselected binary parameters. Speech may be analyzed in terms of a variety of parameters including, for example, duration, distribution of formants, total energy content, energy content at preselected intervals, zero' crossing patterns, instantaneous frequency and envelope patterns among others. In accordance with the invention, two or more of these parameters having suitable characteristics are selected to define commands. The most significant characteristic is that each parameter is required to be identified in binary form, which is to say that at any given time during a command a parameter magnitude or other measure must be capable of expression in terms of its relation with respect to a preselected level or norm, i.e., either high or low. A spoken command may thus be converted into a plurality of simultaneous binary waveforms which, in effect, define the profiles of the chosen parameters.
In one illustrative embodiment of the invention, parameters of instantaneous energy content and frequency are employed. A preselected median level dividing relatively high and low magnitudes for each of these parameters provides the basis for binary definition. With this arrangement there is available a total of four possible binary combinations or events, and in accordance with the invention, it is the detection of the occurrence of these events and the sequence in which they occur that provides the information for command recognition. By selecting a command of reasonable duration, four or five sequentialevents are made available for definition purposes, and a simple asynchronous logic circuit is used to make the decision as to whether the analyzed command is in fact a part of the programmed vocabulary.
The particular use to which a word recognition signal may be put is of course dependent on the nature of the machine to be controlled. In the case of telephony, for example,'it can be shown that complete operation of a repertory dialer set can be carried out with a relatively simple system of secondary logic requiring only a total of five commands.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of apparatus for operating a telephone set in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a decision tree for the secondary logic of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the parameter extractor shown in single block form in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4A is a plot of the parameter waveforms in accordance with the invention for a first illustrative command;
FIG. 4B is a plot of the parameter waveforms inaccordance with theinvention for a second illustrative command; and
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the recognition logic circuitry required to identify the parameter waveforms of FIGS. 4A and 4B.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION The broad principles of the invention are shown in FIG. I where a command recognition system, which includes a parameter extractor 101, a vocabulary recognition logic circuit 102 and a secondary logic system 103, is used to control a repertory dialer telephone set 104. It is important to note at the outset that any effective voiced command recognition circuit must work for a general adult population, which is to say that it must be capable of recognizing consistently and without confusion the selected words when pronounced in isolation by any male or female adult speaker. Without this consistency, it would be necessary to tune the system for every speaker which would, of course, be prohibitively expensive. This need for consistency is met in accordance with the invention by employing a set of binary parameter waveforms which are extracted from the conventional speech waveform. It is this function that is performed by the parameter extractor 101 of FIG. I.
The choice of binary waveforms contributes directly to cost reduction in the system by eliminating expensive analog-to-digital converters between the parameter extractor 101 and the vocabulary recognition logic circuit I02. Moreover, this approach indirectly contributes toward simplifying the recognition circuit. The
' most important advantage gained from the use of binary waveforms, however, is that of enhanced consistency in the accuracy of command translation.
The electrical waveform generated by the microphone M when a word is uttered contains only limited information about the word spoken, and the waveform varies widely from speaker to speaker particularly in its instantaneous frequency content. The principles of the invention are based in part on the realization that the most consistent information that can be extracted from the electrical signal corresponding to a voiced command is in terms of broad boundaries of segments with relatively high or low frequencies and with relatively high or low energy content. More detailed apparatus for deriving such parameter information is shown in FIG. 3. The first or frequency parameter apparatus consists of a series combination of a zero crossing counter 301, a frequency-to-voltage converter 302 and a comparator 303. The second or energy parameter apparatus, which is connected in parallel with the first parameter apparatus, consists of the series combination of an amplifier 304, an envelope detector 305 and a second comparator 306. In accordance with the invention, one can obtain additional information from essentially the same parameter extractors by setting up several comparators in parallel, each with a different threshold.
The most effective threshold or high-low dividing level for the voicing or frequency parameter has been found to be between 1.4 and 1.6 KHz. Thus, as shown .in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the V waveforms for the commands CONTROL and SPECIAL show at each point whether the instantaneous frequency content is above or below the selected threshold. Similarly, in the case of the energy parameter, the resultant E waveforms for the two illustrative commands show at each instant over the duration of the spoken command whether the energy content is relatively high or relatively low with respect to a preselected energy threshold. It has been found that thev desired degree of recognition consistency may be readily obtained by empirical adjustment of these two thresholds. It is of course possible to employ more than two parameters for a given set of words, and this approach is at times desirable to aid in distinguishing between borderline cases. It must be realized, however, that the possibility of overrefinement may result in a loss in consistency.
The limitations associated with the choice of binary parameter waveforms concern, primarily, the size of the vocabulary of words which the system can recognize without confusion among legitimate members of the set and the degree of discrimination against other similar sounding words. Both of these limitations are taken into consideration in the use of the apparatus 'shown in FIG. 3 and in the resultant waveforms of FIGS. 4A and 4B. It is to be noted that both of the parameters V and E can switch independently of each other asynchronously from one state to the other. Thus, at any instant of time, any one of four events or conditions are possible which may be defined as follows:
H VE event that both V and E are high, L VF= event that both V and E are low,
V= VF event that V is high and E is low,
E 75 event that V is low and E is high.
As seen from FIG. 4A, the sequence of events E through E, for the parameter waveforms of the command CONTROL is E-L-H-E. Similarly, as seen from FIG. 4B, the sequence of events E through E, for the parameter waveforms of the command SPECIAL is I-I-L-E-I-l-E.
Assume, for example, that command words of sufficient acoustic duration are selected to allow the occurrence of three events when each is pronounced in isolation. Then, eliminating the need to detect the occurrence of the same event consecutively, the maximum number of words which can be differentiated from each other is 4 X 3 X 3 36. Although some of these words will not have grammatical meaning, there is a strong likelihood of being able to obtain at least five legitimate words from the group that are suitable for machine command purposes. As an aid in the choice of words one may note the rough correspondence between the events and certain acoustic features. For example, the events H and E are associated with vowel segments, the event L with stop consonants or plosives and the event V with fricative consonants.
The recognition logic circuit for the two command words CONTROL and SPECIAL is illustrated in FIG. 5. Recognition logic for the command CONTROL includes the flip-flop circuits FFlA through FF4A and the AND gates 61 through 64. For the command SPE- CIAL the logic includes a total of live flip-flops FFIB through FFSB and a total of five AND gates 65 through 69. In the interest of clarity and simplicity of explanation the asynchronous clock which is used in conventional fashion to reset each of the flip-flops and which is accordingly connected to cach'of the R or reset flipflop inputs is not shown.
Operation of the circuit of FIG. 5 is straightforward. Consider for example the sequence for the command SPECIAL. The occurrence of the event E E corresponding to the input of the first AND gate 65 sets the first flip-flop FFIB. The fact that the event E has occurred previously as registered by the flip-flop FFIB and the occurrence of event E next sets the flip-flop FFZB. Before the occurrence of the event E however,
the occurrence of the event E can have no effect on the recognition sequence of this word. Operation of the SPECIAL logic circuit through the rest of its cycle, including the events E E and E as well as the complete operation of the CONTROL logic circuit through the events E B, may similarly be traced.
When recognition of more words is desired, additional inputs to the AND gates can be taken from the flip-flop outputs of adjacent recognition sequences to avoid confusion among legitimate words as indicated by the (6,) input to AND gate 62 in the CONTROL logic sequence. The asynchronous clock (not shown) ensures the resetting of all flip-flops after every attempted recognition to provide further security against possible false operation. One particularly important feature of the recognition circuit shown in FIG. 5 is that its operation is unaffected by the speed with which a word is pronounced.
Utilization of the outputs from the circuit shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated broadly by the secondary logic block 103 of FIGQI and specifically by the decision tree for the secondary logic for a repertory dialer telephone set illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the secondary logic 103 receives commands from the recognition circuit 102 and proceeds to perform a series of functions depending upon the words employed, in this instance a total of five words, W1 through W5, and upon the sequence in which they are spoken. In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 2, the system is powered and waiting for the initiating command W1. When the W1 command is received, the system determines whether there is an incoming call or an originating call by detecting the presence or absence of ringing current. If an incoming call is detected, then the system immediately provides a voice path for conversation.
If ringing is not detected, the system looks for either of two words, W2 or W3. If W2 is spoken, the system is transferred automatically into a digit dialing mode. Although dialing may be accomplished by voiced commands translated in the manner described above, a preferred dialing method is that disclosed by C. J. Hoffman in his application, Ser. No. 101,817, filed Dec. 28, I970. In Hoffmans system, a clock is startedto initiate dialing which cyclically lights up a display of the digits through 9 in sequence. Thecoincidence of the digit lighting and any voiced command, which may or may not be the voiced digit, effects the selection of that digit. The digit so selected is simultaneously stored in a local memory and displayed visually for feedback to the user. If an error is made selecting a digit, the word W3 spoken at this point results in erasing the last digit from both the memory and the display. When the complete telephone number has been placed in the temporary memory and verified from the display, the word W4 or W5 is spoken. If the word W4 is spoken, the tones corresponding to the number are generated and dialed to the central office. If the word W5 is spoken, then a repertory address clock, not shown, is started and an address is selected in a manner similar to that described in the digit selection process. The number in temporary memory is then stored in permanent memory at the selected address for later recall and dialing.
If, however, after the initiating command W3 is spoken instead of W2, then the repertory address clock is started and an address may be selected as before. In this case, a number previously stored in that address is transferred to the temporary memory and display. At the utterance of W4, this number is then dialed to the central office. I
In either case, if the called party answers, the system goes to the initial state and at the end of the conversaion the utterance of WI causes the set to hang up. If the line is busy, the user can either hang up as before, or if the number will be called again, it can be stored in a REPEAT section of the repertory dialer memory.
In the secondary logic illustrated by FIG. 2 it should be noted that at all decision nodes the system has only two choices to make which provides the basis for a typical binary approach. Thus only two words, indicating 6 either of two paths, would suffice to control the internal sequence of events. In fact, if a preferred direction is provided, then only a single word would be necessary for the control function. However, the use of one or two words is not desirable from human factor considerations inasmuch as there would be little or no relation in meanings between the words and the actions which are effected by the logic circuits internally. By a choice of four or five words, however, it is found that sufficient correspondence is provided between the words and the control actions. It should also be noted that not all of the .features described in the secondary logic are critical. For example, the error correction feature or indeed the repertory feature may be omitted thereby reducing the number of words necessary to effect voice control of the secondary logic without meaningless coding.
It is to be understood that the use of the command recognition system of the invention in operating a repertory dialer telephone set is merely illustrative of the wide variety of machine control uses that may be served in a similar fashion.
What is claimed is:
1. Speech recognition apparatus for machine control comprising, in combination,
first means for translating audio speech into a corresponding electrical analog signal, 7
second means for translating said analog signal into a plurality of binary signals comprising,
a first circuit including zero crossing counter means, frequency-to-voltage converter means and first comparator means in a first serial combination,
amplifier means, envelope detector means and second comparator means in a second serial combination, I A l said first and second combinations being connected in parallel relation,
said electrical analog signal 'being applied to said combinations from said first translating means,
said binary signals each having a waveform presenting a first and a second level, each of said levels in each of said waveforms being indicative of the magnitude of a respective preselected speech parameter as being either above or below a respective preselected threshold level of said last named parameter,
said combinations of said second translating means being responsive to a transition from either one of said levels to the other in any of said waveforms to generate a distinctive signal indicative of said tran-. sition, and
word recognition logic circuitry'responsive to'a combination of said distinctive signals for generating an output signal uniquely indicative of a word or command as determined from said audio speech.
2. Apparatus in accordance with claim l'wherein said logic circuitry includes a system of secondary logic responsive to said output signal for the operation of a repertory dialer telephone set.
3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said logic circuitry comprises a plurality of series connected combinations of flip-flops, said combinations being equal in number to the number of words or commands to be recognized,
the number of said flip-flops in each of said combinations being equal to the highest number of said transitions that occur in either of the binary waveforms associated with the corresponding one of said 'words or commands, v an AND gate connected between each adjacent pair of said flip-flops,
7 8 each of said gates having an input from the preceding rect or inverted in accordance with whether the biflip-flop of said pair and from the outputs of said nary waveform associated with the related word to first and second comparators, and be recognized and with a particular one of said last an additional AND gate connected between said named inputs has undergone one of said transitions comparators and a respective first one of said flipat an immediately preceding point in time, flops, said last named AND gatehaving inputs only an output from the last flip-flop in one of said combifrom said comparators and having an output to said nations of flip-flops signifying the reception of an last named flip-flop, associated spoken word or command. said inputs to all of said AND gates being either di-
Citations de brevets
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text:
New Clearance
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Only hotels in Westmount are listed below. Search for cheap and discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Westmount, QC for your business or personal leisure travel. We provide the best Westmount, Quebec hotel and motel rooms. Browse the Westmount area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Westmount hotels. Group booking? Search Westmount Group Hotel Discounts
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text:
Mile End's Gribenes and Schmaltz
Schmaltz is a useful cooking fat to keep around the house; for our Cook the Book feature this week, it is used in Soup Mandel and Knishes. Keep the resulting Gribenes (fried chicken skin crackling) for snacks while you're cooking or toss them in a salad. If you don't have extra chicken skin hanging around the kitchen, call a butcher shop ahead of time and have them reserve it for you. More


text: Ranking Top 10 Players Chiefs May Consider with No. 1 Pick From KansasCity.com Feb 13, 2013 Share Tweet Next ARTICLE » Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images 13 Reads 0 Comments Ranking the top 10 available players at positions of need for the Chiefs, who have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft... Continue Reading on KansasCity.com »


text:
What to Do in Milwaukee
Your first look at what's happening around Milwaukee. All of the latest events you can't miss in the city.
On Tap this Weekend: Jazz-era fun, magic and more
Don your best Gatsby-esque apparel this weekend for a jazzy time. Find out the details, along with our other picks for weekend fun, in this week's video.
Quick links: Bachelor/ette auction | Jason Bishop | Brew City Bash | Art Jamboree | Beer page


text: Prev | Next A dog scavenges for food in the wreckage left when a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds.(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) Gallery: Midwest storms cleanup Tuesday May. 21, 2013 @ 05:36 PM The Herald-Dispatch / 2015 Residents continued recovery after a massive tornado struck in Oklahoma and throughout the midwest on Monday (u'nobuy',)


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Wells Fargo Center Premium Seating offers a VIP Will Call desk located just inside the VIP entrance. You will not need to go through our main box office to pick up your tickets. The VIP entrance is located on the north side of the Wells Fargo Center facing Pattison Ave. Enter the doors and turn left. The VIP Will Call desk will be in front of you with the private VIP elevator located nearby to take you to your Luxury Suite or Club Box.
For more information on Premium Seating call 215.389.9500 or contact us via email or click here to use our online form.


text:
Scott Simmons
firstname.lastname@example.com County Line Rd
Ellerbe, NC 28338
Phone: 910-652-5400
Show kids for sale? Yes!
We are a small farm specializing in raising show wethers and show prospect does. Fullbloods and percentages available. Powell/Holman and Kohls genetics.
NCDA&CS Markets Division - Livestock Section, Neil Bowman, Manager
Mailing Address: 1020 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1020
Physical Address: 2 W. Edenton Street, Room 402, Raleigh NC 27601
Phone: (919)707-3151; FAX: (919) 733-0999
Jobs | Mission Statement | Accessibility Statement | Disclaimer | Privacy Statement
Steve Troxler, Commissioner of Agriculture


text:
New research suggests the metre-tall human-like species, nicknamed the hobbit, was clever enough to use tools.
Homo floresiensis was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004 and has puzzled many scientists about where it came from and where it sits in the human evolutionary tree.
Adam Brumm from the Australian National University and colleagues have found similiarities between stone tools found at two sites. One site is Liang Bua cave where the hobbit and other artefacts dated to between 95-74,000 and 12,000 years ago were discovered. The other site 50km to the west at Mata Menge reveals stone artefacts dated to 840-700,000 years ago.
The stone tools at Mata Menge are similar to, and show technological continuity with, the stone tools associated with the hobbit at Liang Bua.
'This reinforces the argument that the hobbit really is a descendant of a population that had lived on the island for a very long time', said Chris Stringer, human origins expert at the Natural History Museum, in an interview with the BBC.
It is usually assumed that only one species of early human, Homo erectus , lived in southeast Asia before modern people arrived there, so the hobbit may have descended from Homo erectus .
Chris adds that we cant guarantee the material is related because of the large gap of time between the two sets of tools but says this is potentially enough time to allow the unusual features of the hobbit to develop.
The research is reported in the journal Nature


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The scope of this question is particularly bothersome to me. I like the way that Paula has discussed the inside-out phenomenon that many believe in where we all take care of the kids in our classroom and that creates a panacea for bad teaching in other rooms. I especially like this comment: It is time … Continue reading
One of the largest complaints I hear about education is that the students are "just so damned apathetic". For some students, this is a reality, and I won't say that it is entirely the system's fault for this problem. What I will say is that one of the biggest complaints I have about educators is … Continue reading
I'm a big fan of doing the minimum…and the maximum. The key is understanding at which point doing "the minimum" is better than doing "the maximum" and when doing "the maximum" is absolutely necessary. Here are two examples: Do the minimum when you write your lesson plans. I'm not saying don't plan, and I am … Continue reading
I am going to take the liberty of discussing the parental role of this discussion prior to discussing ways of making students "self-directed, social learners" for one reason and one reason alone. Following my first year of teaching, I sat down and asked myself a series of questions. One of which was the following: What … Continue reading
Wounded By School is comprised of stories and Kirsten Olsen's perspective of how parents and teachers can alter, or prevent, the damage that occurs to schoolchildren every day as a result of school culture. I have to agree with a lot of Olsen's ideas as to what is wrong with school as well as what … Continue reading
The population that makes up the structure we call "school" can be placed on a continuum to show the way in which each individual is contributing to the development (or hindrance) of democracy. Point blank: each individual needs to be knowledgeable of the fact that he or she can push schools further towards a democratic … Continue reading
When developing Common Content or Core Standards the first step is understanding that, more often than not, they get in the way of promoting democratic school structures. There is nothing more "undemocratic" than mandating specific knowledge for every individual to know and eliminating all possible choice when it comes to scope and sequence. There is … Continue reading
Schools have evolved in the United States over time from "restricted access for some" to "you must go" while increasing provisions for those that are in need, and offering a menu of activities in participatory culture. The problem is that, despite the participatory feeling of these additions, schools lack in their efforts to prompt a … Continue reading
The problem with answering this question is that most people have a limited scope and understanding as to the role and purpose of education in general never mind when we start to discuss its importance in a democracy. It's the juxtaposition of articulating a clear role of education in a democracy as well as the … Continue reading


text:
If i follow the Datastax tutorial about Solr, it says to :
- Create a Column family in C*; insert data into it
- Then create a schema in Solr that references this CF, with parameters for each field as:
indexed="true" stored="true"
So my question is, in that case isn't the data stored *twice*, once in C* (thru insertions) and in Solr (via 'stored='true') ? If so, isn't this inefficient ? Or am I missing something ?


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Commonly Asked Questions About Chemical Lawn Care
A Beyond Pesticides Factsheet
While the professional lawn care industry rakes in annual sales of $1.5-2 billion, we have received an increasing number of phone calls from people requesting information about these services. Many of the questions asked are similar in nature, revealing common misconceptions that are rampant among the public regarding the use of lawn care pesticides. Listed below are a few of these questions, along with the answers. We hope this will arm you, the consumer, with enough information to make informed choices about protecting the health of your family while properly caring for your lawn.
Companies keep telling me that the chemicals they use are registered with the EPA. Is this registration a guarantee that the products are safe?
Any pesticide legally used in this country must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This registration does not constitute an approval rating or safety claim of any sort -- nor does it guarantee that the chemicals have been fully tested for environmental and human health effects. In fact, of the 36 most commonly used lawn care pesticides registered before 1984, only one has been fully tested and evaluated - sulfur. Health effects of these 36 lawn pesticides show that: 14 are probable or possible carcinogens, 15 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 24 with neurotoxicity, 22 with liver or kidney damage, and 34 are sensitizers and/or irritants. A child in a household using home and garden pesticides is 6.5 times more likely to develop leukemia than in a home that does not. Obviously, EPA approval is not a guarantee of safety; in fact, EPA believes that no pesticide can ever be considered perfectly "safe." Additionally, the U.S. General Accounting Office, and the New York and Pennsylvania Attorneys General have charged various companies with misleading advertising and prohibited safety claims.
If these products aren't safe, why have they been registered?
Pesticides are, by their very nature, poisons. The federal law governing pesticide use relies on a risk-benefit statute, which allows the use of pesticides with known hazards based on the judgment that various levels of risk are acceptable. However, EPA, who performs this risk assessment, assumes that a pesticide would not be marketed if there were no benefits to using it and therefore no risk/benefit analysis is done "up front." Pesticides lacking data on health and environmental effects since 1972 (and in use for much longer) are still registered, although the required toxicity studies have yet to be performed/submitted. Scandals surrounding two pesticide testing laboratories revealed that fraudulent data had been submitted -- data that are still considered valid in the involved pesticides' registrations. And yet, EPA's evaluation process is considered a legitimate indicator of a pesticides' acceptability, continually allowing carcinogens to be deliberately introduced into our environment. But what level of risk could be considered reasonable for a green lawn? Beyond Pesticides believes that the "benefits" of using lawn care pesticides for aesthetic, unnecessary purposes does not outweigh the health risks associated with exposure to these poisons. Their registration is totally unacceptable; a healthy beautiful lawn can be attained without the use of these poisons.
Can my kids and pets play safely on the lawn when it is dry?
Pesticide residues will remain on the grass even if it is dry. While inhalation and dermal exposures are considered major routes of exposure for lawn pesticides, very few studies have been done to determine the health effects of such exposures. However, one such study on Triumph (active ingredient isazophos) found exposure to residues on the grass to be unacceptably high. The Occupational and Residential Exposure Branch within EPA has been trying to gather more data on this aspect of lawn care pesticide exposure. However, the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has repeatedly denied permission to EPA to request these exposure studies from manufacturers.
How can I control the weeds in my yard without harming my family?
Non-toxic weed control does not begin with finding a safe herbicide to use on your lawn. The quick-fix that chemicals offer does not address the fact that weeds are but a signal or symptom indicating the overall condition of your lawn, and are not just an isolated problem. For instance, is your lawn being cut high (2-4 inches) and often? Is there proper drainage and aeration in your lawn? If not, your lawn may not be as healthy as it could be, and the opportunistic weeds are gaining a foothold in your yard. This overall perspective is one of the principles behind an organic pest management (OPM) program, the concept upon which all non-chemical pest control methods are based.
How can I ensure that my lawn care company is really using an organic program?
This spring, more than ever before, organic lawn care companies and "all-natural" services have been sprouting up across the country. The increasing marketplace for "environmentally friendly" products is also opening the door for fraudulent and misleading claims on all fronts. It is ultimately the responsibility of the consumer to determine the validity of the companies' claims. But how does one accomplish this?
Make sure you read the fine print on any contract or literature: some companies will choose to use "plant protection chemicals" (pesticides) if a "special situation" arises. Get what you want in writing, and hold them to their commitment.


text:
Below is the poem entitled UNDER THIS FRIENDSHIP I STAND which was written by poet
Roy. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Neethu Roy
I put my foot down here, stepping in;
Not bound to change my word, my choice.
Under this shade I stand, over the horizon;
No question of an unstable mind.
The choice is to defend with all vigour,
I choose to hold on till the end.
I will be right here, now and forever more,
Come dusk and dawn, snow and sun.
Hand over heart, feet on the ground
With my beloved ones, my friends, my solace.
Not bound by blood but by love
I will protect the grace of our union.
No matter what the wind blows away,
No matter what the trees shed apart,
No matter what the tides erase,
Etched deep into my heart: our friendship.
That which for five years my safe house
Drastic changes on the way; a road has to be taken;
I will move on and yet be here always
Under this shade I stand, over the horizon…


text:
|Tolkien Gateway is 10 years old. Sign up today to edit TG and help us grow for years to come.
This article or section is a stub. Please help Tolkien Gateway by expanding it.
Noldorin is the early name of the Sindarin language made by J.R.R. Tolkien. Its structure, history and background were different in the early versions of the mythos.
According to the background of the early legendarium, Noldorin derived from the Old Noldorin, the language spoken by the Gnomes/Noldoli in Valinor. That language was quite similar to Qenya, the language of the Lindar but had some differences.
When the Noldor came to Great Lands with Fëanor, their language was confused, mixed and mingled with Ilkorin, the language of the Dark Elves. This amalgam produced the Noldorin language.


text:
Feb. 10, 2005
Printable Schedule in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
WORCESTER, Mass. - Holy Cross head football coach Tom Gilmore and athletic director Richard M. Regan, Jr., have announced the 2005 schedule for the Crusaders. The slate features six home contests, and three games against schools which advanced to the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
"This is going to be a very challenging schedule for our team," said Gilmore. "We will play some tough non-conference games, in addition to our traditional Patriot League rivals. But we look forward to playing top competition, and feel our team will be ready for all the tests this schedule will provide."
The Crusaders will open the season with a three-game homestand, beginning on Sept. 3 against Sacred Heart. Holy Cross will then play host to Georgetown in its Patriot League opener on Sept. 10. Next up, the Crusaders will remain at Fitton Field for a Sept. 17 contest against Harvard, which posted a perfect 10-0 record in 2004. Holy Cross will play its first road game of the year on Sept. 24 at Delaware, a team which went 9-4 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals last season. The Crusaders stay on the road to face Yale on Oct. 1, then travel to Lehigh on Oct. 8 for a contest against the 2004 Patriot League co-champions.
Holy Cross returns home on Oct. 15 to take on Dartmouth, then remains at Fitton Field for an Oct. 22 game against Colgate. The Crusaders then hit the road once again, heading to Fordham on Oct. 29. Following an off week, Holy Cross will play its final home contest of the season on Nov. 12 against 2004 Patriot League co-champion Lafayette. The Crusaders conclude the 2005 regular season with a trip to Bucknell on Nov. 19.
The Crusaders are scheduled to open spring practice on Thursday, March 24. The annual spring game is set for Saturday, April 23.


text:
Hurricane Town earns lighthouse designation
HURRICANE -- A visitor's experience at Hurricane Town Elementary is likely to be a little different than at many other schools.
A 5-year-old may greet you with a handshake, introduce themself and welcome you to the school -- maybe even offer to guide you to your destination.
As you walk the halls, you will see individual student mission statements, evidence of service projects, and multiple references to leadership. Then there are the habits developed by Dr. Stephen Covey to enhance personal and professional effectiveness: Be Proactive; Begin with the End in Mind; Put First Things First; Think Win-Win; Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood; Synergize; Sharpen the Saw; and Find Your Voice.
These same habits are everywhere -- in student work, classroom goals, leadership notebooks, classroom leadership "jobs." They are in the hallways, the classrooms, the lunchroom, and outside the building. More importantly, though, they are in the behavior, attitudes, and skills of Hurricane Town students and staff.
Three years ago, principal Debbie Spicer met Muriel Summers, principal at A. B. Combs Elementary in Raleigh, N.C., and author of "The Leader in Me," the story of her school's journey to becoming one of the most acclaimed leadership institutions in the world.
That meeting proved fateful for Hurricane Town Elementary and Putnam County Schools. From that day, it has been Spicer's mission to give Hurricane Town students the same leadership advantage, and her mission became the vision that guided the school to Leader in Me Lighthouse Status, a designation earned by only about 40 schools in the world.
Since implementing The Leader in Me, Hurricane Town's attendance is better; discipline is better; classroom achievement is better; school spirit and pride are better. Students are able to look you in the eye when they speak, articulate their goals, and explain the steps they must take to attain them. They track their progress and schedule their improvement efforts. They work together and believe in service.
Today, the leadership of every child and staff member at Hurricane Town is in the spotlight in Putnam County and West Virginia. It has become a Lighthouse School that leads the way for other schools that wish to equip their students with the best tools to navigate the 21st Century.
Putnam County Schools has made a commitment to share the opportunity. Over three years, all of Putnam's elementary schools will become Leader in Me schools, the first school district to work with Franklin-Covey to create a district-wide leadership model. Eventually, the partnership will investigate implementing at the secondary levels, as well.
In the meantime, if you have a chance, stop in at Hurricane Town Elementary. See what children can do and be when they are equipped with the tools they need to be leaders. You are looking and the future, and it is promising.


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Donna J. Davis
Donna J. Davis, age 84, of Bergholz passed away Jan. 1, 2014, at Carroll Healthcare Center.
Born Feb. 3, 1929, in Bergholz, she was a daughter of the late Clifford and Irene M. (Condo) Parsons.
She was a member of Trinity United Presbyterian Church. She was a teacher at Edison Local School District for 45 years and an antique dealer in Amish country. Donna attended the Academy of Lifelong Learning.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, George Davis of Bergholz; daughter, Randi Davis Bake of Carrollton; and grandchildren, Zachary, Mackenzie, and Grant Bake.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by infant granddaughter, Carly.
Friends will be received at Everhart-Bove Funeral Home, 285 Second St., Bergholz, Saturday, Jan. 4 from 11 a.m. until time of funeral service at 1 p.m. with Pastor Alan Jeffries and Dr. Robert Miller officiating. Burial will follow in Bergholz Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hounds Haven, 22 Twp Rd 150, Dillonvale, OH 43917.
Send condolences online at www.everhart-bovefuneralhomes.com.
©2014 The Free Press Standard
Carrollton Free Press Standard, P. O. Box 37, Carrollton, OH 44615


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Abstract available in
Claims available in
Description (OCR text may contain errors)
M. N. HYAMS ELECTROSURGICAL DEVTCE Filed Nov. 29, 1935 Dec. 14, 1937.
INVENTOR. Moe T/MEE HYAMS CQ ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 14, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.
This invention relates to a medical instrument and an electro-medical method of treating live organs. The invention refers more particularly to a surgical instrument adapted to be intro- 5 duced into a living body for the purpose of subjecting such body to the influence of an electrical current.
An object of the present invention is the provision of an instrument which can be easily "I and quickly manipulated for the purpose of subjecting remote and hidden parts of a living body to electro-medical treatment.
Another object is the provision of a device, through the use of which a metallic electrode '15 may be quickly and accurately inserted into a remote part of a human body.
A further object is the provision of an apparatus of the described type which may be used for the purpose of surgical sterilization of the male and female.
The above and other objects of the present invention may be realized through the provision of an instrument comprising a hollow sound or tube of a predetermined elongated form. A movable electrode is situated adjacent one of the ends of the tube which is adapted to be inserted into the living body, while the other end of the tube is provided with means for moving said electrode relatively to said tube after the insertion of the latter.
- The tube is connected with means for introducing a radio-opaque medium into the body after the insertion of the tube, in order to enable the operator to determine the exact posi-, tion of the electrode relatively to the organ to be treated when said organ is placed under fluoroscopic visualization.
Hereinafter the device and the electro-medical method will be described by way of example 4 in their application to the surgical sterilization Obviously, the same method and an instrument of substantially the same construction may be used for various surgical, electro-therapeutic and other medical purposes.
The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Figure 1v is a section through an instrument constructed in accordance with principles of the '55 present invention, with some parts .shown in side elevation; Y n
Figure 2 shows the instrument in front elevation; and
Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the opera- 60 tion of the device.
.free end of the handle I2.
The instrument shown in the drawing comprises a hollow rigid metallic tube I. In the example illustrated, the tube 4 resembles a uterine sound in shape and appearance and is provided with a curved distal end portion 5. The proximal end 6 of the tube 4 is rigidly connected with a substantially elongated rectangular metallic support I which carries a cock or valve 8 and is provided Witha passage 9 leading from the interior of the valve 8 to an opening I0- formed in the wall of the tube 4. The opening I0 connects the interior of the tube 4 with the passage 9.
The support 1 also carries a hollow metallic sleeve II which has a larger diameter than that of the tube 4,
An object of the elongated support I is to indicate to the surgeon the direction of the curvature of the distal end 5 of the instrument after its insertion into the human body.
The device is providedl with a cylindrical, handle I2 consisting of hard rubber, bakelite or the like, which is provided with a narrower portion I3 fitting into the interior of the sleeve II.
The movable electrode of the instrument is formed by a small acorn-shaped tip I4 which is situated adjacent a sleeve I! made of bakelite or other insulating material and mounted upon the distal end 5 of the tube 4. The acornshaped electrode I I has a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the tube 4 and is attached to one end of a conducting wire I8 which is surrounded by insulation I5 consisting of rubber or any othersuitable insulating material.
The opposite end I6 of the insulation I5 is firmly connected with the portion I3 of the handle I2.
Due to this arrangement, the handle I2 carrying the wire I8 surrounded by the insulation I5 and the electrode I4 carried by the wire I8 surrounded by the insulation I5 are moved relatively to the tube 4 within certain limits determined by the length of the portion I3 of the handle I2.
In Figure l of the drawing the instrument is shown in the closed position, the electrode I4 being situated adjacent the sleeve II. In Figure 2, the instrument is shown in its open posi- In this position the handle I2 is moved to its limit into the sleeve II with the result that .the electrode I4 is moved away from the sleeve I1 and is situated at a certain predetermined distance from that sleeve.
The electrical current is supplied to the electrode I4 by the wire I8, one of the ends of which isattached to a terminal I9 situated within a cylindrical opening 20 formed in the v The terminal I9 may be connected with the source of electrical energy, such as a high frequency machine 2I by a plug 22 which is inserted into the opening 20 and which carries one end of a cable 23 connected with the source 2|.
An opening 32 is formed in the distal end 5 of the tube 4 adjacent the sleeve H.
The stop cook or the valve 8 which is carried by the support 1 comprises a valve body 24 which carries a handle 25 and which is provided with the usual opening adapted to coincide with the passage 9. The valve casing 26 is provided with a hollow sleeve 2'! carrying a hollow container 28. A piston or plunger 29 is situated within the container 28 and may be moved therein by means of the knob 30.
While devices of different types may be used for the same purpose, in the example illustrated, the container 28 and the parts associated therewith have the form of a Luer syringe.
The device is operated in the following manner:
First, the tube 4 is introduced into the body of the patient in the closed position of the instrument shown in Figure 1. At the time the instrument is applied the container 28 is filled with a radio-opaque medium, such as lipoiodine, or any other substance. After the instrument has been placed in the desired position, the valve 8 is opened by moving the'handle 25 into the opened position and the piston 25 is pushed toward the valve 8, causing the radio-opaque liquid to flow from the interior of the container 28 and through the valve 8 into the passage 9 of the support I. The liquid will flow through the opening 56 into the interior of the tube 4 and will flow within the tube in the direction of the arrow 3| until it reaches the opening 32.
The liquid will flow through the opening 32 into the human body, for instance, a cavity of a human organ, so that as soon as such body is placed under fluoroscopic visualization by any suitable means not shown in the drawing, the organ to be treated will be distinctly outlined. As soon as the requisite quantity of the radioopaque medium has been injected, the valve 8 is turned off by moving the handle 25 into the closed position.
While this organ remains under direct vision, the surgeon moves the handle l2 in a direction toward the support 1, thereby advancing the electrode 54 from the closed position shown in Figure 1 to the open position shown in Figure 2.
Due to the provision of the radio-opaque medium the surgeon will be able to determine the exact position of the electrode 14 and to move said electrcde into the desired position.
Then the fluoroscopic illumination is switched off and valve 3 is opened. The, surgeon then moves the knob 30 in a direction away fromthe valve 3, thereby creating a suction in the interior of the tube 6. Since the inner diameter of the sleeve I? is somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the insulation 15, the radio-opaque liquid will be sucked into the interior of the tube 5 through the annular opening 33 formed between the outer surfaces of the insulation [5 and the inner surfaces of the sleeve 11, as well as through the opening 32. Through this suction, the excessive amount of the radio-opaque medium is removed from the human body. Then the valve 8 is closed again.
As shown in Figure 3, the second electrode consists of a comparatively large metallic plate 34 which is placed adjacent the human body and which is connected by a wire 35 with the high fre quency apparatus 2!. When the high frequency apparatus 2! is switched on an electrical current is caused to flow between the electrode I4 and the electrode 34, which in the example illustrated, will cause coagulation of the uterine cornu.
For the purpose described, it is advisable to. use an electrical current of approximately 250 to 300 milliamperes at a frequency of 500,000 cycles per second, for about five seconds. Obviously, the amount of the current and the frequency, as well as the period of treatment, may be varied depending upon the organs to be treated and other conditions.
After the completion of the coagulation of one of the tubal openings the apparatus 2| is switched off and the handle 12 is moved back into the closed position shown in Figure l. The support 1 indicates the direction of the curvature of the distal end 5 of the instrument so that it can be easily rotated until the electrode I4 is moved to the opposite tubal opening. The procedure is, thereupon, repeated.
Obviously, various changes may be made in the construction and form of the apparatus to adapt the same to the treatment of glands, intestines, or other organs and tissues of the human body, male and female, within the scope of the appended claims.
What is claimed is:--
1. In combination with a medical instrument comprising a tube, an electrode adjacent one end of said tube, a handle adjacent the opposite end of said tube, an insulated conducting Wire connecting said handlewith said electrode and situated within said tube, and means connecting said wire to a source of electrical energy, said handle, said wire and said electrode being movable relatively to said tube, a free space being provided within said tube between the inner surfaces thereof and the outer surfaces of said insulated conducting wire for the passage of a fluid, a support firmly connected with said opposite end of the tube, a passage being formed in said support which is in communication with the interior of said tube, and a syringe carried by said support and in communication with said passage.
2. A medical instrument, comprising a metallic tube having the form of a sound, an insulated sleeve carried by the distal end of said tube, an
acorn-shaped electrode adjacent said sleeve, an opening being formed in the distal end ofsaid tube adjacent said sleeve, another metallic sleeve, a support firmly connected with one endof said .tube and with one end of the second-mentioned cal energy, said terminal being connected with said conducting wire.
Referenced by
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By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 27, 2009 When young people began flocking to MySpace about two years ago, the Army recognized social networks as a whole new way to reach its primary recruiting population.
So Army recruiters and accessions staffers, too, are establishing an Army presence in the growing array of social networking forums, Suzanne Nagel, Army Accessions Command's media and Web chief for Army advertising, told American Forces Press Service.
They're using them to connect with 18- to 24-year-olds who regularly use social networking sites, to direct them to the primary Army recruiting Web site, and to help answer their questions about Army service in a nonthreatening, no-pressure environment.
"In essence, our philosophy is that we want to fish where the fish are," Nagel said. "For us, the fish are the prospects -- the person who might be interested in joining the Army."
From its first corporate sponsorship page on MySpace -- which now boasts more than 90,000 "friends" -- to a comprehensive plan being developed for fiscal 2010, the Army is expanding its social media presence to better reach these prospects.
Many potential recruits might never go to the www.goarmy.com recruiting Web site on their own, Nagel conceded. They're more likely to do so, she said, if steered to the site through a MySpace, Facebook or other social networking contact.
"The people we want to reach are spending an awful lot of time in social networking sites," she said. "So you have to be in those environments to be able to talk to the people you want to talk to."
The goal, she said, is to help people understand the Army experience. "The more people know about the Army, and the more they know about the reality of the Army, the better they will be equipped to make that decision to join," she said.
Nagel calls the men and women in uniform whose unfiltered voices tell the ups and downs of their Army experiences the key to the Army's social media efforts.
"There is no better way to tell the Army story than to get it directly from the mouths of soldiers -- the people who have experienced it every single day," she said. "With all of our social networking ventures, we are looking to leverage our soldiers and to make them the spokespeople."
Real-life soldiers representing every rank and a variety of military specialties and backgrounds provide an unfiltered perspective on daily life in the military through blog entries, photos and videos posted on the ArmyStrongStories.com Web site.
"As people go on our site and ask questions about joining, and should they do it, we want our soldiers to be on those sites, giving them the answers from their own perspectives," Nagel said.
The Army monitors the discussion to ensure material posted doesn't violate security considerations or include political commentary and isn't offensive. But otherwise, the discussion is straightforward and uncensored, with soldiers calling things as they see them.
"We definitely don't want them giving canned answers that we have prepared for them," Nagel said. "The people who are on the discussion board and our social networking site can cut through the propaganda really, really quickly. They know what's real and what's canned. So it's important that the conversation be real."
Recruiters are generating similar conversations as they set up Facebook pages and develop networks of friends to talk about Army opportunities.
Another Army discussion board launched late last year links former and current ROTC cadets. "The whole goal is to keep people interested in ROTC and to allow people who have been there to talk to people going there, to share those experiences," Nagel said. "We're seeing some interesting results, and looking to possibly expand it."
The Army is making plans to expand its full range of social media networking, getting more soldiers to contribute videos for the Army's YouTube site, and sharing comments on its Facebook page.
Meanwhile, a social networking plan being developed for fiscal 2010 will build on that headway while looking to what's ahead in the quickly evolving medium. The Armywide plan will help the service tap into the new opportunities these tools provide.
"Social networking is changing on almost a daily basis," Nagel said. "So we're trying to take advantage of the things out there, and to identify emerging sites and take advantage of those as they come along."
As these social networks develop, Nagel doesn't measure their success through the number of friends or followers, or visitor hits alone. "We are looking at it to see what kind of conversations are going on, and the number of people driving back to the [goarmy.com] site," she said.
What's developed so far already vastly exceeds what many Army officials expected, she said, which was little more than an Army fan page. But they quickly noticed another phenomenon as dialogue grew to include more than just potential soldiers, she said.
Applicants who had already signed up, but hadn't yet shipped off to basic training, began using the site to stay connected. "I'm getting ready to ship to basic in three weeks, and am looking for somebody who is going to be at Fort Jackson, [S.C.]," a MySpace friend might ask.
These connections help reinforce the applicant's decision to join the military, Nagel said. "With recruiting, it's not just about getting people to sign up," she said. "It's about keeping the people interested in joining so they don't drop out before actually shipping to basic training."
Meanwhile, as applicants began connecting, their parents began using the site to connect with each other, too. Teachers, coaches and other adults who influence young people's decisions to join the military began joining the conversation.
The Army hopes to generate more of these conversations through its social networking efforts.
"We want to make sure people can understand the Army experience," Nagel said. "Our goal is to change perceptions and convince people who maybe wouldn't otherwise think about the Army in a positive way."


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Saba Review
What You Should Know
Click Here To See Our Highest Rated Review
Saba Weight Loss is a product produced by the Saba company. We will take a closer look at the product and its ingredients to determine if there is any value to dieters who want to lose weight. There is little information available about the product, but we will go with what we were able to find. It appears the product comes in the form of a drink.
List of Ingredients
Saba Weight Loss contains the following ingredients: niacin, chromium and green tea, L-camatine, guarana, garcinia cambogia and white tea polyphenols. It may also contain the Borojo fruit, but we are not clear if it is in the formula or not.
Product Features
Niacin is a B vitamin thought to help with optimal thyroid function and help increase energy levels. Chromium is essential to helping stabilize the blood sugar levels, which in turn helps with diabetes and controls cravings. Green Tea is full of anti-oxidants and has EGCG, thought to help boost the metabolism. L-carmatine helps to burn fat and increases energy levels by releasing energy from fat cells. Gaurana is a stimulant thought to help burn fat and increase energy levels. Garcinia cambogia helps carbs from turning into fat, helps suppress the appetite, and helps promote healthy lipid levels.
- This product does contain proven weight loss ingredients.
- We do not know how much of each ingredient is in the formula, so we cannot really evaluate how effective the product is.
- There are several stimulants in the formula, which may cause negative side effects including: jitters, insomnia, irritability, and headaches.
- There is very little information available about the company that makes this product. There is also little information on the product itself.
- We were only able to find the product through a third party retailer.
- We are not sure if there is a money back guarantee for this product.
- There are no customer testimonials to support how well this product works for people who have tried it.
- There are no free trials of this product.
Due to the lack of information about the company and the product itself, we advise people to proceed with caution. Since there are no money back guarantees or free trials, there is a lot of risk on the consumer. Though there are proven weight loss ingredients in the formula, we don't know they are used in the right amounts to produce real results. We recommend you further your research to find a product that not only contains proven weight loss ingredients, but proven amounts of those ingredients to ensure you are getting the best product out there. For best results, combine the use of this product with a balanced diet and regular exercise routine.


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