text:
An improved method of upgrading the firmware of an electronic device is disclosed. The method is executed over a communications link. The method includes compression of a portion of the new firmware, but does not require the device to have any pre-existing decompression algorithms built into it. A system and device capable of executing the method is also disclosed.
1. A method of altering firmware of an electronic device, the device comprising a processor and a non-volatile memory, the firmware comprising first data stored in the non-volatile memory, the method comprising:
receiving second data by the electronic device, the second data comprising an uncompressed portion and a compressed portion, the uncompressed portion including a decompression program;
storing at least the compressed portion in the non-volatile memory;
removing at least one portion of the first data from the non-volatile memory;
decompressing the compressed portion using the decompression program; and
executing the firmware by the processor, the firmware further comprising at least the decompressed compressed portion.
2. The method of
receiving the decompressed compressed portion by a volatile memory.
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
receiving the second data in S-record form.
6. The method of
receiving the second data in binary form.
7. The method of
8. The method of
9. The method of
compiling source code for said electronic device;
linking the source code to create object code;
formatting the object code into binary format code; and
compressing the binary format code, the second data comprising the compressed binary format code.
10. The method of
converting the compressed binary format code into S-record format code.
11. The method of
storing the uncompressed portion in the non-volatile memory.
12. The method of
copying the decompressed compressed portion to a same location in a volatile memory where the firmware previously executed from.
13. The method of
moving at least a portion of the second data from the same location in the volatile memory to a new location in the volatile memory; and
executing the uncompressed portion from the new location.
14. The method of
15. The method of
16. The method of
17. A system for upgrading the firmware of an electronic device, the system comprising:
a computing device comprising at least a first processor and a storage device;
a communications link coupled between said computing device and said electronic device;
wherein said electronic device comprises:
a non-volatile memory comprising first firmware; and
a second processor;
said computing device further comprising:
second firmware stored on said storage device, said second firmware comprising a compressed portion and an uncompressed portion;
said computing device operative to transfer said second firmware to said electronic device via said communications link and said second processor operative to execute said uncompressed portion to decompress said compressed portion; and
wherein at least said compressed portion replaces at least a portion of said first firmware in said non-volatile memory.
18. The system of
19. The system of
20. The system of
21. The system of
22. An electronic device comprising:
a processor;
a communications interface coupled with said processor; and
a non-volatile memory coupled with said processor and said communications interface, said non-volatile memory comprising first program code operative to be executed by said processor; and wherein
said communications interface is operative to receive second program code, said second program code comprising a first uncompressed portion and a first compressed portion, said processor operative to remove a portion of said first program code from said non-volatile memory, store said first compressed portion in said non-volatile memory and execute said first uncompressed portion to uncompress said first compressed portion; and further wherein
said processor is operative to execute said uncompressed first compressed portion.
23. The electronic device of
24. The electronic device of
25. The electronic device of
26. The electronic device of
27. The electronic device of
28. The electronic device of
29. An electronic device comprising:
non-volatile memory means for storing first program means for operating said electronic device;
processor means for executing said program means;
communications means for receiving second program means for operating said electronic device; and wherein
said second program means further includes a first uncompressed portion and a first compressed portion, said processor means further operative to remove a portion of said first program means from said non-volatile memory means, store said first compressed portion in said non-volatile memory means and execute said first uncompressed portion to uncompress said first compressed portion; and further wherein
said processor means is operative to execute said uncompressed first compressed portion.
30. The electronic device of
31. The electronic device of
32. The electronic device of
33. The electronic device of
34. The electronic device of
35. The electronic device of
36. The electronic device of
37. The electronic device of
38. The electronic device of
39. The electronic device of
40. The electronic device of
41. The method of
coupling said electronic device via analog interface circuitry to an electric circuit; and
monitoring at least one parameter of said electric circuit.
42. The method of
43. The method of
44. The method of
45. The method of
46. The method of
47. The method of
48. The method of
Intelligent electronic devices ("IED's") such as programmable logic controllers ("PLC's"), Remote Terminal Units ("RTU's"), electric/watt hour meters, protection relays and fault recorders are widely available that make use of memory and microprocessors to provide increased versatility and additional functionality. Such functionality includes the ability to communicate with remote computing systems, either via a direct connection, e.g. modem, or via a network. These devices often include firmware or operating software/programs which is built or programmed into the device and which directs the microprocessor and other hardware to perform the desired functions of the IED.
The capability to upgrade the firmware of an IED is a desirable feature due to the fact that firmware is often being continually refined by the original manufacturer even after the product has been sold. Updates may be desirable to add or remove functions, or fix problems with the existing firmware. Often, the device is installed in a place that is difficult to access, so it is desirable to be able to upgrade the device remotely from a computer or other computing device by transferring the new firmware code via a communications link, such as an Ethernet, RS-485, RS-232, modem, or other form of wired or wireless link.
However, these communications links typically have a limited amount of available bandwidth. Therefore, if the device is complex and the firmware it uses is large, it may take a significant amount of time to transfer the upgraded firmware to the device. This is particularly undesirable when there is a usage charge for the communications link (such as long distance telephone charges) or the user has a large number of similar devices to upgrade. Further, where the communications link is unreliable, longer transmission times provide more opportunity for errors to be introduced into the transmission or for the transmission to be interrupted. In addition for some devices, the device is typically unavailable for normal operation during upgrade, therefore a shorter upgrade time is desirable to prevent unnecessary device downtime.
In addition, it is common for firmware on a device to be stored in non-volatile storage (such as a Flash EEPROM or hard disk drive), but transferred to a faster type of memory (typically a volatile memory such as DRAM) for execution. Therefore, the larger the firmware, the more non-volatile storage is required. Typically, the amount of non-volatile storage required is determined during the design of the device. While the designer may attempt to predict future needs, they must balance future upgrade capability against present costs. If it is desired to add to or otherwise modify the firmware later on such that the upgraded firmware is larger than the non-volatile storage can store, it may not be possible to upgrade the device.
Firmware within an electronic device often consists of a boot portion stored in a boot sector of a flash EEPROM, or other non-volatile device, and a main portion stored in the remainder of the flash EEPROM. The boot portion is typically used to start-up and/or initialize the device upon application of operating power and load and cause execution of the remaining firmware. It is often undesirable to upgrade the boot portion since if there is a failure (such as a power outage or code bug) when the boot portion upgrade is in progress, the device may be rendered inoperable.
In one known system, the upgraded firmware is transmitted to the device in a compressed form. The device then decompresses the upgraded firmware using a built in decompression routine or dedicated decompression hardware. However, this requires that the device be capable of decompressing the compressed upgrade firmware data. For devices already installed in the field, this would require that the device be retrofitted to add the decompression routine. Requiring this type of retrofitting would be disadvantageous.
Accordingly, is it an object of the present invention to provide a system that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a faster method of upgrading the firmware in an electronic device while reducing its storage requirements. Further, it is another object of the invention to maintain backwards compatibility with existing installed devices without requiring prior modification to utilize the disclosed upgrade method.
The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments described below relate to a method of altering firmware of an electronic device including a processor and a non-volatile memory, the firmware including first data stored in the non-volatile memory. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving second data by the electronic device. The second data includes an uncompressed portion and a compressed portion. The uncompressed portion further includes a decompression program. The method further includes storing at least the compressed portion in the non-volatile memory, removing at least one portion of the first data from the non-volatile memory, decompressing the compressed portion using the decompression program, and executing the firmware by the processor, the firmware further including at least the decompressed compressed portion.
The preferred embodiments further relate to a system for upgrading the firmware of an electronic device. In one embodiment, the system includes a computing device comprising at least a first processor and a storage device. The system further includes a communications link coupled between the computing device and the electronic device. The electronic device includes a non-volatile memory comprising first firmware and a second processor. The computing device further includes second firmware stored on the storage device, the second firmware including a compressed portion and an uncompressed portion. Wherein, the computing device is operative to transfer the second firmware to the electronic device via the communications link and the second processor is operative to execute the uncompressed portion in order to decompress the compressed portion. Further, the compressed portion replaces at least a portion of the first firmware in the non-volatile memory.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention are discussed below in conjunction with the preferred embodiments.
The present invention relates to a method of upgrading the firmware of an intelligent electronic device ("IED") containing a processor and an in-system modifiable non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is used for the storage of code to be executed by the processor. Such in system modifiable non-volatile memories may include Flash EEPROM, battery backed SRAM, or ferro-electric memories typically referred to as FRAM or MRAM, or other non-volatile memories now available or later developed. An exemplary device incorporating the disclosed embodiments is a digital power meter, however it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments are applicable to other suitable electronic devices. The method reduces upgrade/data transfer time and required memory storage using compression, but does not require that the previous firmware existing on the device contain and/or have the ability to execute compression/decompression algorithms. Further, the disclosed method of upgrading the firmware of an electronic device reduces the amount of time to upgrade the device, saves spaces in the non-volatile memory of the device and requires no modification to the hardware or firmware of the pre-existing device before execution of the method.
The disclosed system and method of upgrading the firmware of the electronic device utilizes compression of a portion of the new firmware being sent to the device over a communications link. The device need not incorporate any of the algorithms necessary for decompressing the firmware before the execution of the method. The firmware existing on the device before the execution of the method treats the upgrade firmware in the same manner whether it contains compressed firmware or not. The upgrade firmware consists of a compressed portion and an uncompressed portion.
The upgrade firmware containing the compressed portion and the uncompressed portion is transferred to the electronic device from a computer or similar computing device over a communications link. The upgrade firmware replaces the pre-existing firmware in the non-volatile memory of the electronic device. When execution of the upgrade firmware on the electronic device begins, the upgrade firmware is transferred into volatile memory at the same location in the volatile memory that the pre-existing firmware was copied previously and the uncompressed portion is executed in volatile memory. The uncompressed portion copies the upgrade firmware to a new location and continues execution from this new location. As execution continues, the uncompressed portion decompresses the compressed portion and transfers this decompressed version to the same location in the volatile memory that the pre-existing firmware was copied to. Execution of the decompressed version of the compressed portion then begins as though the decompressed version was never compressed.
The compressed portion of the upgrade firmware once decompressed, could be identical to the pre-existing firmware, which would result in identical device operation while saving space in the non-volatile memory.
Remotely upgrading firmware is known in the art such as that described in the document entitled "Meter Shop User's Guide", published by Power Measurement Ltd., located in Saanichton, B.C., Canada, at page 40, which describes a procedure for upgrading digital power meters manufactured by Power Measurement Ltd.
Further, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/931,527, "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEAMLESSLY UPGRADING THE FIRMWARE OF A INTELLIGENT ELECTRONIC DEVICE", filed Aug. 15, 2001 (pending) describes an alternate method of firmware upgrade.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,310 describes the compression of firmware within a device for the purpose of reducing storage needs, but does not disclose any methods of upgrading the firmware existing in the system. In particular, the firmware contained within the device disclosed in this patent is not upgradeable without physically removing the memory from the device and replacing it with another memory having the upgraded firmware.
In addition, self-extracting archives are known in the art for reducing the amount of storage occupied in a computer's hard drive. However, the executable portion of such archives execute in concert with a computer's operating system. The computer must be operating and executing at least the firmware (often called the BIOS) and the operating system before a self extracting archive can execute. Further, self-extracting archives execute to decompress their contents onto the computer's hard drive and not directly into executable memory. Therefore they are not applicable to the upgrade of a device's firmware due to the fact that firmware is the lowest level of the device's operating code and cannot depend on the presence of an operating system. Further, firmware must be executed from executable memory. The upgrading of the firmware (often called the BIOS) of a computer is normally done by executing a program in the computer's RAM which accesses an upgrade file on a hard (or floppy) drive and programs this upgrade code into the flash memory based BIOS on the motherboard of the computer. The upgrade file on the drive may be a result of a self extracting executable's execution, but it must be extracted before the upgrade process begins. Typically, once a self extracting archive is extracted, the source file is discarded. In contrast, the disclosed system and method provides for a firmware upgrade which replaces the existing firmware in the device with a version which extracts itself on the commencement of device operation directly into executable memory thereby alleviating the need for decompression to an intermediate storage medium prior to execution. The compressed firmware is retained for use during the next device startup.
In the exemplary digital power meter, the firmware is used to facilitate the operation of the power meter. Some of the key functions of the firmware code include calculation code for calculating power parameters such as volts, amps, kW, kVAR, kVA, kWh, kVARh, kVAh, frequency, power factor, harmonics, etc., communications code for facilitating communication with external devices, user interface code for allowing the user to interact with the digital power meter through its display and object oriented modular code for adding user configurability to the power meter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,936.
The Measurement features may further include exceeding class 0.2 revenue accuracy, instantaneous 3-phase voltage, current and power factor; it also includes bi-directional, absolute, net, time-of-use and energy loss compensation measurements, sliding window demand, as well as predicted and thermal demand. Individual and total harmonic distortion up to the 63rd harmonic is measured, as well as transient detection at 65 ms@60 Hz (78 ms@50 Hz) and sag/swell measurements. Finally, the measurements also include clamp-on current transformer measurements. Further, the power meter preferably includes at least one communications feature operable with the disclosed embodiments such as a built in modem, 10BaseT and/or 10BaseFL Ethernet ports, one or more RS-485 ports, which may be switchable to RS-232, front panel optical port and/or support for the ION�, Modbus™ and/or DNP 3.0 communications protocols. An exemplary digital power meter is the model "ION 7600" manufactured by Power Measurement Ltd., located in Saanichton, British Columbia, Canada.
The digital power meter 100 is coupled with an electric circuit 105 via analog interface circuitry 110 for the purpose of monitoring and/or managing one or more parameters of the electric circuit. Herein, the phrase "coupled with" is defined to mean directly connected to or indirectly connected through one or more intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include both hardware and software based components. The digital power meter 100 is also capable of connecting to a remote computer 120 using a communications interface 115, 125, 130. The communications interface 115 is preferably a 10BaseT Ethernet interface, but one or more alternate communications interfaces 125 130 such as 10BaseFL, 100BaseT, gigabit Ethernet, RS-232, RS-485, modem, and wireless links may also be provided in addition to or in lieu of a 10BaseT Ethernet interface. In one embodiment, the remote computer 120 contains a copy of upgrade firmware 122 for the digital power meter 100. It will be appreciated that the interface 115, 125, 130 may also include communication over the internet. The remote computer 120, 121, 124 is preferably a standard desktop PC, but may also include a server, PDA, portable PC, or any other microprocessor based computing device capable of storing the requisite data and communicating with the power meter 100 via the communications interface 115, 125, 130. The remote computer 120 121 124 may be located at a utility, customer and/or manufacturer facility or may be used in the field proximate to the power meter 100 depending upon the implementation.
According to one embodiment, the remote computer 120 contains the upgrade firmware 122 that is to be loaded into the meter 100 in place of the existing firmware. As will be described below, the upgrade firmware 122 may be created on the remote computer 122 or on some other computer and transferred to the remote computer 122. The upgrade firmware 122 is composed of an uncompressed bootstrap portion 122 a and a compressed new firmware portion 122 b. Both the uncompressed portion and the compressed portion are preferably encoded in Motorola� S-record format although other formats may be used such as Intel� Hex format or binary format.
The digital power meter 100 further contains a processor 135, volatile memory, such as Dynamic RAM ("DRAM") 140, and non-volatile memory, such as flash memory 145. The flash memory 145 is used for non-volatile storage of operating code and data for the power meter 100. The DRAM 140 is used to store executing code for the power meter 100, volatile data for operation of the processor and to temporarily store data that is destined for the flash memory 145. In one embodiment, DRAM memory 140 includes four separate DRAM memories totaling about 8 MB of storage. Alternatively, a single DRAM memory 140 having equivalent capacity may be used. In another embodiment, the flash memory 145 includes two separate flash memories totaling about 8 MB of storage although a single flash memory having equivalent capacity may also be used. An exemplary processor 135 for use with the preferred embodiments is type MPC821 manufactured by Motorola Inc., located in Schaumburg, Ill., although other suitable processors may also be used. Exemplary DRAM 140 includes the type MT4C1M16E5DJ-6 manufactured by Micron Technology Inc. located in Boise, Id. Exemplary flash memory 145 includes the type LH28F320S5NS-L90 manufactured by Sharp Corporation located in Osaka, Japan. It will be appreciated that the bit densities and other characteristics of the devices used to implement the memories 140, 145 are implementation dependent. The memories 140 145 are coupled with the processor 135 such that the two flash memories 145 a 145 b are mapped as a single address space and the four DRAMs 140 a 140 b 140 c 140 d are mapped as a single address space separate from the flash memory 145 address space. Therefore, in the foregoing discussion they will be treated as one flash memory 145 and one DRAM 140 respectively.
The digital power meter 100 also contains a display 165, a digital signal processor ("DSP") 150, analog to digital converters ("A/Ds") 155 and additional circuitry 160 which are configured in a manner known in the art. Additional circuitry 160 can consist of power supplies, digital inputs and outputs, analog inputs and outputs, external display interfaces, etc.
As the firmware upgrade process continues, the bootstrap code 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b are transferred from the remote computer 120, 121, 124 to the meter 100 over the communications interface 115. In one embodiment, the transfer is accomplished by breaking the bootstrap code 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b into multiple packets which are individually transmitted, each packet containing a portion of the data to be transferred. Such packet based communications protocols are well known. Alternatively other data transfer protocols, now available or later developed, may be used, for example the bootstrap code 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b may be transferred as a continuous data stream over the communications interface 115. The processor 135 receives the packets, acknowledges the receipt and stores the portions of the transferred bootstrap code 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b from the packets into DRAM memory 140. In one embodiment, error detection and/or correction data is also exchanged between the meter 100 and the remote computer 120, 121, 124 to ensure proper receipt of the packets. This results in portions 241 of the bootstrap 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b being transferred into DRAM memory 140. As they are received, these portions are then continuously written to the flash memory 145 by the processor 135 until the entire bootstrap 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b are stored into the flash 145. In an alternate embodiment, the entire bootstrap code 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b is received into the DRAM memory 140 and then it is transferred to the flash memory 145. A test is done (via a Cyclic Redundancy Check ("CRC")) to ensure that the bootstrap 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b were successfully transferred, block 315. Alternatively, other error checking and/or correction algorithms may also be used. If the transfer was not successful, execution of the firmware in the power meter 100 continues, block 380. In this case, it is the copy of the old firmware 232 that continues to execute in block 360 and the upgrade firmware 122 is discarded. Until the power meter 100 is restarted, the processor is executing code from the old firmware 232 a portion of which executes the upgrade process for the meter 100.
If the bootstrap 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b were successfully transferred, the old firmware 208 is erased from the flash 145, block 320, the file system within the flash is updated to indicate that the location of the main firmware is where the bootstrap 122 a was written to the flash and the power meter 100 is restarted, block 325. These functions are provided by the upgrade and flash file and/or memory management routines in the existing executing firmware. The power meter 100 continues to perform its normal functions in addition to receiving the upgrade firmware 122 until it restarts. After the old firmware 208 is erased from the flash 145, block 320, the power meter 100 is automatically restarted, block 325 by the processor 135. Before restarting, the processor 135 stores any portion of the data 231 that must be saved into the data 207 area of the flash 145. After restart, the bootstrap 122 a and compressed new firmware 122 b are copied/transferred, block 330, by the boot firmware 206 to the DRAM memory 140 resulting in a copy of the bootstrap 251 and compressed new firmware 252 in the DRAM memory 140. The start address of the bootstrap 122 a is set to be the same as the old firmware 208. Therefore, the boot firmware 206, which has not been changed, does not need to know that the new firmware 122 b is compressed and does not need to be aware that the bootstrap 206 and new firmware 122 b combination is any different than the old firmware 208. The processor execution then transfers to the copy of the bootstrap 251, block 335. The copy of the bootstrap 251 copies itself and the copy of the compressed new firmware 252 to a second area of the DRAM memory 140, block 355, resulting in a second copy of the bootstrap 253 and compressed new firmware 254 and transfers execution to this copy, block 340. The second copy of the compressed new firmware 254 is then decompressed by the second copy of the bootstrap 253, block 345, into the same location where the copy of the old firmware 232 was in the DRAM memory 140 before the restart. The bootstrap 253 contains the necessary code for decompressing the new firmware 122 b. The compression/decompression algorithm is described below. This results in a decompressed version of the compressed new firmware 122 b in the DRAM 140. Then, code execution is transferred to the decompressed new firmware 256, block 350, and execution continues, shown in block 360. The end result is that the power meter is now executing new code from DRAM from the same location as the copy of the old firmware 232 was located. Further, the code (now the upgrade firmware 122) stored in the flash memory 145 is now compressed thereby reducing its storage requirements.
If the power meter 100 restarts, block 370 before the old firmware 208 is erased at block 320, the boot firmware 206 copies the old firmware 208 from the flash 145, block 375, any portion of upgrade firmware 122 in the flash 145 is erased, block 380 and execution of the copy of the old firmware 232 continues as though no upgrade had occurred. After the upgrade process has completed, any further restarts of the firmware due to power cycling or resets results in the execution of blocks starting at block 325.
If there is a restart of the power meter 100 (due to a power cycle or other interruption to code execution) before the erasure of the old firmware 208 at block 384, execution continues at block 388 with the old firmware 208 being copied to the DRAM 140. Then, any partial portions of the new uncompressed firmware are erased, block 390 and execution of the old firmware 208 continues, block 391. It is important to note that if the upgrade process completes successfully, the upgrade firmware 122 becomes the old firmware 208 for the next upgrade of the device.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not necessary to store the new firmware in the flash memory 145 in compressed form. In one embodiment, the firmware is decompressed after it is downloaded and stored in the flash memory 145 in an uncompressed form. However, storing it in compressed form saves space in the flash memory 145 for larger upgrades and/or additional data 207. This data may include logs, device setup and waveform recording data. Further, if the device did not have a file system for managing the non-volatile memory 145 (and therefore, the firmware must reside in a fixed flash location), it would be possible to download the entire upgrade firmware 122 to DRAM 140 and then erase the old firmware 208 in flash 145 before writing the decompressed new firmware into flash 145, but this would leave the device vulnerable to a power shutdown while the upgrade firmware 122 was being transferred to the flash 145. In addition, in a similar fashion, it would be possible to have the boot firmware 206 overwritten with upgrade firmware, but this would leave the device vulnerable to a power shutdown during the upgrade process as well. In either case, a power interruption with the firmware incompletely stored would result in an inoperable meter 100. In the disclosed embodiment, the risk of an unexpected power shutdown leaving the device inoperable is mitigated by the fact that the old firmware 208 is not erased until the upgrade firmware 122 is successfully stored in the flash 145. Temporarily, after the upgrade firmware 122 is completely stored in the flash 145, both the upgrade firmware 122 and the old firmware 208 are simultaneously stored in the flash memory 145. A pointer or other appropriate means is then changed in the flash 145 so the bootstrap 206 knows to boot from the upgrade firmware 122 instead of the old firmware 208. This pointer is changed by the processor 135 just before the old firmware 208 is erased.
In an alternative embodiment, as the upgrade firmware is received, it is stored directly into the flash memory. In this embodiment, the flash memory has a minimal write cycle time allowing it to store the data as it is received, at wire speed. Therefore portions of the new code 241 need not be written/buffered into the DRAM 140 during the upgrade process. Instead they can be written directly into the flash 145. This eliminates the need for buffer memory space in the DRAM 140 and also further speeds up the upgrade process. In an alternate embodiment, dedicated buffer memory separate from the DRAM 140 is provided to buffer the upgrade firmware data as it is received while it waits to be stored into the flash memory 145.
Further, flash memory 145 capable of simultaneous reading and writing may also be used permitting execution of code directly from one portion of the flash memory 145 while storing data into another portion of the flash memory 145 further eliminating reliance on volatile storage such as the DRAM 140.
In the preferred embodiment, the new firmware is compressed using the zlib algorithm disclosed in the "zlib 1.1.3 Manual" available at http://www.gzip.org/zlib (last accessed Jan. 14, 2002), written by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler. Alternatively, other compression algorithms may also be used.
Although the upgrade file in the preceding discussion was referred to as consisting of an uncompressed "bootstrap" portion 122 a and a compressed "new firmware" portion 122 b, it is also possible to consider the entire upgrade file as the "new firmware" which consists of an uncompressed portion and a compressed portion.
In addition, as an alternate method, the bootstrap code 122 a could be downloaded and executed before the new firmware 122 b is downloaded to the device In this case, the bootstrap code 122 a would contain code that would execute and continue the download process by downloading the new firmware 122 b. This would allow the new firmware 122 b to be resident in a different storage location from the bootstrap code 122 a such as in a different remote computer 121 124 instead of remote computer 120.
It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method described can also be used to save space in the flash 145 if the method is executed with a version of the new firmware 122 b that is merely a compressed version of the old firmware 208.
Further, it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the data 207 231 of the present invention could also be compressed using the same methods described to further save space in the flash 145 and DRAM 140.
It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
Venue changed for Jeff Carter Quintet concert
IRONTON -- The venue for the Saturday, Feb. 16, Jeff Carter Quintet concert has been changed to Colllins Center
Bowman Auditorium at Ohio University Southern.
The concert is planned for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The quintet is comprised of Carter on tenor saxophone; Spencer Bolt, piano; Michael Moore, guitar; Chris Justice, bass; Dave Knipp, drums; Anne Stephens, guest vocalist.
For additional information, visit Jeff Carter's website at www.saxophonistjeffcarter.com.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hang tight!
Recipe by Progresso™ Recipe Starters™
"Your family will love this hearty Italian casserole made with Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce."
Hmm. None of these ingredients are on sale today.
Show ingredients on sale
Sort stores by
Save money at local stores when ingredients are on sale!
Watch video tips and tricks
1 1/2 cups
uncooked ziti pasta
1 pound
bulk Italian pork sausage
1 (9 ounce) pouch
Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce
1 cup
ricotta cheese*
1/4 cup
Parmesan cheese
1 cup
shredded mozzarella cheese
Chopped fresh basil leaves
My family really liked this and I thought it was ok...sausage really added flavor. The thing for me, is I make these pasta bakes often and I didn't think the Starter really added anything...same amount of time, number of dishes used and slightly more expensive using the Recipe Starter then if I made my own.
I made so many changes to this recipe that it's hard to rate it. However, what I did to it made it really good. I used penne (instead of ziti), ground beef (instead of sausage), 1 T. dried basil (instead of fresh), cottage cheese (instead of ricotta), and I added Italian seasoning plus 1/2 a jar of Herdez Guajillo Cooking Sauce. I also added salt. This turned out delicious.
4 Ratings
My husband really liked this and he doesn't usually like pasta dishes...He loved the taste of the fresh basil....He did say it could use more sauce though, I agree.
I added a can of tomato sauce and used ground beef instead of sausage(I don't like sausage).I also cooked the onion with the beef and garlic instead of adding it with the sauce...
My husband looooves this and he is a very picky eater. The thing about this recipe is I just use whatever I have on hand. If I have an egg, great, if not, oh well. I use whatever cheese I happen to have and it's different every time. I use cream cheese instead of ricotta because my husband hates ricotta. I have made this probably 10+ times and it's different every time and always tastes amazing!
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Progresso(R) Baked Ziti Casserole
Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 438
Calories from Fat: 211
With our 2,700+ chicken breast recipes, you'll never serve the same old chicken again.
The firm, juicy texture of zucchini make them a perfect side to toss on the grill.
Delicious recipes, party ideas, and cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for $7.99!
Make crispy garlic chicken the super quick-and-easy way!
Get a head start on classic beef stroganoff.
See time-saving tricks for quick-and-easy pulled chicken sandwiches.


text:
Specifics of the ban on text messaging that was approved by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett on Nov. 9, 2011:
- Prohibits as a primary offense all drivers from using an Interactive Wireless Communication Device (IWCD) to send, read or write a text-based message.
- Defines an IWCD as a wireless phone, personal digital assistant, smart phone, portable or mobile computer or similar devices that can be used for texting, instant messaging, emailing or browsing the Internet.
- Defines a text-based message as a text message, instant message, email or other written communication composed or received on an IWCD.
- Institutes a $50 fine for convictions under this section.
- Makes clear that this law supersedes and preempts any local ordinances
- restricting the use of interactive wireless devices by drivers.
Copyright 2013 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
You are here
London Symphony Orchestra with Tilson Thomas & Yuja Wang
Last Modified:
Part of Visiting Orchestras
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
About This Performance
Michael Tilson Thomas (who celebrates his 70th birthday this season) and George Gershwin is a combination we've known and enjoyed for decades. Add the electrifying Yuja Wang and sparks are sure to fly!
Come for: Powerhouse pianist Yuja Wang adds even more spark to this already electric concert.
And more: A rare opportunity to hear the LSO, one of the world's great orchestras, along with the conductor who has had a deep connection with it for many years.
Programs, artists, dates, prices and availability subject to change.
Upbeat Live: pre-concert talks
Program Sponsors
Traffic Advisory
Construction around Walt Disney Concert Hall may affect your drive. Click here for details.


text:
HASTINGS, Neb. – In its first game since April 16, the Dakota Wesleyan University softball team dropped a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader to Hastings College Thursday afternoon in Hastings, Neb. The Broncos won the first game 7-0 and the second game 3-2.
Dakota Wesleyan is now 6-20 overall and 4-8 and in ninth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Hastings leads the conference with a 12-2 mark.
In the first game Thursday, the game was scoreless until the fourth when the Broncos scored on an RBI single. Katie Uttecht was hit by a pitch and Vanessa Mendez reached on an error to start the fifth, but DWU failed to score. Hastings added sixth runs in the sixth inning on a sac fly, two RBI walks, an RBI single and a two-run single.
Four players had one hit each for Dakota Wesleyan, which had four total hits. Jill Dickson threw all six innings and gave up seven runs on 11 hits with seven strikeouts.
In the second game of the day, Hastings scored twice in the first inning on a two-run single, but DWU got within one in the fourth when Tiffany Sharp hit into an RBI groundout. The Tigers tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single by Lindy Snook, but Hastings scored the game-winning run in the sixth on an RBI single.
Snook went 3-for-4 with one RBI and Katie Anderus had two hits for DWU, which had nine total hits. Dickson threw all six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. She struck out one batter.
The Tigers are back in action Saturday, April 27, when they host Concordia University at 1 p.m. at McWhirter Field. This is DWU's first home game since Saturday, April 6.


text:
Chicken-Fried Sportsdom
A sports blog with Keith Calkins.
Posts filtered on Tag
Pugnacious NFL Picks: Texans searching in less than well deserved week off.
Each and every Saturday. BMOC on Friday. Entertainment purposes only. Money back not guaranteed. With some help from the Von Bondies. And a nod to The Hay Merchant. [Read More]
BMOC Power Rankings: Baylor will win the ever-shrinking Big 12
Four games into the college gridworld season so let's run down the suddenly sexy in the oh so small Big 12 plus the SEC top to bottom with a nod to The Hay Merchant. [Read More]


text:
Gear Review
Pat Gunning
Great UL kit
I have seen some people complain about this kit (and the .9 and .5) not having any organization and things of that sort. Well I guess they don't understand that this is an ULTRALIGHT first aid kit. with all UL equipment you won't have any nice features like pockets for organizing supplies or anything like that. If you want organization you should look into AMK's Mountain Series. This kit is for someone who wants to have a nicely stocked first aid kit but doesn't want unnecessary weight from it. This is not a first aid kit to keep in your car this is a kit to put in your pack.
There is extra room to add some things that might have been overlooked. I have seen a few people mentioned adding more things for blisters. With this kit there is room to throw in AMK's Blister Medic into the outer bag. The advantage of this is all your blister treatment things are right at hand in a bag so you can just pull out the blister stuff(adding a little organization). There isn't too much extra room though, for example you won't be able to add a SAM splint but you can easily improvise splints in the backcountry.
Overall this is a great kit for people who want a light weight kit that still has all the essentials.
View More Details on Adventure Medical Ultralight & Watertight .7 First Aid Kit


text:
Gardening calendar
Gardening jobs
Garden type
Top tips
This month is the height of summer which means most of all a time to relax and enjoy. Make time to sit in the sun surrounded by the summer colours and fragrances and leave the chores for a slightly less sunny day. But what should you be doing on those days?
July is normally the start of the fruit harvesting season for several varieties of fruit. Picking fruit is a fun and healthy pastime – what can be better than fresh handpicked fruit?
With the lovely summer weather there are still many jobs that you can do outside but there are also some indoor ones that you can enjoy doing.
Now well into the summer, to keep your lawn strong and healthy you will need to mow it at least once or twice a week. The smell of a freshly mown lawn is great in the garden!
In July, the garden and flower beds are at their best! There are so many colours to enjoy and the wonderful fragrance of flowers such as the rose fills the air.
Pruning is an important way of improving the growth and flowering of trees and shrubs.
Perennials do not really need pruning in summer, but they do require some care and attention to ensure that they produce as many flowers as possible.
In July, you can start pruning trees and hedges. By doing this they gain more light, they grow better and it helps to improve their shape which are all very important.
In July, your tub, container plants and hanging baskets will be looking their best! Here, we give you a few tips on how best to take care of them.
Between the months of June and August mowing the lawn can be a regular task, at least once a week or sometimes more. The edges will need to be trimmed weekly.
This month is a good month for the growth and flowering of your pond plants and a time to really enjoy your water lilies which will be looking their best.
Vegetables need plenty of water during the hot month of July. If they get insufficient water they will almost certainly bolt and form seed, making them inedible, which would be a waste of all your time and trouble.


text:
Dear BalanceSpecialist,
Can you advise me to decide do properly balance for steam turbine rotor of centrifugal compressor?
This rotor has 1st critical speed = 6,400 RPM, 2nd critical speed =16,000 RPM, operation speed 13,246 RPM.
Last year, the rotor had high vibration after decreased RPM to 2000 RPM and rotor blade were rubbing and shaft bow.
Vendor recommends to repair and bend the shaft and check balance by low speed.
I think it should be balanced by high speed balancing for ensure not problem after 1st speed , what do you think?
Yes, I would balance the rotor at low speed first then trim it at high speed. Low speed balancing can only get so close and keep the rotor speed away from that critical.
What do you mean by "bend shaft"? Is vendor recommending some form of straightening operation?
What is the rotor diameter?
How much is the shaft bow?
so, the rotor in operation now is the spare rotor. i can assume the 'damage' rotor is now on its way for refurbishment. rotor straightening is one of the repair scope. depending upon the degree of damage on the blade (i guess it is on the low pressure section blade rows), blade replacement may also be required.
now, if it is now at oem shop, i would expect the vendor recommends for hsb. even for general refurbishment scope (without this rotor straightening scope) they would normally include hsb in their proposal.
nway, imo, the history of 1x vibration performance and the impact of bent & straightening repair method would be the main factors for you to assess if hsb is required. if indeed the rotor has long history of 1X vibration issue, i would go for hsb. if no concern on the 1x history and oem can guarantee the magnitude of the bent had not resulted in rotor lateral change and rotor straightening procedure will not result in any change too, then low speed balancing may be sufficient. the last thing you do not want to be in is to find out your your speed governing range is in critical speed range.
again, if the rotor is at oem shop, i would expect they will include hsb in their scope due to simple reasons; they gain more profit and assurance (they normally provide guarantee period). with your problem description, if oem is recommending low speed balancing only, i have a thought that the rotor is at 3rd party service center.
at 13K speed, it could be in the range of 20-25MW hp (100 barg steam inlet) turbine. some of the turbine in this range do have field balancing provision (weight placement). even with this provision, i will never include this in the decision making. 'oh, we dont need hsb. we can always perform field balancing should problem arose during start-up'.
if the rotor is still in operation and vibration value is normal, it indicates the rotor had been straightened during subsequent (after the problem) slow roll or at its idle speeds. so, nothing to be done.
Thank you everybody of your answer,
Run out of shaft is 0.04 mm that is out of tolerance at 0.0058 mm.
I think it should be done hsb and Mr.Valve opinion.
are you sure 0.0058mm is the run-out tolerance? it is very tight imo
maximum readout is one thing, how about the shape of the rotor based on the full (along the shaft) max runout/angle readings?
What standard was the steam turbine rotor manufactured based on?
Somewhat dependent on shaft size, 0.0058mm (.2 mil) seems reasonable to me. On shafts less than 250 mm (approximately 10 inches) we regularly made gear rotors at 1/2 that value (TIR).
this tolerance is MHI standard and the runout maximum 0.04 mm at 6 PM of middle of shaft dia 50 mm, length 1.35 m.
I always thought that the tolerance is always higher than the probe landing area TIR. This is considering the procedure required to attain such surface finish at probe landing area.
With this turbine speed of 13K, the probe landing area max run-out is 6.3 microns. To find out 5.8 microns as maximum rotor radial run out is just odd. I have never use dial indicator with 1 micron precision. I would expect it would be a challenge to differentiate between surface imperfection and an outcome from deflection.
0.02mm to 0.05mm is general mech runout tolerance that i used to hear/experienced. Even for MHI turbine.
for me, it is not only the maximum, it is the shape that matters most. if you have maximum run-out located at 6 o'clock along the middle span, yes you do have sign of bow. even if 0.05mm at scattered angles along the middle spam, bow is unlikely. with 0.2-0.7mm laby clearances, 0.0058mm run-out tolerance is just too tight imo.
Valve, just to clarify, surface runout and surface finish are two separate and distict parameters and your statement "...probe landing area max run-out is 6.3 microns" (0.25 mil) makes me think you may be confusing the two or not realize the difference. At my former gear employer (high speed gear OEM) we would regularly "super finish" probe target areas with a diamond burnishing tool in an effort to minimize electrical runout. The finishing method yielded a mirror like surface finish; you could actually see your reflection in a large pristine journal. That had nothing to do with runout which was commonly held to 0.0025mm (0.1 mil) on journals up to 250 to 300mm. Such values of runout were easily attained and are absolutely needed in high speed rotors. TING states the shaft is 50mm diameter - at that size 2.5 microns (0.1 mil) runout tolerance is easily attained and should be the "norm" for any shop. Indeed I would say if a shop can't maintain that level of runout I would likely look elsewhere.
You further state "0.02mm to 0.05mm is general mech runout tolerance that i used to hear/experienced. Even for MHI turbine". I sincerely doubt that is the case, especially as applied to a 50mm journal. For those reading this that are familiar with English units, these levels of 0.02 mm (0.79 mil) and 0.05 mm (1.97 mil) are actually far in excess of most acceptance criteria for running vibration! API for instance only allows 25.4 µm direct (1.0 mil PP) or overall vibration at 12000 RPM.
For more on surface finish I suggest you review http://www.engineershandbook.c...surfaceroughness.htm or Google for other sources.
Am fully aware of the difference and that is the reason i explicitly bring up probe landing area TIR tolerance in this discussion. Please provide me the part of API where it provide us the surface runout tolerance accross a rotor. If none, I think you are wrong to use API p-p limit as surface run out 'reference' for a rotor. I have yet to obtain the general rule of thumb but i strongly believe that for the full radial surface runout tolerance of a rotor, it is the seal clearances that is referred as to set/calculate the tolerance.
Btw, I have seen many technical professionals have commented that diamond burnihsing is used to improve electrical run out. I am yet to able to digest it since what i understand, the objective of diamond burnishing is majorly on attaining the mirror like surface finish (MECHANICAL). As for electrical run out, degaussing or demagnetizing is the procedure involved. If this understanding is true on burnishing (mainly mechanical), so, does this mean that the radial surface for the surface runout measurement accross rotor shall be burnished or honned in order to attain 5.8 um tolerance???
I guess those that have strong experience in machienry maintenance and inspection should come forward and comment.
I suggest you have a look on this article. Been trying to find extablished paper that suits this discussion. The turbolab paper is the closest i could get. The operating speed is 8676 rpm.
Excerpted from the article; "except for the instance when the runout at the centre of rotor is performed, 5 mils of runout were measured, which was acceptable for this rotor".
what do you think of this?
The article you site is talking about mid-span rotor bow not allowable tolerances at bearing journals and/or probe target areas. Having said that excessive rotor bow will also likely evidence itself at the journals as excessive journal runout.
The removal of mechanical runout is simply handled by proper tolerancing and the selection of the machine process, i. e., a lathe can't do as good a job as a journal grinder. As far as electrical runout degaussing is the first step but often doesn't get the rotor in spec.
In a proximity probe the magnitude of current supplied and the depth of the eddy current flow into the shaft are a function of the conductivity and permeability of the target material. Inclusions, cracks and carbon segrations cause discontinuities in the eddy current flow, which changes the eddy current response. Keep in mind that whenever there is a change in the electrical properties of the material there is likely a change in the mechanical properties as well. This is often seen as a change in hardness around the periphery of the journal. Inclusions below the surface of the steel may be too deep or localized to easily identify by mechanical means. A point to make here is the eddy probe "sees" below the surface, depending on the material about 300 to 380 µm (12 to 15 mils) in depth. When a shaft is diamond burnished the surface is cold worked and becomes significantly more uniform in surface hardness. This adds significant compressive stress to the outer skin of the shaft that can be seen by the eddy current magnetic field. BN has long stated "...is not fully understood why this reduces runout, but the fact that burnishing generally reduces runout implies that stress variations in the surface of the rotor have a significant impact on electrical runout." The diamond burnishing tool doesn't really remove material. Burnishing is a relatively inexpensive process as it can be done in a lathe. The tool is run into the surface and is loaded against the surface to about 60 kg (125#) by a compressed spring in the tool. It is rotated at low speed in the presence of significant lubricant and results in a mirror finish. Burnishing after grinding will reduce runout by about 60% to 80% but those numbers are highly dependent on the type of steel. High carbon steel (AISI 4140 or 4340) responds nicely while something like 9310 (very high in mangenese) has minimal response to the burnishing tool.
Go to http://www.ge-mcs.com/download...05/3q2005_runout.pdf for an Orbit article (Vol. 25, No. 3, 2005, pp. 5-17) titled "Understanding and Mitigating Shaft Runout" by N. Littrell. It will provide some good insight into mechanical and electrical runout and their reduction. I'd attach it here but it is likely too large.This message has been edited. Last edited by: John from PA,
Again, i want to stress that i am fully aware of probe landing area runout tolerance. The MAIN REASON i brought up probe landing area runout tolerance is just for compartive figure to the discussed subject here i.e the rotor radial surface runout tolerance. It is brought up since the tolerance the op has (5.8 um) is lower than its probe landing area tolerance of 6.3 um. Is this a valid tolerance? I am still with my initial comment i.e it is too tight. As clearly pointed in the turbolab article, 5 mils runout is acceptable for their rotor.
As said earlier, those with strong machinery maintenance should come forward and share their exp.
John, btw, thanks for the insight on how burnishing can improve electrical runout.
To minimize the runout error, API 541 and API 546 define limits for the maximum probe track runout. In simple terms, these runout limits are 25% of the unfiltered vibration limits, or 0.45 mils (thousandths of an inch) for most induction machines and 0.5 mils for most synchronous machines. These correspond to 11.4 and 12.7 μm respectively.
Taken from: http://www.ge-mcs.com/download...t_v27n207_runout.pdf
If the area on which one is measuring is a good machined surface, true with the centerline, then 5 mils seems large to me. I thought the article talked about the runout being measured near the shaft end.
I know that John has seen much larger GT's (much much larger) whose measured runouts near the center would be tiny compared to this figure. Now, shaft sag on the larger rotor is much more than this, but you don't measure it as runout.
A temporary bow of 5 mils is very believable. Roll out the bow before measuring.
Low speed balance of a steam turbine with the criticals as described may be taking a chance.
Move the mass 5 mils (or 2.5 if mearing pp, tir) and use a good rotordynamics model to see what can happen. What is the damping at the first critical? Use a simple approximation of amplification factor times mass eccentricity for a first guess (The vibration would be measured pp.).
|Powered by Social Strata
|Page 1 2 3


text:
Animals Matter
See what Express-News pets columnist Cathy M. Rosenthal has to say about animals.
Monthly Archive for August, 2010
Mayor wants San Antonio to care about pets
Photo by Cathy M. Rosenthal Mayor Julian Castro and Jo Ann Gonzalez of Texas A&M of San Antonio at the Talk About It! campaign breakfast. If you have a pet that's not sterilized, Mayor Julian Castro is talking to you. This morning, at a breakfast to present the Talk About It! campaign to media and […] [Read More]
'Simon's Cat' in the box
If you are a cat lover, you will want to know aboutSimon's Cat." This latest little movie shows one of the joyful moments of living with a cat. [Read More]
Adoptions are high in July
I received word today from the San Antonio Area Foundation that adoptions for Animal Care Services were high in July — the second highest month of the year in fact. So I called around to area shelters to see what their numbers looked like for July, since July is generally a poor month for adoptions […] [Read More]
The humane treatment of animals and the egg recall
With the largest egg recall in U.S. history under way, it might be important to ask, was the salmonella caused by the egg industry's inhumane confinement of hens in tiny cages? While there are several studies that have shown that forcing hens to suffer inside cramped cages can increase Salmonella risk compared to keeping hens […] [Read More]
Manu Ginobili speaks up for San Antonio pets
San Antonio's Manu Ginobili teams up with AAPAW (Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare) to talk about Care, Adopt, Neuter (CAN), the new Talk About It! Campaign to get people to spread the word about being more responsible pet owners. Watch the Spurs' star shooting guard speak up for San Antonio's pets! Please share this […] [Read More]
Animals Suffer Around the World: International Homeless Pet Day is August 21
My nephew arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this past weekend for a medical internship and study abroad program. He wrote to me yesterday, giving some of his first impressions of the city, and not surprisingly, said he couldn't believe how many stray dogs roam the streets. "There are dogs everywhere in the city," he writes. […] [Read More]
You can help Texas animal rescue group win $10,000
Photo courtesy of Holly Hirshberg After years as a puppy mill breeding dog, Rainbow Diamond now enjoys her life as newly adopted pet. You can help a Texas animal rescue group win $10,000 with a click and vote. Diamond Dachshund Rescue entered the Pet Finder Best Pet Parent Contest with "Rainbow Diamond,' an apparently famous […] [Read More]
The pros and cons of screening potential adopters
A reader told me he went to adopt a dog at a local shelter and was refused because he only had a four-foot fence at his home. Apparently, he was looking for a medium-sized dog and the shelter said he had to have a six-foot fence to adopt a dog of that size. In Texas, […] [Read More]
Talk About It! Campaign launches and shares San Antonio's progress
Today, the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF), AAPAW (Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare), and the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services announced the Talk about it! Campaign (Vamos a hablarlo!), a bi-lingual citywide campaign to keep moving San Antonio towards a No Kill future. The campaign will promote spay/neuter, adoption, and responsible pet […] [Read More]
What's up with Buster and Archie?
The puppies are six months old now and they have settled nicely into a routine. They sleep 8 to 10 hours at night — straight through — no potty breaks. They know how to sit, stay (for about 30 seconds), go down on command, and come when they are called. The challenge for us moving […] [Read More]
Show More


text:
Fee-free day at Wayne National Forest on Saturday
PEDRO, Ohio -- The Wayne National Forest will offer a fee-free day Saturday, June 14.
The fee waiver includes all off-highway vehicles, horseback and mountain bike trails and some developed recreation sites.
Fee waivers don't apply to recreations sites that have been reserved through the National Recreation Reservation System.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.


text:
Hotels in 26855 - Cabins WV
Only hotels in 26855 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Cabins, WV for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 26855 hotels and motels so you can review the Cabins hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Grant county and area code 304 are also listed.
26855 Hotels/Motels & Accommodations
Next: Show All Available 26855 Hotels with Pricing >


text:
WMSS Is live on the internet!
At the present time, we are only broadcasting our Award Winning sports broadcasts and our Sunday Worship schedule.
Unfortunately, we have been forced to discontinue Internet broadcast of our normal programming due to licensing restrictions and costs.
At the present time, only the main stream is active while we transition to a new streaming server. Both links below will take you to the main stream.
If you are interested in sponsoring Internet broadcast of our regular programming, use our contacts page to contact us for more information.
The WMSS streams support Windows Media Player, Apple iTunes, Quicktime, and Real Player.
Please note that the alternate stream is temporarily unavailable. It will return in time for fall sports!


text:
McKinney promoted to 1st Sergeant
Luke McKinney of Jackson, has been recently promoted to 1st Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. He has been proudly serving our country for 14 years which includes three deployments. He is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Notice about comments:
Aiken Standard is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.
We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.


text:
This is what I have open still for next season...
I have time in the second half of November (Thanksgiving is still open weirdly..)
I have some time in the second half of January (one week)
We have a tentative cabin only sailing going out on February 13th, which I have two cabins who want to commit, but I need to get a third one committing before I can confirm that is a go before someone books the entire yacht for those dates in there.
I have time in the second half of June and all of July still open.
I have the yacht closed off for 6 weeks late April to mid June so I can go home for awhile at the moment.
Swim Vacation has cabins (but the numbers are shrinking daily..) open on their sailings:
Dec 10, 2011 (3 spots)
March 18-24th and Mar 25-31st
Tuesday, July 19. 2011
Update on Yacht Promenade openings
No Trackbacks
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)


text:
Welcome to the Etiquette Daily
This open thread is your space to use as you like. We invite you to discuss current and traditional etiquette. Feel free to ask questions of each other and the community moderators here.
This open thread is your space to use as you like. We invite you to discuss current and traditional etiquette. Feel free to ask questions of each other and the community moderators here.
When being dropped off at the door of a business or under the awning of say, a church building, how should you navigate to the entrance if it happens to only be on the driver's side? Go around the front of the vehicle, around the back, or stand still till the vehicle moves out of the way? My husband gets irritated if I go around the front (my husband has an extended cab truck) he'd rather me either wait till he moves, or go around the back (which is a much longer distance for me to walk and looks silly to me to take the long way around, especially when I am in heels or dressed up.)
This is an etiquette issue for me, not a safety issue. And etiquette generally dictates that the person in the stronger position (here, the person in the truck because he is more comfortable and in the position of power) yield to the wishes of the weaker person (the person outside of the truck and more vulnerable). So if you want to walk around the front of the truck, he should let you. (Actually, he should turn around so that your door is facing the entrance, but that's another issue.)
Funny, that I've always felt safer going around the back of the car because I know there is no way that the driver could accidentally hit the gas and plow into me.
I coordinate a weekly dinner party for a group of friends – ranging in age from 28 to 62 with some of us being male, female, single, and coupled.
I have a male friend who has recently started dating a woman and bringing her to our weekly dinners. The problem is that she doesn't fit into our group and even outside of our dinner parties she isn't a likeable individual.
How do we go about letting him know that she isn't welcome at our weekly dinners since no one enjoys her company and we prefer she not attend?
Is there a tactful way to do this?
This gentleman has established that he considers this lady and himself to be a social unit. Therefore you cannot invite one without the other. There is no polite way to tell him he is invited but she isn't.
Hello Lizzie,
I'm interested in your thoughts on "virtual" manners when using social media. If I met someone in person and then later send him or her an email suggesting that we get together for coffee and that person never responds, is that improper etiquette? Thanks in advance for your response.
Ben Bosley
Dear Ben,
To tell the truth, there is no such thing as "virtual manners." That would imply that there is a second set of manners that is different from real life. To be sure, there is only the same old manners applied to new situations and technologies. So the rule remains that an invitation requires a response, usually in the same form that it was given. Once upon a time, these were written invitations on paper, with written responses. Now more casual invitations may be properly sent through the phone or email. And they still require an answer.
However, since the frequency of checking one's email or Facebook can vary from person to person, I might try a phone call to follow up on the invitation. If the response is still silence, unfortunately it carries the same connotation silence always has: No.
Dear Ben: I (and I suspect many others) knew what you meant when you wrote "'virtual' manners" (as opposed to "virtual manners," which is an entirely different thing). Notwithstanding the snark, Chocobo is correct in part — some people check their e-mail more frequently than others. You can assume that a professional will check his e-mail many times a day; a retiree, not so much.
I'd wait a few days, then try another e-mail. If the person still doesn't respond, then yes, she's rude. But there's not much you can do about it.
Hello all!
I have a quick question that has bothered me very much as I have become more social. I understand that it is generally accepted that many people I deal with like to smoke, both cigarettes and marijuana, and drink (in some cases, underaged). However, it is illegal still in my state. What is a polite way to divert invitations… and also politely keep these people from my events? I unfortunately must work and go to school with them, but they seem to have become too comfortable in telling me what they insist they must do at parties. I guess they take my silence for approval, but I do not wish them to be in my house! I have a feeling no matter what I ask, even specific, that they will disrespect my home if they are invited to it.
1)For dropping off someone, it makes sense to make it as comfortable as possible for the person being dropped off. That being said, it is unsafe to walk behind an operating vehicle for any reason. It is easy and common for people to accidentally reverse. It makes logical sense to cross in front of the vehicle for safety.
2) For those in social gatherings where one has added a significant other, one has to accept them as a unit,then decide if you wish to invite that unit or not. It does make it difficult if there are a standard 6 who used to get together and now there are seven, but even then, I would invite those you wish to be with…perhaps on a different day or week-end than your previously met, so it's not so obvious a slap. Life is too short to have to put up with someone who makes outtings unhappy.
3) Virtual manners: I do believe there is a special set of rules involving virtual manners.Whereas I would always respond to someone in person who addressed me at a party, I might well ignore an unwelcome e-mail or blog statement. E-mails do not "require" answers. If someone doesn't answer their e-mail they might not wish to answer, the e-mail may have gone to spam, they might not check it frequently. If it is important to you, pretend you didn't send the e-mail and phone. If you get no response to a phone message, then it's time to move on.
4) Home drugs: I've tried both approaches and with the new Dram Shop laws, where the homeowner is held liable if the druggie or alcoholic gets into an accident, I now don't allow drugs or illegal drinking in my home. I've found it surprisingly accepted to tell people that smoking must be done outside. I tell underage drinkers that I will pour out any alcohol of underage drinkers…and I do.
It's not hard for underage drinkers to move their drinks to Pepsi cans, but then you are not "aware" of the alcohol and therefore are not responsible for it.
That being said, I've found that even trying to ignore the Pepsi cans that don't contain Pepsi results in home damage, so I think it is a good idea to tell people no. Yes, you may get the reputation as not a fun party house, but then you will be safer, you home contents will be safer, and your guests will be safer.


text:
We Won!
We have just been awarded the National 2013 Benjamin Franklin Book Award for the best cookbook - Celebrate Everything by Debbi Covington with Photography by Paul Nurnberg.
The national scope and prestige of this award is an honor that we gratefully accept as recognition for excellence from our peers in the publishing industry.
Stay tuned for more news from Lydia Inglett Publishing / Starbooks.biz!
Our Story:
For over 35 years we have published and produced books of all types. We are often asked what our particular style or look is. Our answer is always, clean design, the utmost in readability, and, that we present your content in a pleasing way that honors not only your content, but also your museum, company or gallery.
We begin by reviewing your content and listening to your goals for the book project. From concept, to budget, to timeline, we carefully consider all aspects of your book. Then, we work with you to recommend publishing equation for your institution and project. Each project is different, ALL of our expertise in the industry is available to you.
Whether hard cover or soft cover, no matter what type of paper or binding, regardless of subject matter, our team of book publishing designers and managers will approach your book with not only a high degree of skill, but an eye to project profitability.
We know the book publishing industry from inside and out. Our team has both started and run printing plants, shipping, trucking and delivery companies, as well as, design and production facilities.
It is through this expertise that you can count on our company to bring your book to a successful completion.


text:
Employers may want to see you in a more social setting to see how you act, particularly if the job you are interviewing for requires partaking in meals with clients and/or supervisors. Your table manners and use of etiquette could play a big part in getting a job offer. If you do not have good table manners, or do not use proper etiquette, you may get turned down, even if you are qualified for the position. Another reason employers may chose to interview over a meal is very practical. Interviews can last for several hours and may extend through meal times. The employer is acting as a gracious host to offer you a meal. Remember, the meal is a time to visit and interact. This is always more important than the function of eating.
After accepting a meal interview offer
If your table is set with multiple utensils per seat, it is important to know and understand a place setting.
Q: Is it appropriate to use multiple packets of sugar/sweetener in my tea or coffee?
A: Limit yourself to one or two packets. Tear one or both at the same time 3/4 of the way across. Leave the waste at the side of the plate.
Q: What should I do if the host uses the wrong utensil?
A: You should always eat correctly. If you are unsure of the proper way to eat an item, follow the lead of your host.
Q: What is the proper way of passing salt/pepper when asked?
A: Always pass the salt and pepper together. If someone has asked for the salt and pepper, it is rude to use it first.
Q: What do you do if there is a hair in your food?
A: You may discreetly remove it, eat around it, or politely ask the server to bring you another plate.
Q: What is the proper way to excuse myself from the table?
A: You can excuse yourself by simply saying, "Excuse me." You do not need to offer an explanation. Remember to place your napkin in the proper place.
Q: Is it ok to remove my jacket at the table?
A: As a general rule, follow the lead of your host. If the host keeps his jacket on, you should do the same. If it is extremely hot, it is appropriate to ask permission. Keep in mind that some restaurants require jackets to be worn at all times. Be sure you know the dress code.
*Adapted from the Missouri State University "Dinner Etiquette" feature of the Career Services website.