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Thursday, November 1, 2012
Airborne & On the Grid: In-Flight Connectivity
Beyond the needs of the passenger, a wireless connection brings a series of tools to the cockpit capable of increasing situational awareness, lowering workload, enhancing safety, and even assisting with maintenance
|Conceptual image from Honeywell illustrates in-flight connectivity for aircraft. Helicopter image added by Graphic Designer Gretchen Saval.
Without question, the Internet is woven into the daily lives of just about all of us. Technology has broken the bonds of the wires that once tethered us to our desktops, and wireless networks have become more the rule than the exception. The ability to send and receive floods of information at a moments notice is quite literally at our fingertips, and the personal electronic device (PED) has evolved into an extra appendage that we seem to need almost as much as the opposable thumbs we text with.
It is interesting that despite the speed of advancing wireless technology, the ability to connect to the web while in flight is still somewhat of a luxury. However, this technology is finally becoming more pervasive on the market, and with it comes a host of steadily growing applications.
In commercial aviation, the primary goal of wireless networking has been to provide in-flight connectivity to passengers for both entertainment and productivity. But looking beyond the Internet, for those of us in the cockpit, a wireless connection option brings a bag of tools capable of increasing situational awareness, lowering workload, enhancing safety—and even assisting in maintenance.
To explore the topic, we must first understand the basics. Any wireless connection in flight will initially need to connect with a router-style "access point" installed in the aircraft. The data being requested must then be relayed from the aircraft to a ground station. The ground station then taps into the Web or whatever data service is necessary, and the return data is passed back in the opposite direction.
Gogo (originally Aircell), an Internet provider to select air carriers, employs an air-to-ground (ATG) system to bring third-generation evolution-data optimized (3G EV-DO) wireless broadband into select airline cabins. To accomplish this, Gogo's networked cell towers across the U.S. have been outfitted with antennas that point their signals up at the sky instead of down across the ground. This provides a wireless service experience that most of us are used to when we surf the Web with our smartphones. However, it does have its limitations. The most obvious should be the fact that the signal is only good while over the continental U.S., since the last cell tower will go out of range shortly after the aircraft flies out over the ocean. Another issue is that as more people try to stream data-intensive material, such as movies on their PEDs, the speeds they can achieve may leave something to be desired. Let's face it, as our electronic lives evolve, we crave more bandwidth.
Two predominant types of satellite connectivity solutions in use today are the high-altitude, high-powered geostationary variety requiring high-powered transmitters, and the low-altitude, lower powered type in low Earth orbit.
Inmarsat, provider of mobile satellite services, operates a network of 11 geostationary satellites around the world to achieve near-global coverage (coverage at the poles is tricky because of poor line-of-sight). By definition, each of these satellites match the rotation of the Earth and maintain their location over a point on the equator, while in orbit approximately 22,236 miles above the surface. They are capable of providing the high-bandwidth data transfer speeds comparable to what we have come to expect in our home office networks, via their Swiftbroadband service. Generally speaking, the higher power of these satellites requires larger, heavier and draggier equipment to be installed on aircraft wanting this capability.
The other satellite solution—which North Flight's recorders make use of—is provided by Iridium Communications, which maintains a low Earth orbit constellation of 66 satellites (there's even a bunch of spares in orbit), about 485 miles up. Because the satellites are closer to the earth, more are required to maintain global coverage. Their coverage is arguably more efficient with the ability to crosslink (talk directly to each other), and their power requirements are less, allowing for smaller, lighter, more streamlined equipment. The caveat is that they only provide lower bandwidth signals more suitable for voice and low-speed short burst data transfer. A second generation satellite network, coined Iridium NEXT, will launch in 2015, and promises numerous performance increases. With some insight into each type of system, it's apparent that no one system can address every possible requirement. To help in making the proper choice, companies such as Honeywell can provide packaged solutions. Kurt Weidemeyer, Honeywell's director in marketing and product management for satellite communications, explained: "With the coming upgrades in the near future, operators will have multiple choices to serve the cockpit and cabin when choosing a system." He was referring to Inmarsat's evolving Global Xpress system with "Ka-band" technology, which has more capacity and is well-suited for mobile use. It is resulting in smaller, more reliable and more efficient components that can still provide a broadband signal, and has allowed Inmarsat to become more competitively priced with the offerings of Iridium. Weidemeyer went on to say, "Honeywell supports both Iridium and Inmarsat, and provides everything needed on the aircraft to take their satellite signal and make it usable to the operator."
Whether the "operator" refers to the commercial airlines, business class, or private jet travel, a clear need for worldwide connectivity is evident. As put by Jenelle Davis, marketing manager for ARINC Direct (a distribution partner for Inmarsat), "When the business person in today's world gets onboard an aircraft, their business should not have to stop just because they take off." Having the ability to email, text, fax, stream large amounts of data and make voice calls globally is crucial to the productivity of many businesses, and a system taking advantage of a high speed, secure data connection would provide what Davis describes as "seamless global communication while in-flight."
Perhaps least thought about, but possibly the ultimate display of usefulness of in-flight connectivity is exemplified by aircraft routinely taken into remote locations, such as offshore, search and rescue, EMS, forestry, or disaster relief helicopter operations. To these types of operations, an in-flight connection is a literal lifeline. With a wireless connection via satellite, operators can have a full-time live link to their entire base operation. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can allow voice calls from areas where no cell coverage exists. Health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) that watch over the many rotating and vibrating critical parts of a helicopter can be tied into a wireless connection and transmit the state of an aircraft's systems to maintenance personnel hundreds of miles away, who can monitor or troubleshoot many issues without physically being there.
The cost effectiveness of helicopter operations is particularly sensitive to weight, balance and useful load. From that angle, it's not hard to see why the addition of current components that support a high-speed connection can be too cost prohibitive. Beyond that, there are electronic issues of obtaining a good signal with a broadband antenna that is mounted under the spinning rotor. Such systems exist, but are generally only suitable for military application at this time. Yet, SkyTrac Systems is a company that recognizes the importance of wireless communication in the helicopter industry, and has developed products to meet that need.
Realizing that most critical cockpit operations do not require a broadband connection, SkyTrac offers connectivity packages that make use of the lower-cost and lighter equipment weight of the Iridium satellite network to bring two-way voice, e-mail and flight following into the helicopter cockpit. Malachi Nordine, director of product development at SkyTrac Systems emphatically told Rotor & Wing: "Satellite connectivity should not be reserved for the bizjet/air transport market just because they operate in a different economy class. Non-scheduled 'working' rotorcraft also need connectivity. Maintaining communication to one's operations is critical. Safety is the factor when communicating with remotely deployed assets." While discussing the cost of operating such instrumental electronics, Nordine also had an interesting view: "There is a misconception that satellite service is expensive. Satellite connectivity in aircraft is actually more economical than regular cellular roaming. When I travel, my roaming charges are significantly more when compared to what the satellite charges would have been. My office people joke that it's cheaper for me to use satellite when I travel."
For the average air traveler, the cost of upgrading an airliner to have a broadband connection will ultimately fall upon them, as they pay a fee for their connections. While there are probably enough parents that would gladly pay any fee to be able to provide their toddler with a form of in-flight entertainment during a trip to make the technology worthwhile, its uses go so far beyond such a notion. Still, Warner cautioned, "Satellite communication is wonderful technology, and that's where the industry should go, but it should be taken in small bites. It sounds like a panacea, but we can unintentionally impede our operation trying to make sense of it all." In Warner's view, "Sending data is not cheap, so why not just send only what's important? It's a lot more than a communications link. The conduit is there, but there's lots of work that needs to be done in qualifying those sent messages and making sure they're useful. I mean, you don't want junk mail coming over your satellite connection!"


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It's time to look at regulation of 'quasi-legal' work done by lawyers
By David L. Hudson Jr.
Feb 1, 2014, 09:10 am CST
Lawyers occupy just about any job setting these days: They work as trust officers, compliance officers, investment bankers, consultants or accountants. Others take jobs managing hedge funds and major corporations. As more licensed attorneys practice in nontraditional settings, their ambiguous roles in "broadening and blurring the boundary between law and business" require a new look at legal ethics, says University of North Carolina law professor Dana A. Remus.
"An increasing number of licensed lawyers engage in hybrid quasi-legal work, which requires an understanding of law and regulation but does not fit within existing conceptions of legal practice," Remus says in her article "Out of Practice: The 21st-Century Legal Profession," to be published in March by the Duke Law Journal.
A "growing number of lawyers occupy roles for which legal training is valuable but licensure is not required," Remus writes, adding that the legal profession needs to study this changed landscape to address how to regulate and deal with it.
Remus warns of incidents of "ethical arbitrage," where licensed lawyers in quasi-legal roles help corporate actors to engage in unethical conduct. She also urges caution about "an overwhelming orientation toward corporate interests [that] appears to be eclipsing lawyers' tripartite duties to clients, the state and the public." When licensed lawyers engage in misconduct it reflects poorly on lawyers in general, causing greater mistrust of the legal profession, she says.
"My goal is to draw attention to a serious and thus far overlooked problem—and to start a conversation about the best ways of addressing it," Remus says in an interview. "A critical part of finding a solution is going to be further research—and in particular, empirical research to learn more about lawyers in these roles—who they are, what work they engaged in, what their ethical orientations are."
She adds that the profession "should start thinking through possible baseline rules. These problems will only grow as increasing numbers of lawyers begin working in quasi-legal roles."
For example, corporate lawyers help plot business strategy, while lobbyists draft and advocate legislation, and corporate compliance officers seek to avoid scandal.
Remus' article also gives the example of many licensed attorneys serving as trust officers who interact frequently with bank customers and corporate employees. She writes that many of these customers and employees may believe that "lawyerly duties attach to the relationship," and asserts that increased disclosure requirements are necessary to prevent consumer confusion.
"There is a strong argument for greater disclosure requirements and regulations," says Stanford Law School professor Deborah L. Rhode, who teaches professional responsibility and also serves as the director of the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession. This is the area—as Remus points out—"that poses the most significant risks of injuries to third parties," Rhode says.
She adds that Remus' article "is a very thoughtful analysis of a problem that hasn't received sufficient attention. We have seen significant growth in the compliance area with lawyers and nonlawyers practicing in quasi-legal roles. There has been an absence of regulatory attention to the issues of growth in quasi-legal work. I agree there is a need for more empirical study of these issues."
Peter Joy, who teaches legal ethics at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, also agrees that "the bar has to begin by understanding better the nature and potential challenges of quasi-legal work and whether changes to the ethics rules are necessary."
Adds Joy: "The first need is for empirical research to understand the issues before designing an appropriate regulatory response." Even if problems are not pervasive, he says, "Remus is shining a spotlight on areas where abuses may be occurring and where the bar needs to focus attention."
Joy questions another aspect of the discussion. "The second part of her thesis—that this leads to ethical abuses and 'ethical arbitrage by sophisticated corporate clients'—is less convincing to me," he says. "I do not see the type of cause and effect that Professor Remus posits: That because lawyers fill these corporate roles, it leads to or facilitates ethical abuses. For example, having a lawyer as a compliance officer within a corporation should lead to greater compliance with corporate rules, laws and government regulations rather than less."
In her article, Remus identifies a first step for the profession: to "re-examine its current formulation of the 'practice of law.' " She writes that the "ABA and state bars must renew their efforts to define legal practice more precisely." She also writes that the legal profession should develop new forms of professional regulation that include: "(a) heightened disclosure requirements, (b) new rules governing transitions into quasi-legal roles, and (c) new rules creating conduct floors for all licensed lawyers, practicing or not."
"I have a fundamental problem with the notion of regulating a 'quasi-legal' role, and am not convinced that such roles are especially new," says Paul Paton, a professor at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law and a reporter for the ABA's Ethics 20/20 Commission.
For a long while, he says, lawyers have been operating in the other contexts Remus highlights in her article, though empirical study will help us better understand how this is changing and identify exactly what the problems are. "Further expanding the reach of what is defined as 'the practice of law,' though, risks overregulation without particular purpose and may simply serve to stifle innovation."
"There may be a need for rules governing transitions into quasi-legal rules," Joy says. And, as Remus suggests, "any such rules should be based on empirical research into what may be necessary."
For example, he says, ABA Model Rule 8.4(c) provides: "It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The rule may need to be re-examined, Joy suggests.
"In terms of new rules creating conduct floors for all licensed attorneys practicing or not, I think Model Rule 8.4 covers a number of situations that apply to all licensed lawyers, practicing or not," Joy says. "Whether it should be amended is, again, a question that needs to be based on … empirical research."
Some readers have told Remus she need not worry about quasi-legal roles because such activities face regulation under rules and regulations external to the legal profession.
But, Remus says, "for two reasons, the existence of other forms of regulation does not answer my concerns. First, I think there will still be risk of harm in the situations I highlight. With respect to fiduciary duties, for example, there is significant ambiguity as to how they apply in different contexts, weakening their efficacy in protecting clients and consumers."
Second, she adds, "and more importantly, professional regulation —as opposed to other forms of regulation external to the legal profession—imposes important protections, not only for unsophisticated clients who don't have the knowledge or information to effectively monitor their lawyers, but also for third parties and the public—individuals such as shareholders—who need protection against the ways in which sophisticated corporate clients may try to co-opt their lawyers to facilitate excessively aggressive or even illegal business strategies."
This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: "Handling Hybrids: It's time to look at regulation of 'quasi-legal' work done by lawyers."

subset: commoncrawl


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|Spring Wind Resource
|Source: Pacific Northwest Laboratories - U.S. Department of Energy
Map Description:
This map was prepared by Pacific Northwest Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy to assist in locating wind power generators. The map is from the publication entitled "Wind Energy Resource Atlas for the United States" and may be viewed or order from the links below. The darker colors represent a higher potential for wind power generation. In addition to being useful for locating wind generators, this map also indicates where wind may be significant issue to address in conservation planning. For instance, areas of high spring winds may indicate problems for crop dessication. Cautions for this Product:
Local terrain features may interact with the windfield to cause the wind power to vary as much as ~ 50% to 100% from the assessment value. Thus, there may be local areas of high wind power in regions estimated to have low wind power; conversely, some local areas may have lower wind power than that shown by this assessment. For Further Information:


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Local lawmakers differ on highway money
The prospect of raising Iowa's gasoline tax to pay for maintaining and building roads is the source of disagreement between lawmakers representing Webster County.
State Sen. Daryl Beall, D-Fort Dodge said during a Saturday morning forum that they would support raising what the senator referred to as a user fee for roads.
"I think folks in this area know if we want Highway20 completed we're going to have to pay for it," Beall said.
State Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge, said she would support additional funding for roads.
But State Rep. Tom Shaw, R-Laurens, opposes increasing the tax, which has remained at 22 cents a gallon since 1988.
"The gas tax, it keeps rearing its ugly head," he said. "I'm still opposed to raising the gas tax. I don't believe that we need to be burdening the taxpayers with paying more taxes."
On a different issue, Beall and Miller said legislative Democrats will try to set promptly an allowable growth figure for school district budgets even though Republican Gov. Terry Branstad doesn't want any action on that issue until after his proposed education reforms are acted upon.
"I definitely support allowable growth and I support doing it now rather than waiting," Miller said.
The debate over allowable growth for schools is occurring at a time when the state government has an estimated $1 billion surplus that Shaw described as an "overpayment" from the state's residents and businesses.
"We ended up with an overpayment by the taxpayers," he said. "So I'm happy to report that in the House we're working on how we can return that money back to the taxpayers."
"Although we have an overpayment, we have some extra money right now, that doesn't mean that we can go on a shopping spree," he added.
Miller has already publicly said she's opposed to using that surplus money to start a bunch of new government programs. But she has said that some of the money could be used for some one-time expenditures for projects the state hasn't had money to do recently. On Saturday morning, she said she feels the public would be supportive of doing that.
"I have yet to hear anyone ask for a refund of taxes," she said.
Beall, Miller and Shaw outlined their views on those issues during an Eggs and Issues forum at Iowa Central Community College attended by about 40 people. Eggs and Issues is sponsored by the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance and the college.
Gasoline tax
The state government's roughly $6 billion budget consists of many different accounts, but the surplus isn't in the account that pays for roads. That account gets its money from the gasoline tax and vehicle registration fees. State and local transportation officials have been saying for the last few years that the revenue from those sources isn't keeping up with the growth in expenses.
A bid to raise the gasoline tax, co-sponsored by former state Rep. David Tjepkes, R-Gowrie, was defeated last year.
According to Shaw, the gasoline tax revenue can be used for "anything road-related." He said that means the money can be spent on snowplows and wild flowers to be planted alongside highways.
"I think Iowans are being misled a little bit that an increase in the gas tax automatically is going to get their roads fixed," he said.
During Saturday's forum, Webster County Engineer Randy Will asked the lawmakers if they would support additional funding for roads and bridges.
Shaw said he would if it could be achieved without raising the gasoline tax. He said there is money in the main state government account, called the general fund, that can be used for that purpose.
Beall and Miller both said they would support the increased funding.
Allowable growth
The Senate Education Committee on Friday approved a 4 percent allowable growth rate for school districts.
State law requires the Legislature to approve an allowable growth rate within 30 days of convening.
Doug Van Zyl, superintendent of the Fort Dodge Community School District, reminded the legislators of that law Saturday and warned that budget cuts will be coming to his district if it isn't complied with.
"I can tell you for a fact that if you continue not to follow what you're mandated to follow by telling me what my budget is going to be a year in advance I have no other things to do but continue to cut my budget, lay people off," he said.
Beall said he doesn't know how school district leaders can prepare budgets without knowing how much money they will receive from the state.
"We have to fund our future, and that's our kids," he said.


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Cue Katy Perry. It's Firework time. And whether you plan to be poolside, beach front, or on a city roof top for the viewing party, we have a look to guarantee at least a few eyes will be on you. Start with a splash of blue and white and finish with chic sunglasses, the perfect red mini and a weekend wedge. That is all.
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Content Marketing at Kraft Foods
January 31, 2013
Julie Fleischer, director, CRM content strategy and integration at Kraft Foods, Inc., discussed how Kraft's content marketing platform delivers branded content to their audience via six Kraft-owned channels.
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Printable Version | View in New Window | Update Beamline Info
This beamline supports macromolecular crystallography, MAD/SAD phasing, and high-throughput sample screening. An ALS-style sample automounter accommodates ALS-Hampton pins in ALS, Unipuck, or Rigagu pucks. The beamline is equipped with an on-axis-microscope allowing parallax free alignment.
The GM/CA JBluIce-EPICS user friendly interface retains the look of the original SSRL BluIce, but has been completely rewritten in JAVA at GM/CA to run on EPICS, VME EPICS/MEDM low level interface, PMAC Turbo motion control, and Linux workstations for data collection and processing (Stepanov, et.al. Acta. Cryst. D. 67, 176-188). The JBluIce-EPICS software is an open source available for downloading from GM/CA-CAT files depository.
Bending Magnet
Monochromator Type
Energy Range
12.5-12.75 keV
Resolution (ΔE/E)
Flux (photons/sec)
Beam Size (HxV)
For additional information see:


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John Bryson is the environmentalist and businessman who became U.S. Secretary of Commerce in 2011. Born in New York, John Bryson graduated from Cleveland High School in Portland, Oregon in 1961. He then went on to Stanford University, where he graduated in 1965, and earned a law degree from Yale in 1969. The next year he joined a group of Yale classmates in founding the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, where he worked until 1974. He was president of the California Public Utilities Commission from 1979-82. In 1984 he switched to the private side, joining Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of energy giant Edison International. Despite the ironies of a confirmed environmentalist working for a giant energy company, Bryson proved to be a big success. In 1990 he was named chairman and CEO of Edison International. Over the next two decades he repositioned Edison as a somewhat "kinder, gentler" energy company that developed wind and solar power and was willing to work with regulators on issues like conservation and greenhouse gas emissions -- although the company (and Bryson) still came in for plenty of criticism from environmentalists. He stepped down in 2008 after 18 years in the job. Three years later he was nominated as Secretary of Commerce by President Barack Obama; he was sworn in on 21 October 2011. In June of 2012 he was cited with felony hit-and-run charges by police after a bizarre incident in San Gabriel, California when he hit two cars before being found passed out at the wheel. Police said initial indications showed that alchohol was not involved, but investigations would continue.
John Bryson married his wife, Louise, in 1974. They have four daughters… Bryson became Secretary of Commerce after his predecessor, Gary Locke, was named Ambassador to China in 2011.
Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Calling all creative writers!
The Columbus Dispatch - March 20, 2013 11:33 AM
National Poetry Month is fast approaching, and that means we're looking for young poets!
Here's a chance to try your hand at the craft and possibly be published online in NOW! Interested? Great!
If you are ages 8 to 14, here's what to do:
* Write a poem. It can be any style you wish. But, please, submit only a poem that you have written — not one that you've read online or in a book.
* Mail your poem to NOW!, The Columbus Dispatch, 34 S. 3rd St., Columbus, OH 43215; or email your work to firstname.lastname@example.com. No attachments, please.
* Include your name, age, address and phone number on each poem. If you are doing this as part of a classroom project, this information must be on each entry. This information will not be used for any purpose other than this contest.
* All poems must be received here at the paper by Monday, April 8. Mail your material several days ahead of the deadline so that we receive it in time for consideration.
* On Wednesday, April 17, during Young People's Poetry Week, we'll publish as many poems as possible online and give credit to each author.
Everyone who submits a poem will be entered in a drawing to win a movie-theater gift card.


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So, as some people know on the forum, I'm into photography, and I was wondering if someone could make me a watermark for my images, and grant me full use of set watermark.
I'm looking for something simplistic kind of like this one(bottom left).
Now, I need to choose between WCH Imaging (which is what I am currently using as a "name") or changing it to "Chase Haddleton Photography".
Which one do you guys like better?
Now as I am an amateur, I am asking this as a favour from someone because I know how many skilled Photoshop-er we have here.
My current watermark is just plain text.
This watermark will probably be used on the majority of my images, on Flickr and Facebook.
Could Someone Make me a Watermark out of the Goodness of their Heart?
Started by Blade of grass, Oct 05 2012 10:47 PM
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Posted 05 October 2012 - 10:47 PM
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The fight Monday (maybe Tuesday) night, with the 3 round split decision going to a guy named Griffith IIRC.
Great great fight, but IMO the other guy should have won, maybe still a split but no way Griffith should have won.
Would one of you technical fans please explain it to me like I am a 6 year old.


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- 95% Rayon, 5% Spandex. Machine wash. Imported.
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Ryan Millar, Olympic Gold Medal Setter….
Of late, one of my favorite "trivia" questions for volleyball coaches is who set the gold medal match point for the USA Men's team in Beijing? Most guess of course Lloy Ball, the four time Olympic setter who so skillfully bettered ball after ball and gave his hitters the sweet set they desired. But the answer is in the title, as in the chaos and randomness of our fast moving sport, the final rally ended with a dig going to Ryan who set that final ball. One of my favorite quotes shared in the coaching clinics I do follows...
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -- Lazarus Long (Robert Heinlein)
Hugh McCutcheon put it this way for our USA players, saying that he wants players who are good at all the skills in volleyball and great in one or two.
I wrote an article long ago, called "You will be a Better Player if you Coach, " and strongly feel the most important way we can grow our sport is by getting every one of you reading these blogs, to go back to your club and getting your players to coach littler kids DURING those player's practice times of either the HS/College or your Jr. Olympic Volleyball season. Take one hour out of your normal two hour weekly practice to coach youth volleyball. Sit back as the head coach and see how your players interpret what you have taught them as they coach kids. Divide your court down the middle and create FOUR lil kids courts. Play over rope if you have to....just mark the corners, no need for more lines...just give your players the chance to be better players by teaching the sport they love in season.
Well, in a related way, I feel strongly that you will be a better hitter if you set. Karch Kiraly our new women's USA assistant coach, spent much of his time at UCLA not only winning NCAA Championships, but running a 6-2. Younger programs are asked/guided/prodded to run a 6-3 or a 6-6 for kids 14 and under - Click here for more on that idea. The European youth volleyball leaders require their youth to play circulation volleyball - rotating after ever time the ball crossed the net. The idea is when they are young to NOT specialize. If you get your players out this summer - just put up courts and provide a big container of water/lemonade, and leave them be - to play doubles, these wonderful athletes get to work on their weaknesses. The tall hitter sees the serves going to their short partner such that the hitter now sets the second ball. The "IAMASETTERASIAMTOOSHORTTOBEAHITTER" player gets to pass and HIT all summer long. We create the more well rounded players our national team program needs. Cuba, who won THREE Olympic Gold medals in women's volleyball in the last 20 years, does it in part by running 6-2. This small island nation has beaten the world - including giving the USA women a Beijing pool play thrashing we avenged in the playoffs - by taking their most powerful/fast armed/high leaping hitters - and teaching them to set.
So, the picture below shows yet another way to grow our sport - letting kids hit first, and off of the Olympic Gold medal "setter" Ryan Millar.
The Viper Club in San Antonio Texas brought Ryan and me in early to do come kids volleyball development, and the shot below was one of my favorite - the boy overhead passed a tossed ball from Ryan, back to Ryan, who set the youngster and then watched in anticipation. Pass-Set-Hit...the essence of our game...More ideas on youth volleyball/mini volleyball as the world calls it, are coming soon. We have been sharing them for years here at USA Volleyball, and it seems that many of you are finally starting the pipeline earlier, where it is needed, without specialization and with the game teaching the game. The ideas in part our in the "Rule Sheet" you can download by clicking here - where these 30 plus years of minivolleyball rules are summarized into the article about 2-3-4 person kids volleyball. With any luck, the next Ryan Millar will come from your neck of the woods, thanks to the great pipeline you created in growing our sport through USA Volleyball.
Thanks all, for your thoughts and ideas. More to come!
The following comments were made on our previous web platform and have been transferred here to maintain the historical record.
On July 07, 2009 Joel Stanford wrote
I love these blog entries and eagerly anticipate each new posting! However, I often see references to links such as "you can download by clicking here" that aren't hyperlinked or to or photo's that don't show up. Is this an error in the website or an anomoly of IE8? Any others fail to get the active links?
On July 07, 2009 Joel Stanford wrote
The two links mentioned in the article above don't appear to be valid. Is there somewhere else that they might show?
On July 17, 2009 John Kessel wrote
Joel - Thanks for the heads up on the links. Brent fixed them and now both should work with all browsers. John
We very much welcome additional new comments, to be contributed below:


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An illustrated website is currently being developed to help users identify members of the British Acari and locate information about them.
Identifying British mites and ticks is difficult as taxonomic literature is scattered amongst scientific journals, while little of the fauna is covered by identification keys.
As many taxa also occur in other geographical regions, the website will enable at least the preliminary identification of specimens from elsewhere in the world.


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Managing Multiple Agencies
July 21, 2010
Laurie Coots, CMO, TBWA\, shared different models for managing multiple agencies, as well as questions marketers must ask themselves and answer before entering into a multiple agency relationship.
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Article Header
GREEN BAY, Wis. (June 1, 2007)
- The U.S. Men's Volleyball Team held off a charge from an improved Japanese team and defeated Japan 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19) in their FIVB World League match on Friday at the Resch Center before a crowd of approximately 1,885.
Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) paced the United States with 22 points (17 kills, four blocks, one ace), Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) added 19 (16 kills, 2 aces, one block) and Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) scored 12 (nine kills, three blocks). Yusuke Ishijima had 23 points, all on kills, for Japan and Yu Koshikawa added 13 kills for 13 points.
With the victory, the United States improves to 2-1 to lead World League Pool B. Japan falls to 0-1. In the other Pool B match on Friday, host Italy defeated France 3-2.
After Team USA won the first set and Japan won the second, the third set proved crucial to the U.S. victory. The U.S. Men led the third set 8-5 at the first timeout. But Japan never gave up and kept the score close. However, it could not close the door.
With Japan at set point 24-23, Gardner had a kill to tie the score.
Japan's kill gave it set point again at 25-24, but it was followed up with a blocking error that tied the score again.
On the next serve from Sean Rooney, Japan was called for an attack error that gave the United States the edge. Priddy followed up with a kill for the victory.
"I just think we got really lucky to get that call and get another chance," Priddy said. "I think we took advantage of an opportunity."
U.S. Coach Hugh McCutcheon said the U.S. Team had good individual performances, but did not shine as a group.
"I thought the team played fair. It was not our best effort," he said. "I thought our guys fought hard to win the third set."
Japan was playing in its first World League match and Coach Tatsuya Ueta said it was too early to tell how good his team could be.
"It's too early to evaluate the team. However, it is crucial to find out who will step up for us," he said.
The U.S. Men never trailed in the first set and led 8-6 at the first timeout. Coming out of the timeout, David Lee served for three straight points to put the United States ahead 11-6. Japan never recovered.
Japan came back in Set 2, finding some timely hitting from Yusuke Ishijima, who had six kills in the set and Yu Koshikawa who had four. The U.S. Men held an 8-7 lead at the first timeout, but Japan scored the next two points on blocks and took a 9-8 lead. A block by Gardner and Lee tied the score and Priddy's ace gave Team USA a 10-9 lead.
But the U.S. Men's misplay, followed by a kill from Ishijima put Japan back in charge at 11-10. Japan never trailed again, although the U.S. Men kept the score close and tied it several times.
The U.S. Men raced to an 8-3 victory in the fourth set and never looked back.
The U.S. Men started outside hitter Sean Rooney, setter Brandon Taliaferro, middle blocker David Lee, outside hitter Reid Priddy, middle blocker Ryan Millar, opposite Gabe Gardner and libero Rich Lambourne.
Team Japan started middle blocker Hiroaki Kawaura, outside hitter Ryuji Naohiro, middle blocker Yoshihiko Matsumoto, outside hitter Yusuke Ishijima, outside hitter Yu Koshikawa, setter Kosuke Tomonaga and libero Osamu Tanabe.
The two teams will play again on Saturday at 7 p.m.
All U.S. matches and the World League finals are scheduled to be shown on ESPNU.
The U.S. World League home matches are presented by GL7, the Official Sports Drink of USA Volleyball.
Results, statistics and photos are available on the FIVB World League Web Site at www.fivb.org/EN/Volleyball/Competitions/WorldLeague/2007.
The USA Volleyball FIVB World League web site is www.usavolleyball.org/national/wl07.asp.
The 2007 U.S. Men's media kit is available at www.usavolleyball.org/media/national/us_men_mediakit07.pdf (please note that this is a large .pdf file).
The FIVB media kit for Green Bay is available at www.usavolleyball.org/media/national/us_men_mediakit07.pdf (please note that this is a large .pdf file).
2007 FIVB World League
June 1-2; Green Bay, Wis.
Standings (as of June 1, 2007)
Pool A
1 Brazil 3-0
2 Finland 1-2
3 Canada 1-1
4 Korea 0-2
Pool B
1 France 1-2
3 Italy 1-0
4 Japan 0-0
Pool C
1 Cuba 2-0
2 Russia 2-0
3 Serbia 1-2
4 Egypt 0-3
Pool D
1 Bulgaria 3-0
2 Poland 3-0
3 China 0-3
4 Argentina 0-3
U.S. Roster
(Twelve-man rosters can be updated between World League weekends)
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, Colleg)
2 Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine)
3 Jim Polster (OH, 6-6, Laguna Niguel, Calif., Long Beach State)
4 Brandon Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA)
5 Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU)
6 Phil Eatherton (MB, 6-9, Glencoe, Mo., Ball State)
7 David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State)
8 Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount)
9 Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Palmdale, Calif., BYU)
10 C Riley Salmon (OH, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College)
11 Brook Billings (OPP, 6-5, Santa Barbara, Calif., USC)
14 Kevin Hansen (S, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford)
15 Gabe Gardner (OPP, 6-9, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford)
Japan Roster
(Pos., Ht., Hometown)
2 Hiroaki Kawaura (MB, 6-5, Tokyo)
3 Shinya Chiba (OH, 6-0, Osaka)
4 Shunichi Shimano (S, 5-11, Gifu)
6 Ryuji Naohiro (OH, 6-4, Hiroshima)
8 Yusuke Imada (OH, 6-5, Hyogo)
9 Takaaki Tomimatsu (MB, 6-3, Sendai)
10 Osamu Tanabe (L, 5-9, Hiroshima)
11 Yoshihiko Matsumoto (MB, 6-3, Nagano)
14 Ryu Morishige (OH, 6-2, Kagoshimo)
16 Yuske Ishijima (OH, 6-5, Saitama)
17 Yu Koshikawa (OH, 6-3, Ishikawa)
18 Kosuke Tomonaga (S, 6-0, Nagasaki)
U.S. World League Schedule
Date: May 26-27
Opponent: France
Location: Portland, Ore. - The Chiles Center Arena
Match 1: France def. USA, 3-2 (13-25, 25-19, 25-17, 24-26, 15-13)
Match 2: USA def. France, 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20)
Date: June 1-2
Opponent: Japan
Location: Green Bay, Wis. - The Resch Center
Match 1: USA def. Japan, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19)
Date: June 8-9
Opponent: France
Location: Lyon, France - Palais des Gerland
Date: June 15-16
Opponent: Italy
Location: Chicago, Ill. - The Convocation Center
Date: June 23-24
Opponent: Japan
Location: Kumamoto - Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium
Date: June 29
Opponent: Italy
Location: Napoli - PalaBarbuto
Date: July 1
Opponent: Italy
Location: Avelino - Pal Del Mauro
World League Final
Date: July 11-15
Location: Katowice, Poland


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Ely District Office
|Release Date: 06/24/13
|News Release No. ELY 2013-024
BLM Closing Sacramento Pass Recreation Area for Makeover
Ely, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District will close the Sacramento Pass Recreation Area to the public beginning Monday, July 8 to improve visitor access and safety. The popular recreation area is located alongside U.S. Highway 6/50, about 45 miles east of Ely.
Improvements to the site include new campsite designs and furnishings, sun shelters and toilet facility, re-graded roadways and a reconstructed fishing pond that will feature an accessible fishing deck. The improved facilities will more closely comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and be designed to be environmentally friendly, where practical.
Alternative campgrounds in the area include:
Sacramento Pass is one of the district's highest profile recreation areas because of its location on the highway, which serves as the main travel corridor across central Nevada, and its proximity to Great Basin National Park. The recreation area serves local residents, visitors from southern Nevada, travelers crossing the state and, ever more frequently, park visitors. Recreation area user's interests range from camping, fishing, hiking and hunting to horseback riding, mountain biking and panning for gold.
The recreation area was initially constructed in 1993 with federal highway funding obtained through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A legacy for Users program. It is being reconstructed through Round 12 of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, or SNPLMA. The reconstruction is expected to cost about $375,000.
For more information, contact Larry Martin, BLM Ely District civil engineering technician, at (775) 289-1800 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of Americas public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.
Ely District Office 702 N. Industrial Way Ely, NV 89301
|Last updated: 04-20-2015
|USA.GOV | No Fear Act | DOI | Disclaimer | About BLM | Notices | Social Media Policy
|Privacy Policy | FOIA | Kids Policy | Contact Us | Accessibility | Site Map | Home


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The Windham County Humane Society in Brattleboro is the area's most important resource for facilitating pet adoptions. As a previous employee of WCHS before I came to Vermont Woods Studios, they are an organization that is still very near and dear to my heart. Actually, our company is full of WCHS supporters with Michelle being a past employee and WCHS pet owner, Peggy's cats are humane society rescues and most of the staff have furry family members of their own. I am even in the process of forming a committee to adopt a pet for Stonehurst (I know Ken and Douglas will give in one of these days. ;)).
Wags to Riches Auction
Throughout the year, WCHS holds a variety of fundraisers to raise money for the animals they protect and care for. This Saturday is actually their largest and most significant event of the year. The annual Wags to Riches Auction is being held this weekend. This year the event will be at the Brattleboro VFW on Saturday, March 1st at 6pm. Supporters will be able to enjoy food (courtesy of Sharon Myers Fine Catering), drinks, conversation and bid on items donated by local businesses. While you bid, they'll even have local music by Brattleboro band Butterfly Swing. The items will vary from pet store gift cards to an African Safari vacation! All of the money raised at this event will go directly to the Windham County Humane Society, which will help them to provide for more than 800 animals that will wag through their doors this year.
Vermont Woods Studios will also have some items for auction at Wags to Riches including our large cutting board and a stay at the Stratton Mountain Long-trail House. This will be the perfect opportunity to snag that cutting board that you've been dreaming of for a fraction of the price! You'll also be able to chat with most of our staff who will be in attendance including Douglas, Liz, Sean, Michelle, Dennis, Kelsey, Nina and myself. Last year our staff had a great time and we brought home some amazing auction finds.
Tickets cost $40/person and can be purchased on the WCHS website, by calling their office, or at the door. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun, so be sure to bring a friend or two! If you are unable to attend this event, there are many other ways you can support the Windham County Humane Society. You can make an online, tax-deductible, financial donation or donate items off their wishlist.
Hope to see you there and be on the look-out for our follow-up blog! Also, check out Kelsey's blogs on our visit to WCHS and our benefit sale this past weekend.
Wags to Riches Event Details:
Saturday, March 1 at 6pm
Brattleboro, VT 05301
| This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains. |
This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.


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Skip to comments.St Petersburg Police Slash Tents of the Homeless
Posted on 01/20/2007 10:12:26 AM PST by meg88
St. Petersburg Police Slash Tents Of Homeless Skip directly to the full story. By STEPHEN THOMPSONand ROD CHALLENGER The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jan 20, 2007
ST. PETERSBURG - A homeless man was lying down in his tent across the street from a soup kitchen Friday when two police officers yanked open the tent's flap and shouted, "Get up. Get out of there."
Then, the man said, the officers dragged him outside and slashed the tent's dome with knives.
"In the end the cop asked me, 'Are you all right?'" said the man, who gave only a first name of Mo. "I said, 'Is this a joke? Are you kidding me?'"
A cat-and-mouse game between the city and its burgeoning homeless population took on a confrontational tone Friday as about two dozen officers swooped down on 15th Street North and either confiscated or destroyed a dozen tents in which homeless people had been living.
A week ago, a tent city up the street that was home to about 150 people was dismantled peaceably. Some of the 150 received rent vouchers; other homeless people accepted mats at a homeless shelter; still others took gasoline money or bus fare to return to out-of-state relatives or friends.
But some were not interested in those options, or they didn't qualify for them. So, on Jan. 13, when they were ordered to leave the tent city on Fourth Avenue North, roughly two dozen people pulled up stakes and moved beneath nearby Interstate 375.
One favored location beneath the highway is across from the St. Vincent de Paul Society soup kitchen on 15th Street. That's where Mo was Friday. Another spot for the displaced tent dwellers was beside busy Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
Trouble was, both sites posed public safety hazards, St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon said. A half-dozen motorists complained they almost struck homeless people or their tents on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
Some people also smoked inside the tents, or lit small fires on which to cook, Harmon said. The makeshift shelters were pitched so close together that if one had ignited, the others might have, too, the chief said.
On Thursday evening, the tent dwellers were told the tents violated safety codes and had to come down. But some of the tents, or different ones, were back up Friday.
"There were some folks who decided they were going to test us today," Harmon said. "We decided to go out and just take them down."
Half of the dozen remaining tents were confiscated; the others were slashed to render them unusable, Harmon said.
"The intent was not to arrest anyone," Harmon said. "The problems weren't the people. It was the tents. To me it didn't make a difference if they were the Boy Scouts of America."
Harmon said officers had legal authority to confiscate or destroy the tents because they are allowed to remove a hazard that lies on a right of way, which is city property.
The Rev. Bruce Wright, an advocate for the homeless who has served as a liaison between the city and the tent dwellers, said a deal was brokered in which the dwellers on Martin Luther King Jr. Street could move to 15th Street. Harmon said no such deal existed.
Anthony Diglia thought otherwise. He had just carried his possessions from Martin Luther King Jr. Street and set up his tent beside 15th Street when it was slashed.
"I have no tent no more," he said. Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 823-3303 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Reporter Rod Challenger can be reached at (727) 536-8443.
The "village" is on public property.
The group living there is essentially organized as an HOA, with bylaws the residents/'members' must sign & agree to abide by.
The whole thing is registered as a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization.
Taxes? We only need YOUR stinkin' taxes!
When does he have time to preach to, and pastor, his congregation? LOL...I know the answer.
Al Sharptongue & Jesse Jackass share the same "pulpit".
There will be no homeless again when Hillary takes over. ;^)
Great for the enviornment
Your reply begs a question....how do you know there was no specific statutory authority?
P.J. thinks otherwise. :))
The stolen and destroyed property is tents. Notice there were no drug arrests and no claims that the tents were confiscated as fruits of the drug trade. What was claimed was, they did it to get rid of the homeless men.
I totally agree with you. I was being VERY sarcastic.
OK, that being what you say it is, but I think the city has a right to confiscate any structure/material that is deemed to be a hazard to the community. In that these folks were smoking and cooking (by fire) within these tents, and the Fire marshall advised them to vacate for safety reasons, then I think it is NOT unreasonable to come in and destroy those structures. Municipalities condemn and knock down homes all the time. Why would one think this is different?
A tent is a hazard?
I think the theft as destruction was criminal. There's nothing wrong with having a fire in the tent. The frie marshal should have just made a rule, or had the police enforce an existing rule, which would have been with a ticket. They should have been arrested if there was a problem.
"Municipalities condemn and knock down homes all the time."
After due process of law and compensation has been given. They don't do that by making up their own rules!
Hallelujah! I'm a bum,
Hallelujah bum again!
Hallelujah! give us a handout
To revive us again.
A tent which has an open fire with a person in it is always a hazard. But then you cannot possibly be uneducated enough not to know that. Or can you?
No. I do it all the time.
"But then you cannot possibly be uneducated enough not to know that. Or can you?"
The Russian police have some interesting methods..they may no longer be the Soviet Union, but somebody forgot to tell them that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Sam Sacksen is a down-home rural guy. But he'll begrudgingly relocate to the city if that's what he needs to do to achieve his Olympic dream.
"I need the city but I don't necessarily want to live in there," says Sacksen, as he works to pack up his belongings in State College, Pa., for a move to the Philadelphia area.
Growing up in Somerset, Pa., a city of about 7,000 in the southwest region of the Keystone State, Sacksen had all the space he needed to ride horses, camp out and go fishing.
"If you see two cars go down the road it's a busy day,'' Sacksen said of his hometown.
But now, having completed his college classes at Penn State (his degree, however, is in biology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colo.), the modern pentathlete is hoping that a new fencing club in Philadelphia can push him to the next level in competition. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sacksen finished 18th overall, but he tied for 29th in the fencing competition, his lowest finish in the five disciplines. (The other events are riding, shooting, swimming and running.)
There was no fencing team in State College over the summer, when most of the students are gone. So Sacksen had to seek out a year-round program. He found one in Philadelphia.
"I am hoping that will be better for me," he said.
Living in the nation's fifth-largest metro area does have its benefits, but if he had his choice, Sacksen would still prefer the farm.
The Sacksens moved to Somerset when Sam was 8, buying a pre-Civil War era farmhouse that doubled as his father's veterinary practice. Growing up on an active horse farm in rural Pennsylvania provided Sacksen with plenty of opportunities to stay active. And it's no coincidence that his best discipline at the 2008 Olympics was riding, in which he finished seventh.
"He's not the type that just sits around on the couch and plays video games all day," said Ben Sacksen, Sam's older brother who also competed in pentathlon. "I think he would rather be by himself or with a close friend in the middle of nowhere, camping, or on an adventure or expedition, than at a dance club."
Having that independence and responsibility while growing up on the farm taught Sacksen to be self-reliant from a young age.
"It gave me a well-rounded basis in reality that I've relied on to overcome challenges that I've faced," he said. "I learned very young to not expect things to happen for me, I just went and got things done. When it came to Olympic sports, that mentality helped me a lot."
Ben definitely noticed Sam's work ethic and determination in everything he did growing up, including when the two trained for pentathlon together.
"He is the kind of guy that will get up every morning, no matter what he is doing, and go for his morning training run or do whatever he is supposed to do," Ben said. "And that's what it takes. He has a very focused attitude, very dedicated to the sport I'd say, and obviously enthusiastic, obviously he loves it."
"I've seen better natural athletes not get as far because of his attitude and his mindset," Ben added. "When he gets his mind set on something it's hard to get him off it."
That's how Sam qualified for the Olympics when he was 22.
Sacksen, like many elite pentathletes, was experienced in other sports before trying pentathlon. The bulk of his experience in high school was in cross-country running, track and swimming. But his multisport experience in the tetrathlon is what got him noticed by USA Modern Pentathlon in 2005.
As an escape from traditional horseback riding growing up, Sacksen decided to try out the tetrathlon-a competition involving riding, running, shooting and swimming. He had been competing in tetrathlons on the side for about five years, but after graduating high school in 2004, he really started to focus on it.
"The only thing I needed to add, and I'm obviously still struggling with, is fencing," he said.
That's likely what the USA Modern Pentathlon officials thought when they first saw Sacksen at the 2005 summer tetrathlon nationals-his breakout year in the sport-and invited both Sam and Ben out to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for a tryout.
Ben ended up leaving and eventually going to flight school. Sam ended up staying at the Olympic Training Center for the next three years and eventually competed at the Olympics. Sam earned his degree from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and routinely was on the dean's list.
"Sometimes when I'm speaking with him, I'm like 'No wonder he went to the Olympics, he really likes what he is doing,'" Ben said.
The actual Olympics didn't go quite as well as Sacksen had hoped, but that has only motivated him more.
"I definitely got a slight case of nerves because I had no preparation for how intense the spotlight was going to be, even for a minor sport like mine," he said. "It was a totally different experience from what I was used to, and I got a little bit wide eyed from that. By the time I recovered to the point I expected, there were only two events remaining."
With one Olympics under his belt, Sacksen confidently talks about his goal to be back at another one, hopefully, the 2012 Olympics in London.
"Now that I know what's coming I will be able to handle it better," he said. "And I certainly hope that my performance will improve because of that."
Growing up, Sam wanted to follow his father's footsteps as a veterinarian. With Sam's determination, Ben doesn't rule anything out for his brother's future.
"He still hasn't given up on those goals," Ben said. "For the rest of his life I can see him being a veterinarian. He loves where we've come from in rural Somerset, Pa. He really loves those roots, and I can see him returning to that at some point."
Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Chrös McDougall is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This story was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.


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- Title
- Description
- Organization
This booklet addresses the special challenges for very large people who are physically active and provides tips and ideas to become more active and healthier—no matter what your size.
Weight-Control Information Network (WIN)
This guide uses visual representations to show the benefits of regular exercise to those with diabetes. It gives suggestions to get more active and includes places for you to write your ideas and create your own physical activity plan.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
This guide will help you fit physical activity into your life—your way. Decide the number of days you'll exercise, the types of activities you'll do, and the times that fit your schedule.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
This guide, designed for Alaskan Natives, shares success stories about how small changes, such as increased physical activity and healthier eating, are helping to prevent or manage diabetes.
Indian Health Service
This resource provides tools for behavior change and information on how to create new healthy habits as well as a network to connect and share with other concerned families.
Diabetes Families
This guide shows you many types of exercise and physical activity. It also has lots of tips to help you be active in ways that suit your lifestyle, interests, health, and budget, whether you're just starting out, getting back to exercising after a break, or fit enough to run a 3-mile race. It's for everyone—people who are healthy and those who live with an ongoing health problem or disability. En español
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
This booklet provides tips and ideas to improve your eating plan and become more physically active before, during, and after your pregnancy.
Weight-Control Information Network (WIN)
This guide shows you how to incorporate regular physical activity into your daily life, with encouraging tips and suggested goals for getting started.
Diabetes Australia
This website for kids tells you cool stuff about how your body works, how eating right helps you play better and feel good, and how staying active is lots of fun! En español
This initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, aims to eliminate childhood obesity and create a healthy start for children by empowering parents and caregivers, increasing physical activity, providing healthy food in schools, and improving access to healthy, affordable food in every part of the country.
Let's Move
Filter Results
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|Date Requested:February 10, 2011
Time Requested:12:42 PM
Toll Road Revenues
Sources of Revenue
|Other Fund Toll Road Revenues
Legislation creates:Neither Program nor Fund
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
| This bill would authorize video and electronic enforcement and collection of tolls. No general revenues of the State of West Virginia would be used or impacted by this bill.
Costs of collecting and enforcing tolls through video and electronic tolling systems would be covered by toll revenues and by administrative fees under this bill. To the extent there would be some administrative costs to the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) and the West Virginia Parkways Authority (Parkways Authority), or to the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in any significant amount, it is contemplated that such costs would be defrayed by toll revenues and by administrative fees authorized under this bill.
It is important to note that no toll collection jobs would be eliminated on the West Virginia Turnpike if this bill were to be passed. It also is anticipated that, to the extent the West Virginia Parkways Authority may some day collect tolls on other roads besides the Turnpike under Chapter 17, Article 16A of the WV Code, as amended (including by SB 427 enacted in 2010 and effective July 1, 2010), additional toll collection jobs would be required in toll plaza collection work or in back-office toll enforcement and collection work, or both.
Drivers in the U.S.A. who use toll roads are increasingly making use of electronic transponders when traveling on toll roads. This means the issue of effectively collecting and enforcing tolls will be a growing concern to all toll road authorities. In short, this legislation would have a significant deterrent effect and discourage toll evasion. Over time, this is expected to result in avoiding significant revenue losses due to toll evasion.
The exact amount of evaded toll revenues that could be collected with the passage of this bill cannot be pinpointed to an exact dollar figure. However, national toll revenue and traffic experts have advised the Authority that toll evasion is increasing across the country as these modern technologies are more widely adopted by both drivers and toll roads alike.
That is one reason why bond rating agencies likewise examine and consider whether toll road authorities have meaningful video and electronic enforcement and toll collection legislation such as would be provided by this bill.
In any event, it is certain that this legislation will enable the Parkways Authority and the DOH, as applicable, to enforce an administrative fee of $35 per violation on persons whose vehicles pass through a toll barrier (including an electronic toll collection lane (E-ZPass® lane) without paying their tolls. That fee would help defray administrative costs of collecting evaded tolls. Also, persons who are charged with intentionally evading a toll are guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be fined in an amount not to exceed $50. These fines would be collected by the magistrate court in which the violations are tried. Also, any person who deliberately damages, defaces or obstructs any video collection system infrastructure or power supply in order to interfere with the operations of the system or electronic toll collection, will be guilty of a misdemeanor and will be fined in an amount not to exceed $500 and will be liable to the DOH or Parkways Authority for all repair costs. Passage of this legislation would direct the DMV to refuse to register or renew the registration of any vehicle whose owner has been found to have violated the law and has not paid all administrative fees, charges and fines for toll evasion.
The Parkways Authority is currently in the process of upgrading its 10 year old electronic toll collection system for the West Virginia Turnpike. This new system will have the software capability of tracking toll violations and automatically generating reports, and legislation is necessary to authorize the Parkways Authority to utilize its electronic toll collection system to monitor violations and collect tolls.
Currently, the existing system in place on the West Virginia Turnpike does not have the capability to monitor all violations and generate reports using automated electronic and video equipment, with minimal manual effort or involvement. Presently, the monitoring of violations and the collection of evaded or non-paid tolls by the Parkways Authority does require some manual effort and involvement and is not as automated as modern electronic toll collection and enforcement systems. The use of an updated, largely automated electronic toll collection and enforcement system will be more cost effective than the existing procedures.
Toll violations are transactions where the toll system expected the receipt of a toll but no collection of a toll was recorded. True or habitual toll violations are defined as transactions where receipt of a toll was expected but not collected due to the intentional behavior of the driver. Currently, intentional toll violators represent less than 1% of all transactions on the West Virginia Turnpike (this represents an approximate cost of $20,000 per month). Among toll roads in the northeast, the amount ranges from 1% to 3%. Violation transactions that result from system errors, collector errors or system design limitations are not considered true toll violations because toll revenue was collected for the transactions in question.
The Parkways Authority is most interested in collecting from intentional toll violators, or core violators. A majority of toll violators pass through the dedicated "E-ZPass Only" lanes and avoid those plazas staffed by toll collectors. West Virginia State Police Troop 7 Parkways Division performs periodic spot enforcement at the toll plazas or respond to radio calls from the plazas when an intentional toll violator is identified. Currently, the only method available to the Authority to identify these violators is through human observation or through a video surveillance system that captures the front and rear areas of the vehicle that contain the vehicle's license plate; however, as mentioned above, the new toll collection system will make the process of identifying and collecting toll from violators more automated.
Again, with regard to toll operations on the West Virginia Turnpike, passage of this bill would not mean the elimination of jobs or a reduction in the work force. In fact, once the new system is in place, an additional employee will most likely be hired for back-office operations due to the files that will generated from the computer system. Because the West Virginia Turnpike is considered a rural toll road, manual collection of toll still represents over 72% of all transactions with the remaining 28% from electronic toll collection.
Passage of this bill, along with the implementation of the new toll collection system which should be completed by 2012, would constitute an economical and fair method of enforcing and collecting toll from users of any toll road in West Virginia.
|Over-all effect
|Effect of Proposal
|Fiscal Year
|Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
|1. Estmated Total Cost
|Personal Services
|Current Expenses
|Repairs and Alterations
|2. Estimated Total Revenues
3. Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
As noted above, no general revenues of the State of West Virginia would be used or impacted by this bill because the costs of collecting and enforcing tolls through electronic tolling systems would be covered by toll revenues and by administrative fees under this bill. That is, to the extent there would be some administrative costs to the DOH and the Parkways Authority, or to DMV in any significant amount, it is contemplated that such costs would be defrayed by toll revenues and by administrative fees authorized under this bill.
| Under existing law (§17-16A-17), it is a misdemeanor to evade tolls or defraud the Parkways Authority or any of its toll collectors in regard to the payment of tolls, and the evasion of a toll carries a fine of $50 per offense. This new statute gives the DOH and the Parkways Authority legal authority to collect tolls and to enforce the collection of tolls through electronic toll collection including the use of a video enforcement system.
Presently, a violation most commonly occurs on the West Virginia Turnpike when a customer does not have an existing E-ZPass® account for the electronic payment of tolls, but travels through an E-ZPass lane at one of the toll barriers without paying the applicable toll.
The majority of other states that have toll roads and bridges have legislation in place that authorizes the applicable tolling agency to collect evaded tolls from violators. Many of these states also allow the tolling agency to collect administrative fees to cover the costs of collecting the evaded tolls, and some states, such as Virginia and California, additionally allow the tolling agency to collect monetary penalties.
Pennsylvania already has electronic toll enforcement and collection legislation in place. With the anticipated opening of the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Monongalia County, approximately 4.2 miles of the Expressway will pass through West Virginia on U. S. Route 43. This bill will permit the Commissioner of Highways to enter into cooperative agreements with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assist the division in the effective enforcement and collection of tolls for the Expressway, thereby minimizing revenue losses due to toll evasion.


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Terrence 'Bill' Greenleaf
MARQUETTE, MI. – Terrence "Bill" Greenleaf, age 56, of Ishpeming, entered eternal life Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at Marquette General Hospital.
Bill was born November 9, 1956, in Marquette to Terrence and Patricia (Malloy) Greenleaf. After high school, Bill enlisted in the U.S Marine Corps in 1974, spending his years in the service at Paris Island, South Carolina. Following his discharge, Bill was married to Margaret in September of 1977. In his spare time, Bill loved listening to music, especially classic rock, and visiting with his many good friends. He was a skilled woodworker and enjoyed the outdoors, especially fishing and taking long walks with his daughter, Megan.
He is survived by Margaret and their two daughters, Christine Elizabeth and Megan Marie; his three grandchildren, Scott, Sam and Lily "Little Hands"; his brothers, Jim ( Cindy), Bob (Pam), Pat ( Kathy ), Gary and Bill Kurian; his sisters, Denise ( Steve Johnson ), Diane ( Stuart Yokeum) and Tracy (Carl) Pellonpaa; several nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as numerous friends.
In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by a brother, Michael.
Visitation for Bill will take place at the Fassbender Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 23, from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm, with a time to share memories at 5:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Bill's family.
The Fassbender Funeral Home is serving the family, where condolences may be expressed online at fassbenderfuneralhome.com.


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Don't Forget To Upgrade
There's a lot of news about the recent security problems with old versions of WordPress. If you're not keeping up to date with WordPress upgrades (the latest of this date is 2.8.4), you are putting yourself at risk.
For those who say that upgrading is a pain, it can be. But if you're using a bunch of plugins that break with WordPress upgrades, then you're opening yourself up to attack. Now is the time to ask yourself, do I really need that plugin? Or if you do, is there a newer version that's better written? The new versions of WordPress make upgrading much easier, which reduces the pain in the future. And no matter how annoying an upgrade may be, rebuilding a site that's been hacked into oblivion is much, much, much, much harder.
So, take the time to give your WordPress installs some love. It will save you a lot of pain and heartbreak in the end.


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Flute World
America's #1 flute specialty house since 1983.
Azumi flutes are a perfect flute for the aspiring flutist. The most distinctive feature of all Azumi flutes is the Altus Z-cut professional headjoint which responds quickly and easily and produces a full and rich tone in all three registers. The Z Cut headjoint is handmade by Altus and is included on every Azumi flute. The attention to detail in the handmade process creates a more responsive and flexible tone. The headjoint features a fairly rectangular shaped embouchure hole which makes it responsive and clean with fantastic articulation. This headjoint is open and free, singing easily in all registers. It is a headjoint which begs to be played, because it makes all those difficult things seem so much easier. Response from the low B to the high C (and even D!) is immediate and flawless. The sound is open and full. The tone produced blends beautifully, and is therefore very well suited for a band or orchestral setting. The response makes it a fantastic choice for jazz players as well, who sometimes have to jump from sax to flute and get the high C to pop as though it is easy.
Usually reserved for professional models, all Azumi Flutes feature pointed key arms for an elegant and refined look, improved key strength, and even pad wear. The pointed arms connect the key hinge tube to the key cup at the back and across the top of the key, ending in a point in the center of the cup.
Based on the work and recommendations of renowned British flutist William Bennett, the Altus-Bennett scale offers excellent intonation, carefully tuned harmonics, and balanced registers. Altus flutemaker Shuichi Tanaka along with Bennett admired Albert Cooper's scale work and made some modifications of their own, creating the Altus/Bennett scale. The Altus/Bennett scale is used on all Altus and Azumi flutes. The precise intonation not only makes these flutes effortless to play in tune, it also enhances the resonance of the instrument. A more resonant flute has more depth and color to the sound, and is more flexible.
Please choose one option from each section below.


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Angled Striped Maxi Dress
Style: 1570078347
Out of Stock
Directional stripes work their magic on a long, sleek tank dress that feels like you're wearing the longest, most luxurious tee in the world. Look flawlessly smooth and shapely with a Vanishing Edge shaper underneath.
- Double-layered bodice for soft support.
- Seamed striped panels are angled to flatter.
- Approximately 56.5" from shoulder.
- 95% rayon, 5% Spandex. Machine wash. Imported.
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