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Opel Adam Black Link and White Link limited edition announced for IAA arrival
Available on order late fall
Opel will be showing at next month's IAA in Frankfurt two new special editions of the Adam called Black Link and White Link.
Aside from introducing a 3-cylinder, 1.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and an LPG version for the Adam, Opel is adding two limited editions featuring the IntelliLink infotainment system and Siri Eyes Free voice control. These two will be available with either an "I'll be Black" or "Saturday White Fever" exterior paint hues with brushed, aluminum-like colored side mirror housings, tinted rear window and 18-inch Twister alloys.
These two special editions also come with a white or black lacquered roof spoiler, LED daytime running lights and taillights, while the interior cabin carries over the exterior color scheme. The aforementioned IntelliLink system features a seven-inch touchscreen color display with Tune-in, BringGo and Stitcher apps included.
With Siri Eyes Free users can use voice command to play songs in the iTunes library, access calendar and add appointments, make telephone calls to saved contacts, as well as listen to, write and send a text message or iMessage.
Production will be limited to 2,000 units, with order books opening late this fall.
Visit the press release area for further details.
- Optimal connectivity and stylish travel with innovative ADAM special models
- IntelliLink infotainment system and Siri Eyes Free voice control as standard
- Individual smartphone looks with black-white contrast
- Union of ultra-modern technology and clear, technical design
Rüsselsheim. The Opel ADAM is not only the individualization champion, it is also the best connected small car on the market. This is again demonstrated by the new ADAM Black Link and ADAM White Link special models, which come with the IntelliLink infotainment system and Siri Eyes Free voice control fitted as standard. Both new models make their debut at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt on the Opel stand D09 in Hall 8 from September 12 – 22. They follow the hugely successful ADAM study with Siri Eyes Free, presented at the Geneva Motor show in the spring. Produced in a limited edition of 2,000 units, the ADAM Black Link and White Link variants reflect typical smartphone looks in black or white, with accents in brushed aluminum. They thus embody a perfect blend of ultra-modern infotainment and connectivity technology with clear, technically-inspired design.
"The ADAM Black Link and ADAM White Link models are like a sophisticated smartphone on wheels," says Tina Müller, Opel Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "From the late fall, we will be offering them with our clever IntelliLink infotainment system and Siri Eyes Free voice control fitted as standard, in combination with a very special smartphone design. In an unconventional way, the ADAM combines innovative technologies with countless personalization possibilities which are not available anywhere else to this extent. With these new models, our stylish city car once again shows that it is the best connected small car and a true individualization champion all wrapped up in one."
ADAM drivers who have an iOS 6 – or later – compatible iPhone can comfortably and safely activate the Siri Eyes Free function via steering wheel controls and operate it with voice commands while keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.
Entertainment and navigation over Siri Eyes Free and Opel FlexDock
To activate Siri in Eyes Free mode, drivers connect their iPhone with IntelliLink via Bluetooth and then press the voice activation button on the steering wheel. Siri Eyes Free can be called up while other apps, such as BringGo Navigation, are running in the background. Music and navigation information is automatically muted during this time. The following functions are available with voice command over Siri Eyes Free:
- Telephone calls to saved contacts
- Play songs in the iTunes Library and switch between different music sources such as radio and iPod
- Listen to, write and send an iMessage or text message to a telephone number or saved contact
- Access calendar and add appointments
- Siri Eyes Free also provides answers to questions about sports results or the dates of national holidays, for example. To minimize distraction from road traffic and increase safety, the iPhone screen remains dark.
Thanks to Siri Eyes Free, even navigation with Apple Maps is child's play. Places, addresses and destinations can be entered verbally, without the driver having to look at the IntelliLink screen. The map is shown on the iPhone display mounted in the Opel FlexDock. With the standard FlexDock smartphone set-up in the instrument panel in the ADAM Black Link and White Link, drivers have full access to Siri Eyes Free. In this way they can even ask how close they are to their destination. Another advantage of the Opel FlexDock is that it automatically re-charges the iPhone it's holding so the battery doesn't deplete.
The Opel IntelliLink infotainment system features a 7-inch color touchscreen and also includes the Tune-in app for global radio reception, the navigation app BringGo and Stitcher, an app for receiving internet radio podcasts from around the world. The infotainment system is also compatible with Android software-operated devices. This makes the Opel ADAM the most user-friendly and cleverly connected small car on the market. Its unique appeal is also confirmed by real-life use: the latest multi-media test conducted by the German trade magazine Auto Bild (August 2, 2013 issue) names the ADAM with its IntelliLink system as the clear winner ahead of 13 competitors.
Ultra-modern technology in technically-inspired black-white design
Ultra-modern iPhone technology and design is mirrored in the looks of the special ADAM Black Link and White Link models. The ADAM comes in I'll be Black or Saturday White Fever exterior colors. Accentuated contrasts to the rest of the body are provided by brushed, aluminum-look colored side mirror housings and the grille bar carrying the Opel logo in the same look, as well as the tinted rear window and 18-inch wheels in a Twister design with matching wheel clips. An eye-catcher is also the black or white lacquered standard roof spoiler, as well as the characteristically shaped headlamps with LED daytime running lights and LED rear lights. The standard, crisp sport chassis provides lots of driving fun with its direct response.
Inside the cabin, the seats, instruments and applications continue the exterior color scheme. In the ADAM Black Link, all occupants enjoy the comfort of OCIO Black Morrocana seat cushions. While the center console and instrument panel are also black, the door trims, glove box, leather gear knob and handbrake handle are in contrasting bright white and technically-inspired Sky Cool Grey. The counterpart to all this is the White Link version, with its own color scheme: the seats are radiant in OCIO White Morrocana, just like elements in the instrument panel and center console.
With innovative technologies, their own specific smartphone design and comprehensive standard equipment, the ADAM Black Link and ADAM White Link can both be ordered from the late fall.


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DeLand, FL 32720
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DeLand, FL 32720
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Realist | posted May 14, 2013 - 2:45:14pm
IF it is entirely the fault of the police chief based on his "actions'.....
There is but one solution.....follow Sanford's lead....
hire an Afro-American chief ( who was fired by his previous employer)......that worked out real well for Sanford, didn't it ?
They have a new chief of their own color and yet the murder rate in Sanford continues to skyrocket, proving that it doesn't really matter who the "chief' is.....criminals are criminals !
As for that petition that was started in the Afro-American community.......do you mind if I have a copy of those phone #'s you have recorded ?
I would like to cross-reference them with the free Obamaphone list !
Are you sure this is what you would like to do?
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subset: commoncrawl


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The One and Only Ms. Megan Jones Bio At RK
Hot Babe Megan Jones on Reality Kings!
Ms. Megan Jones first started her career as a adult actress back in 2005 at the age of 21 years old and she is originally from Miami, Florida where she still lives. This tall 5'9 Hispanic woman has a fantastic body. Ms. Megan Jones enhanced her boobies to a DD and has a pretty sweet butt. Her scenes usually are masturbation porn, girl on girl, threesomes and she is the pro of club porn.
Megan Jones has debuted in many RK.COM adult films such as We Live Together and Hot Bush. She enjoys participating in model shoots and recording kinky sex tapes. One thing about Megan Jones is that she does not mind growing out her pussy hair for particular scenes. She is active in the industry and is planning on doing a lot more adult videos moving forward. This is one hottie you must have heard of and most definitely need to add to your jerk list.


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The attorney for fired Dickinson State University President Richard McCallum said Monday his client was not treated fairly and will fight for his job.
North Dakota University System Chancellor William Goetz said a notice of termination was sent to McCallum on Sunday, after McCallum did not respond to Goetz's earlier request to step down in a dispute over falsified enrollment numbers.
"Since he has not taken the initiative on his own to resign, this is a letter of intent to dismiss," Goetz said Monday.
McCallum's attorney, Ben Thomas, of Fargo, said his client would ask for a review. McCallum has until 5 p.m. Thursday to request a hearing, Goetz said.


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Our Team
Michael K. Parks
Michael comes to us from New Carlisle, Ohio. Michael started his career at age 14 in a family owned restaurant. By age 18 Michael was a manager. He managed the well known Portofino's Restaurant at the Radisson Hotel and Suites and later became the food and beverage director. Michael worked for 9 years as a captain and manager at L'Auberge under Josef Reif and Chef Dieter Krug. Michael has been at Carvers for 12 years.
Chef William Pence
Chef Pence was born & raised in West Carrolton, Ohio, where he has developed a sense for the Dayton area's tastes. Chef Pence has always had a passion for food. He began his restaurant career at the age of 14 and ran his first kitchen at age 20. Chef Pence's award winning recipes and talented staff have made Carvers Dayton's favorite steakhouse.
Josh Dotson
Josh started with Carvers 16 years ago as a service assistant. Josh Attended Ohio University and holds a Bachelors Degree in Education with a minor in Bussiness. From 2005-2011 Josh served in the Marine Corp and was deployed to Iraq in 2009.Josh has a passion for wine and Rare Liquors. Josh also runs our entertainment program.


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Elephants are faced with a dual threat to their survival
The former is common to many other species, the latter is due to the elephant's possession of a precious commodity - ivory.
Habitat destruction has both reduced the total range of elephants, and has greatly fragmented it. The principal cause is human settlement and agriculture due to population growth, but activities such as logging for financial gain also contribute.
Over much of the range, the remaining areas of habitat correspond to national parks, nature reserves and the like. Many of these fragments retain less than 100 individuals, and prospects for their long-term survival are not good. If there is no exchange of individuals with other populations, inbreeding reduces the genetic health of the population. If climatic fluctuations produce a series of stressful years, the population will suffer increased mortality and reduced birth rate, and may not recover.
In West Africa through the 1980s, elephant populations in habitat fragments of less than 250 km2 had only a 20% chance of surviving the decade, while those in areas of more than 750 km2 had almost a 100% chance of survival.
The hunting of elephants for meat has been practised since prehistoric times, but only with the use of firearms has the thirst for ivory posed a threat to the very survival of the species. By 1800, the elephant populations of southern and West Africa had already been seriously depleted. A century later, the trade from Africa had increased to 1000 tonnes per year. The 1970s and 1980s proved critical: the total African population fell from an estimated 1.3 million animals in 1979, to just over 400,000 in 1987.
Combating the ivory trade is a complex issue that requires the enforcement not only of bans against hunting, but international action to trace the organizers of poaching, the middle men, and the ultimate consumers.
From its foundation in the 1970s, CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) placed African elephants on its Appendix II (allowing limited trading). In 1989, however, they were raised to Appendix I, effectively banning all trade in elephant ivory. The policy worked: ivory prices fell, and many countries reported a drastic reduction in poaching. However, in 1997, some southern African countries with healthy elephant populations won from CITES permission to sell their ivory stocks. The market was stimulated, and in subsequent years, increased poaching has been reported by a number of African countries. Nevertheless, in 2002, and again in 2007, CITES allowed further sales of stockpiled ivory by these countries, despite almost universal opposition from conservation organisations, who argue that such sales only serve to stimulate the ivory trade and illegal killing of elephants.
A recent report (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/17/illegal-ivory-trade-poachers-africa) indicates that there is a massive current surge in ivory trading: more than 14,000 products made from the tusks and other body parts of elephants were seized in 2009. It is estimated that between 8% and 10% of Africa's elephants are now being killed each year to meet the demand, mostly from the Far East. With the current world population of African elephant at around 300,000-400,000, this represents an annual take of up to 40,000 animals and is clearly not sustainable.
The management and protection of elephant habitats is also a major goal. International support enabling poor countries to maintain existing wildlife reserves, or to create new ones, is crucial. Properly managed eco-tourism can be beneficial, as it provides an income underscoring the value of the reserve. Yet small reserves, even when protected, may not support enough animals to give a viable population. Raman Sukumar has suggested that 50 breeding individuals, translating into 125-150 animals, is a minimum goal, with 10 times that number an ideal. One solution to this problem is to create corridors of habitat, allowing animals to migrate between parks, so that populations are effectively merged into one, viable unit.
Elephant-human conflict is a serious issue in some areas. Elephants enter agricultural areas and can destroy the entire crop of a smallholding in a single night. Traditional countermeasures include lighting flares, throwing rocks, employing domestic elephants to chase away the marauders, or digging trenches around fields. The latter are of some use but elephants learn how to fill them with earth or logs. Electric fences are employed by rich landowners, but are too expensive to bound large national parks or small private holdings. Other measures include not planting crops favoured by elephants in the area around their habitat, and relocating farms and villages (with compensation paid to the farmers). The latter may also be necessary when extending reserves or creating habitat corridors.
In some African countries, elephant populations in wildlife parks have been held in check by government-approved culling. The stated rationale is to prevent the populations increasing to the point where they turn woodland into grassland, reducing biodiversity, and leading to elephant mortality when drought hits, as happened in Tsavo National park, Kenya, in the 1960s and 1970s. Opponents counter that culling (sometimes of entire family groups) is inhumane and causes stress to surviving animals; is a temptation for illicit ivory dealing; interferes with natural cycles; and depresses tourism. Possible alternatives include relocating animals to areas of low density and subcutaneous implants of birth-control hormones.
While elephants in Asia (Elephas maximus) have been domesticated for thousands of years, the African elephant has been domesticated only rarely. This difference appears to be for human cultural reasons rather than any innate inability of the species to be domesticated. The Carthaginians fought the Romans with them, and Hannibal's famous crossing of the Alps was probably with the help of the African species. In modern times, Belgian colonisers domesticated elephants for traction and other uses in Central Africa.


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Writes Beth Fouhy: "One part bulldog, one part philosopher king, the former presidential candidate and new Democratic Party chairman demonstrated in a speech to California Democrats Saturday that he still has the power to mesmerize party activists. But his trip was also marked by the kind of intemperate and controversial moments that remind people why he remains such a political lightning rod." LINK
On Friday at a gay rights group breakfast,. Dean dangled an outline of his party's strategy for 2006 and 2008: Terri Schiavo, the Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan reported Saturday. "'We're going to use Terri Schiavo later on,'" Dean said. LINK
"'This is going to be an issue in 2006, and it's going to be an issue in 2008 . . . because we're going to have an ad with a picture of Tom DeLay saying, "Do you want this guy to decide whether you die or not? Or is that going to be up to your loved ones?"'" Dean said.
"The former presidential candidate said he had purposely avoided emphasizing the Schiavo case in recent weeks because Democrats needed 'message discipline.' In this case, he said, that means sticking to the fight against Bush's push to allow private investment accounts for Social Security benefits."
Spokesgal Karen Finney gets to explain to the AP Dean's "use" comment.
2008 Republicans:
Creating a clip that fits right into the McCain-for-president platform, two reporters at The Wall Street Journal take stock of Sen. John McCain's tenure as chair of the Airland subcommittee of the Armed Services committee.
"Sticking with the tactics that worked for him before -- including using internal Pentagon data and relying on the news media -- Sen. McCain is defying the low-key, collegial dealings with defense companies that for decades have been hallmarks of the committee's leadership in both parties. During a hearing this month he ridiculed the Pentagon's acquisition system, saying that 'determining the actual cost of an aircraft' remains 'one of the great imponderables in history.' A few minutes later, he threatened to subpoena cost data on the C-130J cargo plane 'if Lockheed Martin continues to stonewall us.'"
"Such verbal bomb-throwing used to be considered anathema by veteran members of the committee, who typically focused on working out disputes to keep big-ticket projects moving. As the son and grandson of admirals, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate himself and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, Sen. McCain carries none of the political baggage of liberal Democrats who previously criticized the cozy arrangements among contractors, Pentagon officials and those in the Senate controlling the purse strings."
"The McCain offensive takes on added importance because the senator is widely considered a leading contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Aside from the prominence that brings to his efforts, his challenges to contractors help him burnish his reputation as a fighter of government waste."
The Washington Post's Mark Leibovich gives Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) the Style section profile treatment, from religious family man to staunch conservative dismissive of his "whiny" critics who he says see him as "an accidental senator." He's also, Leibovich Notes, the highest-ranking Republican to say publicly that Leader DeLay should explain his actions, the point man on the Bush Social Security plan in the Senate, and focused on bringing religion into political institution. LINK


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|Studio album by mc chris
|John Fewell
|mc chris chronology
Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp is a hip hop album by artist mc chris, released in 2001.
This album was briefly available in a CD edition, with a hidden bonus track of "robotdog", to sample the future release of Eating's Not Cheating. After a short period of time, however, the album was removed from the store at mcchris.com and was replaced with purchasable tray liners for those who wanted to burn and distribute the CD. On November 30, 2007, mc chris announced on his message board that Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp would be going offline "for the first time in six years".
Track listing[edit]
- "Harry Potter (skit)"
- "DQ Blizzard"
- "The Tussin (robotussin)"
- "Pop Punk Is Dead (skit)"
- "Fuckin' Up My Christmas"
- "Engine (skit)"
- "Fett's Vette"
- "Bench Warmer (skit)"
- The song "Fett's Vette" was featured in the 2008 Kevin Smith comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno
- The name "Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp" comes from web comic Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida [1]
- "Fett's Vette" was also featured at the end of the episode entitled "All That Jazz" of the Adult Swim cartoon Sealab 2021, for which mc chris also provides the voice of Hesh Hepplewhite, and is a rap glorifying Star Wars character Boba Fett and his bounty hunting skills. mc chris can also be seen in the live-action skit prior to the playing of "...Vette": He is the shorter pitch man who screams, "Rip the curl, Dick!".
- "DQ Blizzard" includes sampling of Aphex Twin's "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball," Green Day's "Armatage Shanks," Blink-182's song "Dysentery Gary", and pays homage to Reggie and the Full Effect's "Your Girlfriends Hates Me." Also "California Uber Alles" by Dead Kennedys.
- "The Tussin" samples the theme [1] to the arcade game Gauntlet II.
- "Fuckin' Up My Christmas" includes samples of the Steve Martin album, Comedy is Not Pretty!, as well as "Heartaches" by Patsy Cline


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Video:How to Make a Floral Arrangement for Thanksgivingwith Danelle Drury Bavel
A Thanksgiving floral arrangement can tie the fall holiday into your home decor so easily. See how to make a floral arrangement for your home using Thanksgiving-themed items in this About.com video.See Transcript
Transcript:How to Make a Floral Arrangement for Thanksgiving
Hello, my name is Danelle Drury Bavel for About.com. Today I am going to show you how to make a floral arrangement for thanksgiving.
Items Needed for Thanksgiving Floral Arrangement:
- Carving knife
- A pumpkin
- A spoon to scoop seeds
- Fresh flower floral foam
- Water
- Flowers
The holidays often bring company, and that gives us incentive to spruce up our homes. One of the easiest ways to do that is to add flowers. Autumn provides a rich-warm color pallet, and harvest gives us flowers and produce in shapes and sizes that are a little different from the rest of the year.
Where to Display the Arrangement
Now, before you begin, figure out exactly where you want to display your arrangement. If it will be a centerpiece on the table it should sit low enough for guests to see over. Make sure it is proportioned properly to the scale of the table. On the other hand a floral arrangement by the entry way may look best with some height so that it can take center stage.
Match the Floral Arrangement to Your Home
Also try to match the arrangement with your decor. A rustic setting may call for a basket or mason jar filled with flowers, a refined setting might look best with autumn colored roses in a crystal vase, and very modern home may look best with a more architectural floral display.
Keeping all of that in mind today I am going to show you how to make a simple floral arrangement using a small pumpkin and easy to find flowers. This arrangement is not large and would look best either alone on a small table, or as a pair on a larger rectangular table.
Example Floral Arrangement
First, start with your pumpkin. Cut off the top third as neatly as you can and scoop out any seeds and pulp inside. You can spray paint the pumpkin any color you like, but I chose to keep mine natural. Soak a piece of: cut to size, fresh flower floral foam in water for about 25 minutes and place it inside of the pumpkin. If you cut slits in it before you soak it, it will take in water better. Take your flowers, most any color and type will work, but it is easiest with large full blooms, and press the stems into the foam one at a time. Create a dome shape with the flowers leaving no space in between. If this is your first time using foam be prepared to take your time and experiment a little bit to get just the right height. Once the dome is is filled you can tie a bit of ribbon around it, and your arrangement is ready to be displayed.
Thank you for watching, for more information check us out on the web at About.com.


text: Speaking Rock Concerts – Journey &Def Leppard Tribute Bands September 6, 2012 | 6:30 pm - 11:00 pm Where Additional Information Spirit Garden At Speaking Rock Entertainment Center. Ages 18+ welcome. Main show begins around 9 p.m. Category: Event Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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We received so many gorgeous babywearing photos, it was hard to decide which would be entered into the contest! After a lot of debating, we've decided on these 23 finalists! Look through all the photos and then choose your absolute favorite to vote for on the poll at the end of this post.
But that's not all! Head over to our Facebook page for more voting! Go to our Thankful for Babywearing Contest photo album and 'like' all the photos you want to vote for. If you haven't already, you'll need to 'like' our page to vote. This is also a good way to see the photos side-by-side on one screen, and see larger photos than what we have in this post. :)
All Facebook 'like's will be counted as 1 point and each vote in the poll will be counted as 2 points! Invite your friends and family to vote for your photos. Remember that a mini-photo session with Stefani Marcus Photography, a 30 minute massage from Intuitive Mothering, a gym membership to Fitness for Her on Hulen Street, and $25 credit at T&S Digital is up for grabs! Vote vote vote!
Voting closes at 10pm CST on Thursday, December 8th, 2011. Votes will be tallied and the winner announced on Friday, December 9th, 2011. FWBW will email winner, and must receive a reply within 48 hours to award prize.
1. Snuggly Moby 2. Babywearing Travels
3. Seaside Sling 4. Tandem Wearing
5. Toddler Snuggles 6. Mommy & Baby Walk
7. Pumpkin Patch Family 8. Daddy & His "Joey"
9. Ring Sling Smiles 10. Out & About in an Ergo
11. Cold Morning Snuggles 12. Cheering on the Frogs
13. Peaceful 14. Like Mother, Like Daughter
15. Peeking Out 16. Cool Dude
17. Pretty As a Flower 18. Geckos Love
19. Brand New Sibling 20. Sibling Wearing
21. Babywearing Family 22. So Practical
23. Waiting to Welcome the Troops


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Opaque flakes, such as pigment or bright flake used in paints and inks, have a selected shape and/or other indicia to provide a covert security feature to an object. In some embodiments the composition includes base pigment, and the opaque covert flakes match the visual characteristics of the base pigment. In another embodiment, opaque covert flakes are mixed in the carrier with base pigment at a concentration sufficient to avoid changing the appearance of the composition. In another embodiment, opaque covert flakes are mixed in a clear or tinted varnish base that can be applied over an existing security feature. Shaped opaque covert flakes are not readily detectable by causal observation, but in some embodiments are easily seen at 100× magnification.
1. A coating composition comprising:
a carrier; and
a plurality of shaped opaque covert flakes dispersed in the carrier, wherein each of the plurality of shaped opaque inorganic covert taggent flakes has a selected shape and a thickness less than 10 microns, and wherein a first plurality of the shaped opaque inorganic taggent flakes have a same predetermined shape.
2. The coating composition of
3. The coating composition of
4. The coating composition of
5. The coating composition of
6. The coating composition of
7. The coating composition of
8. The coating composition of
9. The coating composition of
10. The coating composition of
11. The coating composition of
12. The coating composition of
13. The coating composition of
14. The coating composition of
15. The coating composition of
16. The coating composition of
17. The coating composition of
18. The coating composition of
19. The coating composition of
20. The coating composition of
21. The coating composition as defined in
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of commonly owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/641,695 entitled FLAKE FOR COVERT SECURITY APPLICATIONS by Alberto Argoitia, Paul G. Coombs, and Charles T. Markantes, filed Aug. 14, 2003, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety for all purposes.
This patent application is also a continuation-in-part of commonly owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/243,111 entitled ALIGNABLE DIFFRACTIVE PIGMENT FLAKES by Alberto Argoitia, Vladimir P. Raksha, and Dishuan Chu, filed Sep. 13, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,807, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety for all purposes.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to thin-film pigment flakes, and more particularly to opaque inorganic taggent flakes for use in a coating composition.
Specialty pigments have been developed for use in security applications, such as anti-counterfeiting devices printed on banknotes, packaging of high-value items, seals for containers, and even for direct application to commercial items. For example, the U.S. twenty-dollar Federal Reserve Note currently uses optically variable ink. The number "20" printed in the lower-right corner of the face of the note changes color as the viewing angle changes. This is an overt anti-counterfeiting device. The color-shifting effect is not reproducible by ordinary color photocopiers, and someone receiving a note can observe whether it has the color-shifting security feature to determine the note's authenticity.
Other high-value documents and objects use similar measures. For example, iridescent pigments or diffractive pigments are used in paints and inks that are applied directly to an article, such as a stock certificate, passport, original product packaging, or to seals that are applied to an article. Security features that are more difficult to counterfeit are desirable as counterfeiters continue to become more sophisticated.
One anti-counterfeiting approach uses microscopic symbols on multi-layer color-shifting pigment flakes. The symbols are formed on at least one of the layers of the multi-layer color-shifting pigment flakes by a local change of an optical property(s), such as reflectivity. The multi-layer color-shifting pigment flakes generally include a Fabry Perot-type structure having an absorbing layer separated from a reflective layer by a spacer layer. The reflective layer is typically a layer of metal, which renders the pigment flake essentially opaque. If a large portion of these types of pigment flakes are mixed with other pigment, the resultant color might be significantly different from the pigment, and if too few of these flakes are mixed with other pigment, they might be difficult to find.
Another technique uses epoxy-encapsulated shaped flakes of polyethylene terephthalate ("PET"). A reflective layer is deposited on a roll of PET, and then the PET is cut into pieces. The flakes are coated or encapsulated with epoxy to improve the durability of the reflective layer. These flakes are available in a variety of shapes, such as square, rectangle, hexagon, and "apostrophe," and a selection of reflective metallic tints, such as silver, pewter, gold, and copper. However, the epoxy layer and the relatively thick PET substrate (which typically has a minimum thickness of about 13 microns (0.5 mils) for use in vacuum deposition processes) result in a relatively thick flake, typically greater than 14 microns. Unfortunately, such a thick flake is not desirable for use in covert applications where the thickness is substantially greater than the base pigment. Similarly, such thick flakes do not flow well in inks, and create lumps in paint. When paint includes a thick flake that creates a rough surface, a relatively thick clear topcoat is typically applied over the rough surface.
It is desirable to mark objects with covert anti-counterfeiting devices that overcome the limitations of the techniques discussed above.
A coating composition includes covert opaque flakes less than about 10 microns thick with identifying indicia. Examples of identifying indicia include selected flake shape(s) and/or compositions. The covert flakes are typically dispersed in a carrier, such as a varnish base, paint vehicle or ink vehicle, to form a coating composition. The covert flakes are dispersed in sufficiently dilute concentration so that the covert flakes are not easily detectable in the coating composition by casual observation and are colored to match the color of a base pigment or have a different optical characteristic, such as being highly reflective ("bright" or "silver"). The shapes of selectively shaped covert flakes are not discerned by unaided human vision, but can be seen under about 50× to 300× magnification. In one embodiment, the covert flakes appear to be essentially identical to base pigment flakes in the composition, but are made of different thin-film layers that are detectable using standard analytical methods.
In a particular embodiment the covert flakes are a single layer of a shaped inorganic dielectric material, such as ZnS. The thickness of the single layer of inorganic dielectric material is selected to provide a covert flake that has color to match a mica-based nacreous base pigment.
A composition according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an object to provide a covert security feature. A pigmented composition may be used to print a field (e.g. an image) on the object, and a varnish composition with a low concentration of opaque security flakes may be used to overprint an existing image on the object. In an embodiment of the invention, covert flake is mixed with base pigment to provide a covert security feature to images printed with the composition that look substantially similar to images printed with only the base pigment.
I. Introduction
Flakes for covert security applications are not typically seen by casual observation. Some sort of inspection technique, such as inspection under a microscope or analytical technique, such as elemental analysis, is used. In one embodiment, opaque flakes containing indicia, such as a particular shape, substantially match the visual characteristics of a bulk pigment or other substance they are mixed with. In a particular embodiment, a single-layer inorganic opaque flake having a selected shape is mixed with an iridescent mica-based flake or other base pigment. For the purpose of this discussion, a "single layer" of inorganic material includes multiple layers of the same inorganic material built up upon each other.
Inorganic covert flakes are particularly desirable in applications where heat, solvents, sunlight, or other factors may degrade organic flakes. For example, an inorganic covert flake used in an explosive is detectable even after exposure to high temperatures and/or pressures, and is persistent in the environment. Flakes according to embodiments of the present invention also are substantially thinner, typically less than about 10 microns, than conventional shaped flakes, enabling their use in ink and produce a smooth surface finish in paints without having to use a clear topcoat. Thin, inorganic flakes according to embodiments of the present invention also have a density closer to the density of base pigment flakes made using similar techniques. Thick flakes incorporating organic substrates often have a different density than thin-film base pigment flake, and may segregate, either before or during application while the carrier is fluid. Flake segregation is undesirable because it can result in an inconsistent ratio of covert and base flakes in a composition, and may degrade the covert nature of the covert flakes if segregation results in an unduly high concentration of covert flakes.
II. Exemplary Opaque Flake
Generally, bulk pigment particles, including bulk pigment flakes, have an irregular shape. In one embodiment, the covert flakes are distinguishable from bulk pigment flakes by their shape. Alternatively, bulk pigment flakes have a first selected shape, and the covert flakes have a second selected shape. Production of shaped pigment flakes is accomplished by a variety of techniques, such as using a patterned substrate to deposit the flake material on the substrate and then separating the flake from the substrate to obtain the pattern, or using a laser or other means to cut the patterned flakes from a sheet of flake material. The selected shape of the covert flakes may be associated with a manufacturing facility, date of manufacture, or other aspect of the document 10, or ink used in producing the document, for example.
A roll coater is one type of apparatus that can be used to produce selectively shaped or randomly shaped covert flakes according to embodiments of the invention. A roll of a sheet of polymer substrate material (also known as a "web") is passed through a deposition zone(s) and coated with one or more thin film layers. Multiple passes of the roll of polymer substrate back and forth through the deposition zone(s) may be made. The thin film layer(s) is then separated from the polymer substrate and processed into flake. Other apparatus and techniques may be used.
It is generally desirable to limit the total thickness of thin film layers deposited (and hence removed) from a roll of polymer film substrate to less than about 10 microns. PET is one type of polymer film substrate used in roll coaters, and the PET film substrate is usually at least about 13 microns thick. Thinner PET film tends to thermally deform during vacuum deposition processes. Both the heat in the deposition zone and the heat of condensation of the deposited thin-film layer(s) increase the temperature of the polymer substrate as it passes through a deposition zone. Thus, the minimum thickness of flake cut from and incorporating PET film is about 13 microns.
Alternatively, or in addition to, having a selected shape, the covert flakes may include a grating pattern. The grating pattern is embossed on a substrate used in a roll coater prior to depositing thin film layers that are processed into flakes, or otherwise formed. In a further embodiment, a selected amount (percentage) of the deposition substrate surface area is embossed with a grating pattern or shape pattern to obtain a selected amount of covert flakes when the thin film layers are stripped from the deposition substrate and processed into flakes. This technique provides covert flakes with the same optical design (thin film layer composition and thickness) as the base flake. For example, embossing 10% of the deposition substrate surface area with a grating pattern and/or shape pattern would result in a pigment mixture having about 10% covert flakes. Different rolls of deposition substrate are produced with different percentages of embossed surface area to obtain pigment mixtures having different amounts covert flake, or are embossed with different patterns to obtain different shapes and/or grating patterns.
A pigment flake with identifying indicia provides a security feature even if it is easily observable; however, if a pigment flake with identifying indicia is not easily observable, a counterfeiter might not even be aware that a covert flake is present. One embodiment of the present invention uses covert pigment flake that has the same optical characteristics as the base pigment. The covert pigment flakes are not seen by unaided human vision, but are visible under magnification of about 50× to 300×. Covert pigment flakes having essentially the same visual characteristics can be mixed with base pigment in a wide range of proportions without significantly affecting the color of the composition. In some embodiments, covert pigment flakes are readily identifiable in compositions having 5-10 weight % covert pigment flakes and 95-90 weight % base pigment flakes having similar appearance (e.g. color and/or color travel). Often, shaped opaque covert flakes are easily identifiable in the field using hand-held microscopes (e.g. "shirt-pocket" microscopes), and require less magnification to identify than similar sized flakes having symbols.
Another approach is to use an opaque covert flake with a selected shape that is a different color than the base flake. In one embodiment, the opaque covert flake is a bright metallic ("silver") flake having a thin-film layer of aluminum or other reflector between layers of a dielectric material, such as MgF2. Bright flake is generally highly reflective over a wide range of visible wavelengths, and often does not have a characteristic color. Bright flake made with gold and copper may appear yellowish and reddish, for example. It has been found that between about 0.25 weight % to about 5 weight % of shaped (e.g. "diamond" shaped) bright flake in colored base pigments can be added without causing a noticeable change in color, but are still easily identifiable under illuminated magnification of about 50× (i.e. 50 time magnification). Under illuminated magnification, both the shape and high brightness of the flake distinguish it from the base flake. When less than about 0.25% of shaped bright flake is used the covert flakes become difficult to detect because dilution with the base flake results in fewer shaped bright flakes in the field of view.
When the amount of bright flake exceeds about 5 weight %, the color (e.g. hue) of certain types of flakes, particularly dark colored flakes, changes. In these instances, too much bright flake essentially "dilutes" the color of the base pigment. However, using shaped bright flake in compositions having color-shifting pigment is highly desirable because a single type of shaped bright flake is added in small quantities to many different types (color and/or color travel) of pigment flake, and a relatively small amount of shaped bright flake provides a covert security feature. Similarly, dilution of color is not critical in applications where compositions containing pigment and bright flake are not intended to replace or otherwise be indistinguishable from compositions containing 100% pigment flake.
Pigments are often mixed in carriers to form paint or ink. Examples of carriers include polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(ethoxyethylene), poly(methoxyethylene), poly(acrylic) acid, poly(acrylamide), poly(oxyethylene), poly(maleic anhydride), hydroxyethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, poly(sacchrides) such as gum arabic and pectin, poly(acetals) such as polyvinylbutyral, poly(vinyl halides) such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylene chloride, poly(dienes) such as polybutadiene, poly(alkenes) such as polyethylene, poly(acrylates) such as polymethyl acrylate, poly(methacrylates) such as poly methylmethacrylate, poly(carbonates) such as poly(oxycarbonyl oxyhexamethylene, poly(esters) such as polyethylene terephthalate, poly(urethanes), poly(siloxanes), poly(suphides), poly(sulphones), poly(vinylnitriles), poly(acrylonitriles), poly(styrene), poly(phenylenes) such as poly(2,5 dihydroxy-1,4-phenyleneethylene), poly(amides), natural rubbers, formaldahyde resins, other polymers and mixtures of polymers and polymers with solvents.
The base pigment particles 16 are illustrated as being irregularly shaped flakes. Alternatively, base pigment flakes have a selected (i.e. regular) shape. Similarly, the covert pigment flake 18 could have a grating. The addition of a grating further increases the difficulty of counterfeiting. In some embodiments, the covert pigment flake 18 has generally the same optical characteristics as the base pigment particles. Alternatively, the covert pigment flake 18 has different optical characteristics as the base pigment particles but is present in sufficiently small quantities so as not to disturb the visual appearance of a composition made with the base pigment particles.
In a particular embodiment, the "diamond-shaped" covert flakes were bright flakes about 25 microns by 35 microns across. The shaped flakes were made by embossing a diamond pattern into a roll of PET deposition substrate material, and then depositing a standard thin-film design for bright flake (e.g. about 100-60 nm of Al between layers of MgF2 that are each about 400 nm thick). The total thickness for this bright flake is about 900 nm, which is about one micron. The embossed pattern is also known as a "frame" (as opposed to a grating which is intended to produce a pattern in or on the flake), and is positive in some embodiments and negative in other embodiments.
The combination of a metal layer with one or more dielectric layers facilitates removal of the flake from the deposition substrate. A thin film stack having only dielectric layers is brittle and often has residual stresses from the deposition process. Such thin film stacks tend to break more randomly, resulting in fewer shaped flakes. An all-metal stack or single layer is difficult to process into patterned flakes according to the frame of the deposition substrate because the metal is relatively ductile. In particular embodiments, metal-dielectric and dielectric-metal-dielectric flake having a total thickness of between about 0.5 microns and about 3 microns provides a good combination of ductile and brittle characteristics that result in good patterning of the flake when it is removed from the substrate and processed. In a particular embodiment, shaped bright flake having a total thickness of about one micron of a ductile metal layer between brittle dielectric layers yielded about 90% diamond-shaped flakes from an embossed deposition substrate.
The thin-film layers were stripped from the deposition substrate and processed into flake using conventional techniques. The embossed diamond pattern provided lines along which the thin-film layers broke into flakes having the selected diamond shape. In another embodiment, the diamond-shaped flakes were about 12 microns by 16 microns and included a grating on the major surface of the flakes. The grating was nominally 2000 lines/mm and did not produce a noticeable diffractive effect in a composition when used as a taggent. The shape of the 12-by-16 micron flake was easily seen at 100× magnification; however, the grating was not easily seen at this magnification. The grating was readily apparent at 400× magnification. In other embodiments, a grating is more coarse, and is easily seen at the same magnification (e.g. 50× to 100×) that is used to discern the shape of the taggent flakes. Thus, gratings used to provide a security feature to taggent flakes do not have to be optically active in the visible portion of the spectrum.
In a particular embodiment, the base pigment particles are flakes of mica coated with a layer of TiO2 or other dielectric material. The coating material typically has a relatively high index of refraction. Mica is a naturally occurring mineral that is relatively inexpensive and easily processed into flake substrate. When mica flake substrate is coated with a layer of high-index material of a selected thickness, a nacreous pigment flake is obtained. Mica flake substrate can be coated with several alternative materials using a variety of processes. Such pigments are commonly known as "mica-based" pigments. A photocopy of an image printed with such nacreous pigment does not look like the original, thus mica-based pigment flakes are desirable for use to provide overt security features. However, shaping mica flake substrate or providing a symbol on mica flake substrate is impractical. Covert flake according to an embodiment of the present invention is mixed with the mica-based pigment to enable a covert security feature to be included in images printed with mica-based pigment flakes. Shaped pigment flakes made of a single layer of inorganic dielectric material, such as TiO2 or ZnS, have an appearance similar to a mica-based pigment if the covert pigment flake has a thickness about five times the quarter-wave optical thickness ("QWOT") at a wavelength in the visible spectrum. Typically, a single-layer covert flake of ZnS intended to match the appearance of a mica-based pigment has a thickness of about 60 nm to about 600 nm. Processing all-dielectric flake from a deposition substrate having an embossed diamond-shaped pattern tends to have a lower yield than a counterpart metal-dielectric flake.
The reflective layer 22 is typically a thin-film layer of a highly reflective metal such as aluminum, platinum, gold, silver, or copper, or a moderately reflective metal, such as iron or chromium. The reflective layer 22 is sufficiently thick to be opaque (reflective) in the visible portion of the spectrum, but not so thick as to interfere with separation of the thin-film layers from the substrate and subsequent processing into flake. In other words, a metal reflective layer that was too thick would provide a ductile layer between the relatively brittle dielectric layers 24, 26 and tend to interfere with processing the deposited layers into flakes. Suitable materials for the dielectric layers include ZnS, MgF2, SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Nb2O5, and Ta2O5, among others. In some embodiments, the dielectric thin-film layers 24, 26 also provide environmental protection for the reflective layer 22.
The bright flake 20 has a selected shape, and optionally or alternatively has other indicia, such as a surface (grating) pattern or an elemental fingerprint. In sufficiently low concentrations, the bright flake 20 is added to colored pigment and colored compositions (e.g. inks and paints). Shaped bright flake can be added to base (i.e. randomly shaped or alternatively shaped) bright flake as a covert security feature.
The elemental indicator layer 28 is not optically active because it is between the two opaque reflective layers 22′, 22″. The reflective layers 22′, 22″ are selected to be of the same material used in the base flake, such as aluminum. Suitable materials for an elemental indicator include platinum, iridium, osmium, vanadium, cobalt, and tungsten, among others. Those of skill in the art appreciate that the elemental indicator material chosen depends on the base pigment it will be used with. In an alternative embodiment, the reflective layer of bright pigment is of an elemental indicator material (see
The color and color travel of the color-shifting pigment flake is determined by the optical design of the flake, namely the material and thicknesses of the layers in the thin film stack 32, as is well-known in the art of optically variable pigments. The optical design of the color-shifting pigment flake 30 is typically chosen to match the optical properties of the base pigment flake that it will be mixed with. The color-shifting pigment flake 30 is shaped (see
For example, the reflective layer includes an elemental indicator, either a reflective metal that is different than the base pigment flakes, or includes an additional elemental indicator layer(s), which may or may not be optically active (see
In some embodiments, using a different spacer material and/or reflector material results in a covert pigment flake 30 that has different optical properties than the base flake. For example, even if the covert and base flakes have similar color at normal incidence, the color travel might be different. Generally, low-index spacer materials (such as MgF2 and SiO2) provide more color travel ("fast shifting" pigments) than high-index spacer materials (such as ZnS and TiO2). However, such covert flakes can be added in relatively high concentrations to the base pigment flake, even if the color travel does not precisely match that of the base flake, because most casual observers cannot detect the difference between a mixture according to an embodiment of the invention and 100% base flake.
Adding covert flake to an existing ink or paint composition provides a covert security feature to images made of the ink or paint. For example, ink with color-shifting pigment is used to provide a color-shifting image as an overt security feature on a bank note or other object. Covert flake according to an embodiment of the present invention is added to the ink, and the resultant mixture is used to print images that appear substantially similar as those printed with the original ink. Thus, a casual observer of the bank note does not notice a change in the appearance of the overt security feature (i.e. color-shifting image) after the covert security feature is added. The indicia of the covert flake indicates a date-of-manufacture, a printing location, and/or the source (manufacturer) of the ink, for example.
III. Experimental Results
A test standard using 100% magenta-to-green optically variable intaglio ("OVI") pigment flake was produced and measured. Both bright and optically variable taggent samples had a grating pattern of 2000 lines/mm, which made the taggent flakes easier to distinguish from the base pigment flake (i.e. locate) and more difficult to counterfeit. The grating pattern was clearly visible at about 400×, and did not induce visible diffractive properties to images printed with the test compositions. It is believed that the low portion of the taggent flakes in combination with not being well oriented to the viewer avoided a diffractive effect from occurring. In an alternative embodiment, a finer grating pattern is included on shaped taggent flakes. The shapes are identifiable under a microscope at a first magnification, but the grating pattern is not easily seen at this first magnification. The grating pattern is seen at a higher magnification. It is believed that including such a grating pattern to taggent flake having a selected shape or symbol further enhances the covert nature of the taggent flake because a counterfeiter might see the shape or a symbol under microscopic examination, but not see the grating pattern, and hence not include it in a counterfeit article.
The first test sample ("sample 1") contained 90% (by weight) of the conventional (base) magenta-to-green pigment flake mixed with 10% magenta-to-green OVI pigment flake with a grating ("taggent flake"). The taggent flakes were easy to detect by routine microscopic inspection, and the color performance of the mixture was the same as the test standard because the color of the taggent flake was well matched to the color of the base flake. Close color matching involves careful monitoring of the production of the taggent flake and a new optical design for each color of taggent flake would generally be used to match each color of base flake.
Another approach is to use a standard taggent flake design that can be used with many different colors of base flake. Bright taggent flake using an aluminum reflector layer (giving the flake a "silver" appearance) was also evaluated. Fabrication of bright flake is relatively simple and these flakes were very easy to detect at a concentration of 5% when mixed with colored base pigment flakes. Bright taggent flakes are used with many colors of base pigment to provide covet security features. The amount of bright taggent flakes in the composition depends on the desired result. For example, the color performance of an intaglio blend containing 5% bright taggent flake mixed with the magenta-to-green OVI base is distinguishable in a side-by-side comparison from a composition of 100% magenta-to-green OVI flake. A composition essentially indistinguishable from 100% magenta-to-green OVI flake uses less than 5% bright flake, such as compositions with concentrations between about 0.25 weight % and 3 weight % of bright taggent flake in magenta-to-green OVI flake. It is believed that bright flake in concentrations greater than 5% may be added to pigment flake providing lighter or less saturated color without noticeably changing the appearance of the composition. Bright taggent flakes are easy to detect under modest magnification, even at concentrations below 1%, because of the combination of having a selected shape and of being a different color (e.g. "silver" instead of magenta).
IV. Exemplary Methods
For example, referring to
While the invention has been described above in terms of various specific embodiments, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, the embodiments described above illustrate the invention, but are not restrictive of the invention, which is indicated by the following claims. All modifications and equivalents that come within the meaning and range of the claims are included within their scope.
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California is one of the most affordable states in the U.S. for community college students, but who wins in the all-important contest of NorCal vs. SoCal? We crunched the numbers on the best community colleges in Northern and Southern California, and the results may surprise you.
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The junior colleges, city colleges and community colleges in New York serve thousands of students every year, but which ones are the best in the state? We crunched some numbers to find out which ones among the traditional and online colleges in New York took top marks for accessibility, opportunity and value.
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With such a wide variety of religious studies degrees available, it can be hard to know your options if considering a career path in the field. Learn what a religious studies educational path is like from a professor at UC Santa Barbara.
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- EnviroGuy - http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy -
Plenty of shoveling, snowblowing and plowing ahead
Posted By Todd B. Bates On January 25, 2011 @ 4:35 pm In Uncategorized | Comments Disabled
It appears that most of New Jersey will get quite a bit of snow, according to a new snowfall forecast map from the National Weather Service [1]:
Article printed from EnviroGuy: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy
URL to article: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy/2011/01/25/plenty-of-shoveling-snowblowing-and-plowing-ahead/
URLs in this post:
[1] a new snowfall forecast map from the National Weather Service: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/StormTotalSnow/index.php
[2] Image: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy/files/2011/01/StormTotalSnowFcst.png
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Justin Urqhart Stewart headlines Bristol Connected event
Posted: May 14, 2014|
WELL-KNOWN business commentator Justin Urqhart Stewart will headline the speakers at next month's Bristol Connected – Auto-enrolment: Are You Ready?
The Bristol Post's business networking event, which runs every other month, takes place at Bristol Zoo's Clifton Pavilion on Wednesday, June 4.
The evening is being staged in association with Clifton Asset Management.
Bristol Post assistant editor (business) Gavin Thompson said: "Bristol Connected gives people a fantastic chance to meet, talk and make connections, and there'll be lots of time for that, and to meet our business team. We know, however, that auto-enrolment for workplace pensions is an issue causing many small and medium-sized businesses headaches so we decided to focus on this issue and see if we can help guide them through it."
The speakers, who will also be available to answer questions, are:
● Justin Urqhart Stewart, pictured left, of Seven Investment Management, a regular face on TV commentating on the markets
● Steve Bee, right, of jargonfreebenefits, a pensions expert, cartoonist and regular tweeter (@pensionsguru)
● And Morten Nilsson, chief executive of Now Pensions.
Anthony Carty, of Clifton Asset Management, said: "We are delighted to be co-hosting the forthcoming Bristol Connected event with Bristol Post. Pensions automatic enrolment is now beginning to affect medium and smaller-size employers and is not without some significant challenges.
"Until earlier this year the automatic enrolment journey has been travelled by large employers who typically have greater resources to deal with the compliance and administration aspects of this complex piece of pensions legislation. Smaller employers simply do not have these resources and most underestimate the effort required to comply. Our expert panel hope to share their experiences with our guests such that they leave with a greater understanding of their duties and some of the key considerations that need attending to."
Register for the event, which opens at 5.30pm for a 6.15pm start, by clicking here.


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Please be advised that the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday,
February 17, 2011, has been cancelled. The next scheduled meeting will be held on
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at 2226 Camino Ramon.
Please refer any questions to (925) 973-2650.
I hereby certify that this notice of cancellation was posted 72 hours prior to the referenced meeting date.
Dated: June 16, 2011


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Reverend Larry Keith Lewis was born October 15, 1951 in Hayward, CA, to Alvis and Rachel (Wisener) Lewis. He passed from this life March 14, 2011 in Hugo at the age of 59. Larry Keith Lewis married Rita LaGene Knight August 11, 1970 in Empire, CA, and together they raised two children. Reverend Lewis pastored churches in Nevada, California and Oklahoma. He had been a minister since the age of 17. He was a tax preparer for H&R Block in Muskogee for many years, and was an auctioneer since 1990. Larry was recently retired and living in Rattan.
James Lewis Lamar, 74, of Jumbo passed from this life on March 20, 2011 at the Paris Regional Medical Center in Paris, TX. He was born on January 11, 1937 to the late Curtis Lamar and Jonnie Crook Lamar in Woodville. James married Priscilla Henderson on July 17, 1958 in Hugo. James served in the United States Navy for 20 years before retiring as a chief. He then earned his bachelor degree and taught school in Beeville, TX. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Antlers where he served as deacon for several years. James enjoyed crafting woodwork out of cedar.
Laura Ellen Davis was born November 1, 1928 near Bethel in one of the early moving towns in Eastern OK, to Calvert M. and Gertie E. (Mouser) Smith. She passed from this life on Friday, March 18, 2011 in Hugo at the age of 82. Laura married Grobin Davis on May 10, 1947, in Fort Smith, AR. They were residents of Oklahoma for the past thirty years. Laura worked as a post office clerk in Wright City and different offices for 20 years; she retired as postmistress of the Rattan Post Office after 3 years.
Harlan Eugene Boyett was born October 20, 1935 in Glendale, AZ, to Odis and Eva (Barrow) Boyett. He passed from this life March 13, 2011 in Tulsa at the age of 75. Harlan married Dolores Terry on November 4, 1961 in Carson City, NV, and together they raised three children. He enjoyed "helping" the grandkids pick up rocks and prickly pears out of the yard and watching Gun Smoke. Harlan especially loved playing with his grandkids and spending time with his family and friends at Arpealer's.


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SANTA ANA, Calif. - A former employee of the Armenian consulate in Los Angeles pleaded guilty Monday to one count of obstructing federal proceedings related to his role in a scheme to sell an illegal alien a document called a "letter of refusal," which allowed that illegal alien to avoid deportation from the United States to Armenia.
Hakop Hovanesyan, 54, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 24, 2011. Hovanesyan, who worked at the Armenian Consulate in Los Angeles until May 2007, was one of five defendants charged in July 2009 as a result of a two-year investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The other defendants included a former Armenian Consul in Los Angeles and a Beverly Hills, Calif., immigration attorney.
The ICE HSI investigation focused on the sale of "letters of refusal." The letters, which are issued by embassies and consulates, state that a country will not issue a travel document for a particular individual, essentially blocking that person's deportation to that nation. According to the charges in the criminal complaints, the five defendants sold official letters of refusal from the Armenian consulate for as much as $37,000. Those letters prevented the removal of Armenian nationals to Armenia. The investigation revealed that some of those who purchased the letters were Armenian nationals facing deportation after being convicted in the United States of felony offenses.
"The defendants in this case exploited their ties to the community and knowledge of the immigration system to help dangerous criminals, among others, avoid deportation," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Los Angeles. "We will move aggressively to prevent unscrupulous opportunists from profiting from schemes that undermine public safety and compromise the integrity of our nation's immigration system."
In addition to Hovanesyan, the remaining four defendants, who are all awaiting trial, include:
- Norair Ghalumian, 52, of Burbank, Calif., the Armenian Consul in Los Angeles from 1999 through 2003;
- Margarita Mkrtchyan, 42, of Glendale, Calif., an immigration attorney;
- Oganes Nardos, 37, of Valencia, Calif., a substance abuse counselor; and
- Elvis Madatyan, 47, of Glendale, Calif.
The ICE HSI investigation showed that the five defendants, working essentially independently, obtained clients via word of mouth in the Armenian community.
According to the criminal complaints, the defendants used contacts in the Armenian government to procure official refusal letters on behalf of their clients. The letters of refusal were sent to ICE officials, thus preventing the aliens' deportation.


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Environmental Watchdog
Air Issues Plague Park DuValle, One of Louisville's Newest Planned Communities
By Erica Peterson & WFPL News
In the late 1990s, Louisville spent nearly $200 million revitalizing a blighted area on the West End. Park DuValle emerged—and has since been nationally-recognized as a model mixed-income community. But one thing the city couldn't change was the neighborhood's location. And like the housing projects that stood before it, Park DuValle is next to Louisville's industrial area. Residents say the odors in the air are often unbearable.


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|Boxing Champions | Boxing Schedule | Boxing Video | Boxing History | Pound For Pound | Lounge | The Wire | Audio | Arcade
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^how do you get your ass whooped shadow boxing?? Are you sure you weren't just hitting yourself in the head and tripping balls?
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well it was light sparing for working on reactions. the trainer called it shadow boxing. but i was under the impression that shadow boxing was on your own. but that is not important.
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Really your girl should say something unlesss she is intimidated then its your job to say something.
I have a hot wife and guys constantly hit on her in front of me, rarely if ever does it bother me unless I see its bothering her.
Quite often the situation can be diffused with words I will often tell guys who are getting a little to forward in no uncertain terms "you can't afford her and she will be leaving with me so try your luck else where". usually thats enough. There is no need to be cofrontational.
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When a guy looks at me or my girl in a disrespectful manner, I instantly get an adrenalin rush, my heart starts pounding, blood starts flowing. I dont mind confrontations, and its pretty easy to get me motivated for one.
But I'm tired of going to Jail an attending Assault 4 trials, ****s up my time and money. And I'm tired of ****ing up my hands, my hands are more valuable then some dudes words.
My best advice is to smirk at the dude and laugh in his face, they usually feel like an idiot.
Join Date: Aug 2010
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tell em... maybe i.... zuck ya ***?
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It's not just liberals and progressives who have difficulties with Rep. Paul Ryan's latest budget plan. At the New York Times, the normally clement Ross Douthat goes for the jugular:
In effect, it sacrificed seriousness for "seriousness," by promising to reach budgetary balance not over the long term (as budgets 1.0 and 2.0 did) but in a ten-year window. This is not going to happen, and more importantly there's no reason why it needs to happen: Modest deficits are perfectly compatible with fiscal responsibility, and restructuring the biggest drivers of our long-term debt is a much more important conservative goal than holding revenues and outlays equal in the year 2023.
Justin Green warns that even if Douthat's critique is dismissed as the ravings of a RINO, the pretty favorable climate Republicans can expect for the midterms could be changed — and not for the better — by pumping this message into the atmosphere: "Debt is a scary thing. We've spent the past six years dropping apocalyptic after apocalyptic warning. If we don't change the total course of government now, we're doomed. That requires cuts for everyone, even the aged."
For Green, that tightens the laces on the Republicans' "double bind," as Matt Continetti puts it in The Weekly Standard. Continetti rather malevolently points out that the GOP is so inured to radically reforming its message and its platform because there just aren't any big constituencies on the right in favor of doing so.
Still, Green's remedy for the double bind seems more like a restatement of a riddle. "it's about expanding our coalition so our policy objectives can match our philosophical goals. As long as the GOP is the party of the Medicare/Social Security voting population, we won't seriously reform entitlements. So the answer isn't to kowtow to the aged. It's to attract enough younger voters so we can win elections on our own."
How will that happen? "Here's where the GOP ought to be aiming itself: a movement that embraces innovation, economic vibrancy, and upward mobility." In other words: Growth uber alles, the same mantra on the lips of everyone from Karl Rove to Barack Obama.
But is there any indication that younger voters are galvanized by the politics of dynamism? The most striking feature of today's rising generations isn't their appetite for prosperity traditionally understood. It's their rejection of traditional American views of "making it," and their embrace — albeit on a broad spectrum running from enthusiasm to resignation — of alternate modes of pursuing American dreams. The simple upward/downward mobility scale no longer captures the way younger Americans think — or, we can wager, the way they will vote. Hitting ambitious growth goals may be the only way to tame deficits in an age when the aged ensure massive entitlement spending. But from a younger perspective, that looks like just another way to lock into a vision of the good life that's losing currency, not gaining it.
This gets to the heart of why Paul Ryan's budget is so baffling — not because it's so unafraid, in a more youthful way, to live with less, but because it's so dowdy and paleo-liberal in its concept of what government is all about. It's amazing to me so few people have reacted to some of the lines in Ryan's Wall Street Journal op-ed pitching the plan:
the most important question isn't how we balance the budget. It's why. A budget is a means to an end, and the end isn't a neat and tidy spreadsheet. It's the well-being of all Americans.
In what world is the purpose of a federal budget to ensure the well-being of all Americans? Franklin Roosevelt's? Even if Ryan's critics on the left are dead certain that his budget does precisely the opposite, it's striking — and deeply revealing — that Ryan himself views government accounting in this way. This is a terrible foundation for trying to connect with the youth vote. Not only do younger voters who lean leftward sense a huge gulf between Paul's budget and his vision of a budget's purpose. Younger voters who lean libertarian recoil from both the budget and the vision. And younger voters who lean conservative are left holding the bag — stuck with the burden of trying to account for how it is that balancing the budget in 10 years, or whatever, is part of a morally urgent mission to achieve the well-being of all.
At a time when Michael Bloomberg's machinations underscore how insanely adaptable the mania for "public health" has become to any and all interventions into private life, Ryan's budget vision reads all to well into the script: we must act now to change, because everyone's well-being is at stake.
Remarkably, the task has fallen to Barack Obama to inject some measured realism into the debate. As the president told George Stephanopoulos, there is no debt crisis. Though misleading — coming from a man who insists we should reduce deficits in a "balanced" way, but never bothers to tell us why — the talking point is true: the problem with our debt is not that it amounts to a crisis. Indeed, the real problem is that we've managed to ensure that standing levels of colossal debt do not provoke an economic crisis. If you view economics as the master science, this will confuse you. But economics can't tell us why big debt is bad; for that, we need politics. When the government can write itself endless blank checks, the government is certain to spend large sums on things the people don't really want. And, as we plainly see, some of those unwanted things are deeply inimical to our most basic freedoms, including freedom from surveillance, monitoring, databasing, and tracking. In a society ruled by the love of money and the love of equality, big federal budgets inherently mean big government power — a power exercised in a way that far exceeds the limits desired in a free society.
None of this really comes into view beneath Ryan's green eyeshade. His view of excessive power isn't focused on liberty but on prosperity. Though "the nation's debt is a sign of overreach," he continues in his op-ed,
Government is trying to do too much, and when government does too much, it doesn't do anything well. So a balanced budget is a reasonable goal, because it returns government to its proper limits and focus. By curbing government's overreach, our budget will give families the space they need to thrive.
Maybe or maybe not — what matters is that the whole argument depends on a dominant feeling among voters that their families currently lack "the space they need to thrive." On the one hand, it used to be a hallmark of conservative thought that this sort of space is quickly crowded out by a government that spends in an effort to ensure the well-being of all. On the other, young voters increasingly reject the neat social framework of nuclear family prosperity that once undergirded the national economy — but probably no longer will. Ultimately, Ryan's budget tries to ground new-fangled conservatism in something much closer to old-fashioned liberalism. The older you are, the more that might appeal. But the younger you are, the more both facets of the plan are likely to seem out of step with the times.
Also on Forbes:


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Human Services Fair
Be sure to stop by the Olean Center Mall on Friday February 24, 2012 from 10AM-2PM to participate check out the Human Services Fair!
The Early Identification & Recognition Program will be conducting FREE emotional well-being surveys for children ages 3 months-18 years.
Information resources about the newest program offered through the Department of Community Services will be available.
For further information or any questions please contact Meghan Monahan MSEd, MHC Early Identification & Recognition Specialist at 716-701-3315.


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Astrographic Catalogue
Image: Negative - Copy
Source: Museum Victoria
By the 1880s the potential of using photography to map the entire sky was being discussed, and in 1887 an international conference was held in Paris to establish procedures for a cooperative international project involving 18 observatories. The plan was to make photographic charts of all stars down to the 14th magnitude (some 40 million stars) and catalogues of the positions of stars down to the 11th magnitude (some 2-3 million stars), based on accurate measurement of the photographs. Melbourne and Sydney Observatories and their colonial governments both agreed to participate in the Astrographic Project, with the Melbourne Observatory responsible for the zone from 65 degrees south declination to the south celestial pole.
It was expected that the results would provide a far better understanding of the universe. Changes in the magnitude or brightness of stars could be used to estimate their distance from the Earth (although stars obviously varied in size, the large numbers of stars in the project would enable this variable to be averaged out). The project would serve as a base line from which subsequent studies could reveal changes in the universe such as novas or the movement of stars relative to one another.
The project was the largest international scientific project undertaken in the 19th century. Government Astronomer Robert Ellery initially estimated that Melbourne's part of the project would cost about £4000 and take several years to complete, and in 1890 a specially designed telescope and camera were purchased and placed in a new building on the site.
But subsequent meetings of the project committee, dominated by the major European and North American observatories, made the project ever more complex. They increased the number of guide stars for each plate, increased the number of exposures to be taken of each part of the sky, and raised the level of accuracy required. Each observatory became responsible for measuring the stars on its own plates, rather than sending them to Paris for this time-consuming task. Ellery estimated that the Melbourne and Sydney Observatories had close to 1,500,000 stars to measure on their combined plates! The meridian observations of the guide stars would alone take up the time of two assistants for 12 years. All of this hit the Melbourne Observatory just as the severe economic depression of the 1890s was starting to bite, and Ellery was facing cuts in his budget and a reduction in his staff.
Ellery and his counterpart at Sydney, H.C. Russell, decided to pool their resources. With special government funds they set up a room at the Melbourne Observatory for the measuring of the Sydney and Melbourne plates, purchased and built special measuring machines which assisted with the task, and employed young women to undertake the tedious work. In employing young women Ellery was following a new trend in European and American observatories, where, he noted, 'it has been found that young women of ordinary intelligence can be quickly trained in the use of the micrometer, and do the measurements quickly and well.'
By 1911, over 20 years after the start of the project, Ellery reported that most of the work had been done. But the First World War and lack of funds further delayed the printing of the Melbourne astrographic catalogues, and the first of 8 volumes was not issued until 1926; only 3 had been published when the Observatory closed in 1944. The remaining volumes were published in the 1950s and 1960s with funds provided by the International Astronomical Union. Melbourne was not the only observatory to be overwhelmed. Twenty years into the project only Greenwich and Oxford Observatories had completed their part of the work; some were never to do so.
In the 1980s and 1990s the original data was made machine-readable. The resulting catalogue, AC 2000, is now widely used to compute stars' proper motions and to understand galactic structure and evolution. Work commenced in the 1890s continues to be relevant to modern astronomy.
Meadows, A.J. (1975). Greenwich Observatory; Volume 2: Recent History (1836-1975), London: Taylor & Francis. Ch. 2.
Turner, H.H. (1912). The Great Star Map, London: John Murray.
Urban, Sean & Corbin, Thomas E. (1998). 'The Astrographic Catalogue: A Century of Work Pays Off', Sky & Telescope, June, pp.40-44.
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 1 - 10) 366 items
Standard Volume - Gallon, Primary Standard, Victoria, 1864
Primary standard gallon for Victoria, 1864. The measure has two handles, a strike disc and is housed in a wooden box. It was originally used by the Customs Department as the Imperial st ...From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 1
No Image Available
Astrograph Screen - Melbourne Observatory, 1890s
Circular metal screen, 35 cm diameter, used with astrograph at Melbourne Observatory. In original shipping box sent from Paris Observatory.
Negative - Assistant on the Astrograph Project, Melbourne Observatory, circa 1905
Female assistant using a photographic plate measuring machine to measure the precise positions of stars for the international Astrograph Project, around 1905. The machine being used is ...
No Image Available
Glass Positive - Star Cluster, Melbourne Observatory, 1891
Test photo presumably taken with the newly erected Astrograph telescope at Melbourne Observatory.
No Image Available
Clock Suspension Springs
Clock suspension spring from Melbourne Observatory workshop, to be used for repairs on clocks if required. 6 thicknesses of spring in marked envelopes: 0.0015, 0.002, 0.003, 0.004, 0.0 ...
Negative - Astrograph House, Melbourne Observatory, 1969
Astrograph House, Melbourne Observatory
Negative - Astrograph Reseau Testing Equipment, Melbourne Observatory
Testing equipment at Melbourne Observatory used to test the Astrograph reseau.
Photograph - Melbourne Observatory House, South Yarra, Victoria, 1935
View of Melbourne Observatory House, the residence of the Victorian Government Astronomer, 1935. Photograph taken by Rolf Baldwin, son of the third Government Astronomer, Joseph Baldwi ...Images: 2
Photograph - Melbourne Observatory House, South Yarra, Victoria, 1935
View of Melbourne Observatory House, the residence of the Victorian Government Astronomer, 1935. Photograph taken by Rolf Baldwin, son of the third Government Astronomer, Joseph Baldwi ...Images: 2
Photograph - View of Buildings at Melbourne Observatory, South Yarra, Victoria, circa 1937
View of the main building at Melbourne Observatory, taken from the southeast. From the left, the buildings visible are the Astrograph House, rear of main building, 8 inch transit house, ...Images: 2


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Bret Packard
Managing Director, Global Wealth Asia
Mr Bret Packard, joined ANZ Wealth Asia in October 2012 based in Singapore. Bret is responsible for leveraging ANZ's investment capabilities and resources in our Asian Wealth business and to capitalize on the significant growth opportunity across Asia. He also has overall responsibility for our Private Bank in Asia.
Mr Packard brings to the role significant global expertise with over 28 years in senior banking and wealth management roles. Mr Packard spent over five years with Barclays Bank where he was Managing Director, Southern Africa Region and also held senior positions managing affluent segments and liability products across 14 Emerging Markets and in the United Kingdom. Prior to this, Mr Packard spent more than 19 years working in various senior distribution and product roles at Citibank.
Arjan De Boer
Head of Private Bank, North Asia
Private Bank, Asia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
17/F, Three Exchange Square
8 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong.
Arjan De Boer is the Head of Private Bank for North Asia and is based in Hong Kong. In his role, he is responsible for the Private Banking business in the region including driving the development of new geographies and client segments. He joined ANZ in June 2013.
Arjan has had 14 years of experience within ABN AMRO Private Banking of which more than 7 years has been in Asia. He started his financial career with the Hollandsche Bank Unie (HBU), serving Private, Corporate and Institutional clients within a dealing room environment and later on became Head of Treasury & Special Products Private Clients within the Netherlands.
In early 2006, Arjan relocated to Singapore to take up the position of Regional Head of Treasury & Special Products for Private Banking, Asia with ABN AMRO. With his understanding of the needs of Asian clients, Arjan moved to Hong Kong in April 2010 and was appointed as Head of Private Banking for North Asia. Following this, he was appointed Head of North Asia at ANZ Private Bank.
Arjan graduated with a Master of Science degree in Business Economics from Nyenrode University, the Netherlands Business School.
Christopher Wang
Head of Investment Advisory,
Private Bank, Asia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited,
10 Collyer Quay,
#30-00 Ocean Financial Centre,
Singapore 049315.
Christopher Wang is currently the Asia Head of Investment Advisory and is responsible for helping determine and communicate the Private Bank's investment views; and for managing a team of Investment Advisors who work with clients on generating product portfolio solutions for their investment needs. Chris' knowledge of economics, global markets and equity and fixed income asset classes helps him formulate asset allocation and investment portfolios to meet client needs.
Prior to ANZ, Chris held the same position at Standard Chartered/American Express Private Bank where he served on the Bank's global asset allocation committee, written numerous newspaper articles and appeared on regional business channels. He has worked in Asia since 1992.
Chris graduated with a MBA in Finance and Corporate Strategy from the University of Michigan (US) and a BS from Brown University (US).
John Elkovich
Head of Financial Advisory,
Private Bank, Asia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited,
10 Collyer Quay,
#30-00 Ocean Financial Centre,
Singapore 049315.
John Elkovich is the Head of Financial Advisory Asia and is based in Singapore. In his role John is responsible for managing all aspects of the advisory business including wealth planning products.
John and his team provide comprehensive advice to clients through every stage of their wealth lifecycle. The team provides tailored solutions by taking the time to understand each clients unique situation in order to help them achieve their wealth management goals.
With over 20 years of experience within the wealth management Industry, John has held previous senior positions at Westpac, GIO and CBA.
He joined ANZ in 2008 and holds a graduate certificate in Business Administration, a Diploma in Financial markets as well as a Diploma in Financial Planning.


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It's no secret that folks here in the Brazos Valley love to eat out.
Here in the past few weeks, several new restaurants have opened their doors and there's more to come.
After months of construction, Fowl Digits has finally opened their doors to the hungry masses.
"Very satisfying to get the place open and see people show up," said owner Mark Holubec.
Some may wonder why a third chicken finger restaurant opened its doors on the east side of campus but the answer is simple.
"It's a great location, right across from the university. It just happens to be right between two chicken places," joked Holubec.
Fowl Digits is one of many restaurants that have or will be opening their doors in the area.
Two weeks ago, Wolfies on Harvey road opened for business bringing another sports bar themed restaurant to the area.
And in the next week or two, Lupe Tortilla will bring its Mexican food to the table.
"I couldn't tell you why they're all coming in at one time. I think it's just a cyclical thing more than anything," said Holubec.
And the list of new eateries won't stop there. Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Bryan is scheduled to be open in the beginning of June.
The Taco Bell at Tower Point is scheduled to open in the first week of May.
And the old McDonald's location on the corner of William D. Fitch and Highway 6 is currently in negotiations with three different fast food restaurants hoping to rent out the location.
The only other restaurant currently under construction is the Panera Bread on University drive. They hope to open the store over the summer. After that, this round of restaurants may be the last till the fall. According to the College Station and Bryan Planning and Development departments, nothing is on the slate when it comes to new restaurants.
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Laura Bowden Carpenter is the Head of the Department ofCounselor, Leadership, and Special Education and a Professor in the School of Education. Her faculty responsibilities include teaching courses in the Early Childhood Special Education and Collaborative Teacher Programs. Scholarly pursuits include numerous peer-reviewed presentations at international, national, and state conferences, as well as, authoring and co-authoring articles on diverse topics. These topics include visual supports for students with Asperger Syndrome, teaching strategies for teacher educators, recruitment and retention of special educators, visual impairments, and assistive technology. Dr. Carpenter is the lead author for the text Assistive Technology: Access for All Students (3rd Ed.). Dr. Carpenter is currently serving as a representative on the AUM Graduate Council, and a member of the NCATE Steering Committee, Chair of Faculty Qualifications. She is past president of the Children's Center of Montgomery Board of Directors and a current member of that board. Dr. Carpenter is the registrar for Sunshine Camp, a Christian weekend retreat for adults with intellectual disabilities.
In 2003, Dr. Carpenter received the Robert A. Wieseman Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2005, she was awarded the AUM Distinguished Teaching Professor Award. In 2008, Dr. Carpenter received the Auburn University Montgomery School of Education Dean's Service Award. In 2011, Dr. Carpenter received the Henry N. Williford Distinguished Research Award.


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