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An open-ended gilt fund which aims to actively invest in Government securities
The objective of the Scheme will be to provide investors with regular income along with opportunities for capital appreciation. The Scheme will endeavor to achieve this objective through an allocation of the investment corpus in a diversified portfolio of central government dated securities, state government securities and treasury bills.
*Source: Scheme Information Document
IDBI Gilt Fund (IGF) is a long-term gilt fund from the stable of IDBI Mutual Fund. IDBI Mutual Fund incorporated in January 2010 is relatively a new player in the Indian mutual fund industry (it launched its first mutual fund scheme – IDBI Nifty Index Fund in May 2010, followed by a Liquid fund in July 2010).
IGF is an actively managed gilt fund focusing on sovereign rated instruments with medium to longer maturity. As the funds in the long term Gilt category invest in Government Securities having maturity of over 3 years, even IGF will focus on investing in medium to long term g-sec instruments. The funds in the Gilt category emphasize on providing credit risk-free returns by investing in Sovereign rated Government Securities (G-Secs), Treasury Bills, RBI Bonds etc. Generally investing in a long term gilt fund is advisable when interest rates are expected to consolidate or ease down, while rising interest rates may prove harmful for this category. Thus, the timing of the launch of this NFO (IGF) is appropriate as the interest rates have almost peaked-out and we may soon see downside movement in interest rates.
By launching IGF, IDBI Mutual fund has diversified its product basket across the entire spectrum of investment options to suit all classes of investors and their diverse needs. Investments in G-Secs are less favourable among retail investors due to lack of adequate knowledge and high ticket size which makes it out of the reach of many individuals.
Hence, IGF provides an opportunity to the retail investors to benefit from the impact of interest rate movement on sovereign rated instruments across varying maturities, by taking exposure into G-sec instruments having medium to long maturity. Portfolio & Investment Strategy
Being a long-term gilt fund, IGF will primarily invest in a diversified basket of dated Government Securities and Treasury Bills, while the allocation between them will be decided on the basis of interest rate outlook for the economy. The Fund Manager will take active calls on interest rate and will position the portfolio accordingly to maximize returns from investments with requisite emphasis on liquidity and safety. The investment approach for the scheme will make it suitable for investors with an investment horizon of atleast 12 months.
The Fund Manager will calibrate the portfolio exposure (maturity, supply of securities and liquidity) depending on the interest rate outlook and overall macroeconomic environment. The funds allocation will be dynamically managed without any duration constraints and the exposure to longer dated maturities will be higher at times when the interest rate outlook is benign and exposure to shorter dated maturities will dominate the portfolio when the interest rate outlook is negative. The returns generated by the fund would be commensurate with the levels of risk taken in the portfolio. The fund manager will structure the fund's portfolio by prudently using cash and cash equivalent instruments to create liquidity as and when needed.
While allocating its assets among various debt instruments, IGF will follow the below allocation pattern. The indicative asset allocation pattern with minimum and maximum limits for instruments is detailed in the below asset allocation table. The Fund Manager, reserves the right to alter the asset allocation for a short term period on defensive considerations.
From the above asset allocation pattern, IGF has its investment scope in both central and state Government securities. Though, its overexposure towards one segment may end up with high concentration risk, but low credit risk. It however holds flexibility to shift its maturity which may help it manage interest rate risk in the rising interest rate scenario and take advantage of easing interest rate scenario.
In addition, the IGF may enter into Reverse repos in Government of India dated securities eligible for repo transactions and treasury bills of all maturities as maybe permitted by RBI. It may also hold cash or participate in the CBLO market to meet liquidity requirements. The fund holds flexibility to invest in derivatives (up to 50% of its net assets) for hedging, portfolio balancing and such other purposes as maybe permitted from time to time.
IGF however does not propose to invest in Securitized Debt/ADRs/GDRs and foreign securities.
The fund will be managed by Mr. Gautam Kaul – Fund Manager Fixed Income at IDBI Asset Management Ltd. Mr. Kaul is a commerce graduate and an MBA. He has over 10 years of experience in Fixed Income dealing and fund management. Prior to joining IDBI Asset Management Ltd, he was a Dealer and Fund manager Fixed Income at Religare Mutual Fund and has also been associated with Sahara Mutual Fund and Mata Securities Pvt. Ltd.
It is given that IGF will focus on government securities with flexibility to change maturity based on prevailing interest rate conditions. Being an actively managed gilt fund, the fund may have ability to do well during easing interest rate conditions. Also, it is important to note that its exposure towards longer maturity instruments will make it highly sensitive to interest rate changes, especially in rising interest rate conditions.
IGF will work like other Gilt funds that follow active management strategy and do shift portfolio maturity based on the fund manager's view on interest rates.
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While this isn't a media-criticism piece, it would be folly to ignore the press' role in this sorry state of affairs. Aggressively independent thought is essential in the media, but we need to stop practicing "gotcha" journalism that seeks to catch developers out in a gaffe; it promotes petty industry politics rather than thoughtful dialogue.
Likewise, we shouldn't pretend that platform wars and sales-figure horseraces are anything more than an idle distraction - we need to seek broader, more meaningful contexts for our coverage.
And we must stop promoting the notion that a complex game can be summed up in a numerical score. These bad habits, among others, cheapen the art and the artists that we're supposed to engage.
I also don't want to imply that the industry's problem is the PR flacks themselves - as if there is this wall of cretins who are holding us back from the shangri-la of uninhibited expression.
The fact is that most public-relations representatives who I meet are friendly, thoughtful sorts. (Yeah, there are a few genuine misanthropes - that's life.) They want gaming to thrive just like we do. After all, you don't get into the communications business with the intention of making everyone shut up.
Many of these well-meaning people work in a corporate culture where short-term success is paramount, and that's the real issue. If your worst nightmare was the failure of the next game on the assembly line, you wouldn't experiment, either. You'd stick to the same old script like your professional life depended on it, and you'd instruct those unpredictable creative types on the dev team to follow your lead.
(It's worth noting that, in my experience, PR reps at independent firms tend to think more liberally and long-term than those who work inside the studios themselves, perhaps because the former group is a bit more removed from the day-to-day pressures of bringing a game to market.)
One result of the industry's constrained discourse is that when public figures do attack games companies are caught flat-footed, as they're unaccustomed to discussions where they don't dictate the terms. Examples abound, from Rockstar's bungling of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-simulation controversy to Konami's clumsy disavowal of Six Days in Fallujah.
More recently, when a furore arose over Medal of Honor's multiplayer mode - specifically, players' ability to fight for the Taliban - EA responded by tripping over its own face.
Perhaps there were valid, intriguing artistic reasons behind the feature, but a senior PR manager for EA instead responded this way: "Most of us having been doing this since we were seven [years old] - if someone's the cop, someone's gotta be the robber, someone's gotta be the pirate and someone's gotta be the alien. In Medal of Honor multiplayer, someone's gotta be the Taliban."
I'm sure that quote made sense within the echo chamber of game marketing, where the primary frames of reference is features and framerates. That goes to show how hapless the gaming industry can be when confronted with professionals who know how to make their case in the more brutal, open forum of public debate.
Imagine you're a politician looking for an opportunity to boost your patriotic creds, and you see that quote cross your computer screen. Some poor fool has just compared the bloody, terrible, endless conflict in Afghanistan to a playground game of cops 'n' robbers.
You'd be so eager to pounce you'd have to wipe the drool off your grinning face. UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox managed to stop salivating long enough to declare the game "un-British", and soon after that, the developers renamed the game's Taliban as a generic "Opposing Force".
My point is not that a different rhetorical approach would have saved Medal of Honor from criticism (although maybe EA could have mustered a less facepalm-inducing response).
The reality is the battle was lost before it was begun. Medal of Honor entered a public sphere where it was not permissible for a game to be provocative or subversive. Those privileges are the domain of art.
The time to lay the groundwork of perception is before a crisis hits. Let the developers off the reservation. Open up the creative community to a discussion of their games that lasts longer and ranges wider - a risky but ultimately more fruitful conversation.
This isn't about me, a writer who wants more access. (Every writer, in every field, wants that.) Rather, it's about getting the broader public on our side by selling them on a medium that is volatile and human and relevant and exciting, like art ought to be.
We're lucky that in the Supreme Court case, the gaming industry had a cadre of eloquent lawyers who made their argument for them. But it should never have gotten to that last-resort scenario.
If the games industry wants to avoid another close call and ensure the long-term health of the medium, it needs to stop declaring its product is an art form and start acting like it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Armando's RhumbaChick Corea/arr. Mike Tomaro - Hal Leonard Corporation
From Chick Corea's My Spanish Heart album, this tune is not really a "rhumba," but rather an extremely energetic samba. This chart features dynamic and challenging passages for the entire ensemble and also ample room for soloists. Nice chart!
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At U. S. nuclear power plants, achieving compliance with fire protection regulations is a storied endeavor. Whether because a plant was constructed prior to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) imposing detailed fire protection regulations or because the fire protection programs were so plant-specific, there is no generic way to describe how to comply with fire protection regulations.
In addition, since nuclear power plants are enormous buildings and all activities are highly regulated, it is expensive and challenging to retrofit, or back fit them with features after they're built. Also, since the level of understanding about certain phenomena has evolved over the years, compliance has further complicated the matter. Because of this, it has been challenging to bring all of the plants into compliance with deterministic requirements.
Therefore, the introduction of the new regulatory option, the National Fire Protection Association's Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants1 (NFPA 805), has become more appealing.2
An analogy can be used to frame the subject of regulatory compliance as it pertains to fire protection in nuclear power plants. Imagine a very expensive new sports car. Next, imagine that a year into owning this new car, the local authority on automobile safety decides that the car isn't safe enough to have only two doors and mandates that all cars have at least four doors. This decision just changed the sporty coupe to a family sedan and cost a lot more money in the process. This was the 1980s for the U. S. nuclear industry, but instead of cars it was commercial nuclear power plants and instead of safety doors it was fire safety requirements known as Appendix R.3
The first fire protection regulation for nuclear power plants was adopted by the Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in February 1971. This regulation, known as 10 CFR 50, Appendix A, General Design Criterion (GDC) 3,4 provided relatively high-level guidance, which stated that:
Structures, systems, and components important to safety shall be designed and located to minimize, consistent with other safety requirements, the probability and effect of fires and explosions. Noncombustible and heat-resistant materials shall be used wherever practical throughout the unit, particularly in such locations as the containment and control room.
Figure 1. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Athens, AL (courtesy of TVA)
The term, "important to safety," refers to equipment in the plant that is relied upon to safely shut down the reactor in the event of a problem at the plant. Nuclear plants in the U. S. have always been designed with the intent of having redundant systems available to bring the reactor to a safe and stable condition. GDC 3 required that the equipment used to bring the reactor to a safe and stable condition be protected from fires. At the time, GDC 3 was considered met through the use of fire protection design standards from the insurance industry model for special industrial facilities.
In 1975, a fire occurred at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama, which damaged redundant "important to safety" equipment (see Figure 1). The fire displayed a number of phenomena and concerns that weren't considered in the industrial fire protection model that had been previously applied – specifically fire damage to electrical control cables causing spurious operations of equipment important to safety. This prompted the development of more explicit fire protection regulations for the nuclear industry.5,6
Fire protection at nuclear power plants is a bit different than that to which many fire protection engineers might be accustomed. Instead of focus being placed on traditional fire protection issues, such as tenability, means of egress, property loss, etc., the focus is on protecting equipment important to safety in order to maintain or preserve the ability to place the reactor in a safe condition, i.e., safely shutdown.
It's not that the traditional fire protection issues don't matter, but that they are not the primary objective of plant fire protection engineers or the regulator, the NRC. What matters most at a nuclear power plant is the ability to shutdown the reactor in an emergency. To protect important equipment, fire protection at nuclear power plants relies on what is known as a defense-in-depth (DID) concept, which employs multiple layers of protection so that no single failure results in a loss of control. Appendix R to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 503 (Appendix R) defines DID as the ability to:
- Prevent fires from starting;
- Detect rapidly, control and extinguish promptly those fires that do occur
- Provide protection for structures, systems and components important to safety so that a fire that is not promptly extinguished by the fire suppression activities will not prevent the safe shutdown of the plant.
To accomplish this, the NRC wrote a
number of guidance documents that included information on topics such as
administrative controls, fire brigade staffing, quality assurance, and
even minimum levels of fire protection for specific plant areas. All
licensees evaluated their plants in accordance with these guidance
documents, which upon subsequent approval by the NRC comprises their
fire protection licensing basis.
Figure 2. Cable Tray
The most significant change that was required to existing plants – i.e., the additional doors in the car analogy above – was a prescriptive requirement to backfit protection for safe shutdown equipment. This requirement mandated that critical safe shutdown equipment be separated either by physical, fire-rated barriers or spatial separation in conjunction with fire detection, automatic fire suppression systems and alternative shutdown equipment. This was important because many plants were not initially designed with this level of protection, and significant plant modifications were required.
All plants have multiple success paths or "trains" of equipment to safely shutdown, but these success paths weren't originally designed to be separated from a fire exposure. For instance, some plants had trains of equipment that were electrically separate but not physically separate.
For example, Figure 2 shows a case where two redundant cables are located adjacent to each other in a single cable tray. A single fire near this particular cable tray could damage both trains whereas a single circuit failure in one of the cables might not. The modifications that many of the licensees had to make were to verify that they could rely on one train of shutdown equipment for most normal operating periods (credited) and one they could rely on in the event that the credited train is damaged or otherwise unavailable (redundant). This is akin to having a Plan A and a Plan B where Plan B is a fallback for Plan A and provides added safety in the form of redundancy.
In some cases, separation of the installed safe shutdown trains was impossible. For example, each plant was designed with a single main control room, so there was no way to provide separation of those controls without building a separate control room. The NRC understood that this was impractical, so the fire protection regulations included a provision for an alternative shutdown capability. When the use of redundant systems is not possible (because the equipment itself or the electrical cables associated with the equipment are both located in the same area), alternative shutdown configurations are required. For most plants, this alternative shutdown involved installing controls at a location remote and independent of the main control room, so that if a fire were to occur in the main control room, safe shutdown could be achieved from the alternate location.
In addition, plant owners had a third option, in addition to protecting a redundant train or installing alternative shutdown capability: submit a plant-specific exemption to the regulations. Most fire protection engineering professionals are likely more familiar with terms such as "modification" or "alternative methods and materials. " However, their purpose is similar to the exemption process for nuclear power plants.
That is, prescriptive regulations rarely can anticipate all of the possible designs and circumstances related to a particular project, so alternate methods of compliance or processes are allowed in order to establish or maintain a consistent level of safety without meeting the strict letter of the regulation. In the nuclear industry, that process is the exemption process during which licensees, unable to comply with strict letter of the regulation and able to demonstrate special circumstances, can pursue an exemption to comply with the intent of the regulation even though they may not have all of the active or passive features required by the regulation. Since many plants had already been built, the NRC received hundreds of these exemptions. The agency approved many of them after performing a review and determining that the plant configuration was safe enough.
One common exemption requested by licensees to address fire-induced damage to electrical circuits, in lieu of physical protection as required by the regulation, was the use of operator manual actions (OMAs) to accomplish tasks needed to preserve safe shutdown capability in a plant. OMAs typically consist of a series of tasks – e.g., operating valves, switches, breakers,etc. – from outside the main control room in the event that monitoring or confirmation of actions performed in the main control room are unsuccessful or unverified. However, OMAs must be demonstrated to be feasible and reliable by the licensee and submitted to the NRC for review.
OMAs are considered part of a larger compliance strategy where DID is provided or maintained. An example of where an OMA might serve as a legitimate part of a plant's post-fire safe shutdown strategy would be if the cables for a required safe shutdown component (e.g., a motor operated valve) run through a fire area where that component is needed to achieve and maintain safe shutdown during and following a fire. In this example, an operator might turn a crank on the valve to open it, thereby providing an alternate means of operating the valve, aside from within the main control room, in the event that fire damages the cables running through the area.
Much of this regulatory framework was developed in response to the 1975 Browns Ferry fire and continued to evolve and mature throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Following the Browns Ferry fire, the NRC contended with a series of other important operating events such as the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and the Chernobyl accident in 1986. The recent Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011 will likely bring about more change within the nuclear industry to avoid future mistakes. By analyzing and scrutinizing past events, engineers often find it necessary to make adjustments to how they approach problems. Deterministic regulations are not always capable of integrating new information, so a performance-based strategy, which sets performance-based goals, is often more effective at integrating new information.
Performance-based design is a method for designing buildings and other assets to achieve performance objectives or goals in lieu of meeting prescriptive requirements. Referring back to the car analogy, not all cars have a back seat let alone the ability to transport additional occupants to necessitate the addition of two more doors for safety purposes. The owner and driver of the car might argue that his or her circumstances don't entail the same level of risk or hazard that the new automobile safety requirements, i.e., two additional doors,were intended to address.
Therefore, one might use a probabilistic risk assessment to support his or her argument and show that not only does the car lack a back seat to warrant the extra doors but that those traveling in the sporty two-door coupe are just as safe as four people traveling in a four-door family sedan. In doing so, one would be making a performance-based (it's just the driver and perhaps one passenger), risk-informed (the driver and passenger are no less safe than those in a sedan) argument. Quantifying the possibility of an event and then calculating its probability to understand the risk associated with it is a tool used at the NRC as part of a performance-based approach to a problem, and is often called probabilistic risk assessment (PRA).
The use of risk information in design and engineering is not a new concept. It has been used in different industries for decades. Cost-benefit analyses, insurance, automobile safety, etc., all inherently deal with risks associated with various events occurring and the measures necessary to avert tragedy. Even high-profile government agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), use risk assessments to better inform their decisions on matters such as space travel and vehicle launches. They calculate the probability of certain failures occurring and include these probabilities in their evaluation of program objectives to decide which features or components should be included in a mission and which ones might provide minimal or maximum benefit to the overall mission success.
For the nuclear industry, performance-based fire safety regulation arrived in the form of NFPA 805 and with the NRC adopting the 2001 edition of the consensus code in 2004. NFPA 805 is a performance-based standard that also incorporates deterministic requirements, fire modeling and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) into the decision-making process, i.e., risk-informed, performance-based.
Considering risk is important in the nuclear industry because in 2002 the NRC established that fire can be a potentially important contributor to overall plant core damage frequency (CDF), which is the annual probability of damage to the reactor core as a result of an accident. That is, fires in nuclear power plants have the potential to cause serious damage that could jeopardize the ability of plant operators to safely shut down the plant. By understanding the risk attributed to various fire-induced damage or failures, it is possible to make more informed decisions, both as an operator and a regulator, as to where to focus one's efforts and attention. Minimal risk then becomes one of many performance objectives to be achieved through performance-based design and regulations.
The way the Authority Having Jurisdiction (the NRC) has implemented NFPA 805 allows licensees to perform evaluations and changes without requesting NRC approval as long as the changes don't increase risk above established thresholds and safety margins and defense-in-depth are not affected. The NRC's primary mission is to ensure public health and safety, promote common defense and security, and protect the environment so long as the performance objectives, defined at the outset of the performance-based process, align with this mission and are maintained throughout the plant's operation. The licensee gains reduced regulatory burden and is considered compliant with their applicable fire protection regulations. As in other industries and applications, the performance-based approach is intended to provide equivalent protection to that intended by a more traditional, deterministic or prescriptive approach but with tertiary benefits such as financial economics, increased design or operating flexibility, or increased plant safety.
In the nuclear industry, licensees identify areas of the plants where certain fires could affect safe shutdown. Licensees then make decisions about whether to make modifications, such as adding more sophisticated detection and suppression systems or improving the reliability of other equipment, to reduce the risk that such scenarios represent to an acceptable level. An approach that incorporates protective measures tailored to address specific hazards and an understanding of the risk significance of scenarios involving those hazards makes up a risk-informed, performance-based approach.
A purely performance-based example could be a plant area that has redundant safe shutdown trains passing through it, and in accordance with Appendix R, would require an automatic fire suppression system. Using fire modeling, fire protection engineers might determine that there are no credible fire hazards that could damage both trains. After evaluating the defense-in-depth and safety margins, the evaluation might conclude that there is sufficient protection without the suppression system, and therefore the licensee would be able to forego the financial outlay to install and maintain a system. To further support the analysis, engineers could also calculate the likelihood or probability of possible fires in the area as well as possible equipment damage or failures due to such fires in order to provide a quantitative understanding of the risks involved and enhance the decision-making process with this added risk information (risk-informed).
Licensees may elect to transition from the deterministic compliance strategy to the performance-based strategy but are not required to do so. The licensees' decisions to transition depend on various factors, but the NRC remains committed to making sure that plants are safe. The NRC recently issued the first licenses for plants that have elected to transition to the NFPA 805 licensing and compliance methodology.
Figure 3. Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, New Hill, NC (courtesy of Progress Energy)
The first license was issued to Progress Energy's Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant located in North Carolina (Figure 3), followed by Duke Energy's Oconee Nuclear Station located in South Carolina (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Oconee Nuclear Station, Seneca, SC (courtesy of Duke Energy)
These two particular plants were pilots for the new performance-based regulation; the NRC is currently reviewing additional requests to complete similar transitions. With roughly half of the operating fleet of plants having submitted letters of intent to transition to NFPA 805, the performance-based approach has the potential to resolve compliance challenges while preserving safety in a performance-based manner amongst U. S. nuclear power plants.
Transitioning plants to the NFPA 805 approach has identified several areas that require better understanding. As part of the process, many plants utilized calculation methods to quantify various factors, such as fire event frequencies, proper characterization of fire events or resultant fire damage. Several of these methods contained assumptions that resulted in conservatisms in determining the risk associated with fires as part of the risk-informed, performance-based approach.
For instance, some licensees found that several of the methods being used resulted in calculated risk values that were higher than operating experience seemed to indicate. Undue conservatism in risk-informed, performance-based analysis can mask more severe hazards by overstating the risk of less severe hazards. In an effort to reduce these conservatisms, several calculation methods used in NFPA 805 are being revised to increase realism and calculate more realistic risk numbers.
The NRC is unique as a federal regulatory agency in that it also performs research as needed to meet the needs of the agency. This arrangement was originally intended to provide confirmatory research (to independently verify research performed by industry or academia), but in many cases, the NRC has performed much-needed original research in areas critical to regulatory decision making. The NRC has completed many studies to better inform the regulatory process, and nuclear and fire protection industries, on fire protection issues. Many of these research activities directly relate to performance-based methods being used under NFPA 805.
Since the NFPA 805 standard has only been applied to two plants, and each plant is unique, the NRC is working with the nuclear industry to improve the process and the level of detail that goes into it. For instance, there is a new PRA standard7 that both the staff and industry stakeholders are using for the first time along with new regulatory and industry guidance. In order to facilitate the application of all this new information, the NRC is working with the nuclear industry by holding monthly public meetings so that licensees are informed and able to use and apply it to determine fire risk and make regulatory decisions accordingly.
Of the 104 operating commercial power reactor units in the U. S., all are similar to the two-door coupe in the car analogy. Many have been retro fitted with the extra doors to meet the deterministic requirements. Currently, 48 nuclear units are planning to complete the transition to a performance-based fire protection program under NFPA 805. Over the next few years, a major focus of NRC fire protection engineers is to review the applications for these NFPA 805 license amendment requests and reconcile the remaining units with their respective deterministic regulations, there by achieving compliance with fire protection regulations.
Brian Metzger is with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This paper was prepared by employees of the U.S. NRC. The views presented do not represent an official staff position.
- NFPA 805, Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA, 2010.
- Barrett, H., "Implementation of a Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection of Nuclear Power Plants," Fire Protection Engineering, 36, Fall 2007, pp. 36-46.
- Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50, Appendix R, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2012.
- Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50, Appendix A, General Design Criterion (GDC) 3, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,DC, 1971.
- Stroup, D., et al. "The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Fire of 1975 and the History of NRC Fire Regulations," NUREG/BR-0361, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 2009.
- Till, B., "Quantifying Total Losses Due to Fire – Remembering the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Fire," Fire Protection Engineering, 26, Spring 2005, pp. 38-42.
- ASME/ANS RA-Sa, "Standard for Level 1/Large Early Release Frequency Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plant Applications,"American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, 2009.


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21 Kids Website Themes and Templates with Joyful Designs
When designing for children-oriented businesses, such as kindergartens, schools, baby shops, toys shops and others, you cannot opt for a boring, rigid-looking website theme. If you want to look kid-friendly then your website must be joyful, colorful and beautiful!
Below, we selected 21 kids website themes and templates, all of which feature playful and vibrant designs.These kids website themes were created for various types of content management systems, such as Magento, WordPress, Opencart and even Prestashop! They can be easily customized to fit your needs and have many cool features you can use.
These themes and templates are fully responsive and offer a variety of features that you'll find highly useful. Some of these features include brand logo and sliders, advanced mega menus, powerful administration panels, CMS blocks, built-in sidebars and custom defined sidebars, fluid product grids, variant image switching, icon sets, custom widgets, shortcode managers, cycle sliders, device compatibility, multilingual support, social network sharing, and so much more! With so many options there are no limits on what you can create and how you choose to display it.
Here they are! We think you'll enjoy these as much as we enjoyed finding them for you, and we hope that they will guide you well if you're working on a kids website, now or in the future.
Fiora – Responsive eCommerce Bootstrap Template
Fiora is a responsive eCommerce Bootstrap Template which has 2 home page layouts, ideal for selling kids fashion, toys, kids clothings, baby belongings and others.
Coolbaby – Fashion eCommerce HTML theme
This is another great kid website theme, created as an eCommerce HTML theme, perfect for selling baby clothes online.
MT Quartz Magento Theme
MT Quartz lets you create your custom sub-themes. You can create season-specific designs to change the look of your store for fashion, computer, sport, estate, beauty, cosmetic, kids, wedding etc.
Kids Market – Magento Responsive Theme
Kids Market Magento Responsive Theme is specially designed for toys, kids store, flowers, tools and multi purpose stores.
Sunny Kids – Responsive Creative WooCommerce Theme
Sunny Kids is a Premium WordPress theme that is easy to setup and comes with a great bunch of features.
Kids Toys – WordPress Shop Theme
Kids Toys WordPress Shop is designed for children's activities or products. This WordPress theme supports the excellent WooCommerce shopping cart system!
Kids Voice School – Responsive WordPress Theme
Kid's Voice School is a beautifully designed WordPress theme for your child school, child care and others.
Children Store Responsive WordPress Theme
Children Store Responsive WordPress Theme is a WooCommerce store theme based on Twitter Bootstrap.
Champions – Creative Multi-Purpose Magento Themes
This great theme has powerful theme settings which let you change colors, font, typography and other styling options.
Pav SummerShop Opencart 2 Themes
Pav SummerShop comes with 6 sample sites and 5 header styles, each sample site use different layout to fit its business model.
Happy Kids – Children WordPress Theme
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|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections
Don't defend smoking: Ramadoss to film actors
November 13, 2007 23:11 IST
Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday asked film actors and other media personalities to refrain from making statements in favour of smoking, arguing that the youth would be influenced by them.
"Some of the actors make bold statements. They should desist from doing so," Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of the National Health summit in New Delhi.
Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan [Images] had recently defended smoking in films saying that he did not believe Indian masses would start smoking as an on screen actor does.
"The powers that be should look at bigger health issues than smoking in films," Khan had said.
On the steps taken by his Ministry to check the use of tobacco, especially smoking, Ramadoss said the government was contemplating a policy to make working places free from smoking apart from tougher implementation of the national tobacco law.
"In the last two years, there has been a huge decline in smoking," he added


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For one of Canada's most promising judokas, the London Olympics has ended after just one match.
Montreal resident Sergio Pessoa called the result devastating as he was eliminated in his first match in the -60-kilogram weight class in London, a very tight contest with Kazahstan's Yerkebulan Kossayev that went into golden score and was then determined by the judges' decision. They ultimately raised the blue flag in favour of Kossayev.
"It was such a tight match, and the first guy to make a mistake loses," Pessoa said. "The minute I made a false attack and they gave me a penalty, that might have been it although I tried for a real push in the last minute to show the judges I deserved a win. I thought he should have had a penalty earlier in the match, but the referees didn't award him one. It was really close, and it could have gone either way."
Pessoa wasn't a favourite for the podium, but going in, he and coaches felt he had a shot. He was the first Canadian judoka to hit the mats in London, and his teammates were watching. No Canadian judo player has won an Olympic medal since the nation's most decorated judoka -- Nicolas Gill -- earned silver in Sydney in 2000, eight years after taking bronze in Barcelona.
Pessoa, 24, was following in his father's footsteps, an Olympian for Brazil in the same weight class at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
"I'm really, really sad it turned out this way," said Pessoa. "I really wanted to continue forward in the competition and was confident I could have. I wanted to get to the medal round, but sometimes you just don't get the win."
Pessoa had to describe his devastation in three different languages, as Portuguese-speaking reporters from Brazil were just as interested in him as those from French and English Canada, intrigued by the experience shared by father and son.
Pessoa Sr. is an assistant coach of the team under Gill, and was the one on the floor with his son. His father felt the judoka had been a little too conservative in the match, particularly in the golden score period, when a judoka must make extra efforts to show the judges he is the better competitor.
"When you don't take a chance, you are stuck with the referee's decision, and that can go either way," said Pessoa Sr, who placed 9th in his own Olympic appearance in 1988. "He seemed a little more passive in this tournament because the level is so high, and he wasn't as true to his usual fighting identity."
Father and son stood pacing together in the athlete's waiting area before the match, the young judoka visualizing what it would feel like to walk in before the crowd. They felt he had a good chance against Kossayev, who was ranked 13th in the International Judo Federation's Olympic rankings, while Pessoa was No. 15.
"Maybe he was a little better than me, maybe he had a little edge," said Pessoa. "But I thought that I fought really well and it could have gone either way."
Immediately after the match, father and son walked off together and took a long moment away before facing the media.
"I told him he will have many more opportunities and it's not his last Olympics," said Pessoa Sr. speaking in French through and interpreter. "It's been a very special for him and for me as his father, and I'm very proud of him."
Pessoa said he will stay at the Games to support his teammates and then take a very short break, but he is determined to get back to training. Without hesitation, he said he wants to be at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
"I was so ready for the moment, I didn't let my emotions take me over," said Pessoa. "It's really devastating, but I'm keeping my head high. For the next Olympics, I will be better, and I hope to win a medal next time.
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V4.5 PC Pack?
Posted 27 November 2012 - 11:26 PM ( #1 )
I've searched all over Google and Youtube for any kind of info on the software that comes with the Pc Pack.
I literally could barely find anything..
All I know is that the microphone tree lets you communicate with your Tamagotchis.
I just won part of a PC pack in a lot of random Tama merch. Tree, software disk, and mousepad.
I was wondering if you need a v4.5 to use the software, or if the tree is just a holder for it that doubles as a microphone?
Also, how is the software? The features and whatnot?
Thank you in advance.
Started27 Nov 2012
Last Post30 Nov 2012
Posted 27 November 2012 - 11:32 PM ( #2 )
Posted 27 November 2012 - 11:46 PM ( #3 )
I thought it might've read the charater on the v4.5 and that would be the one you'd interact with on the computer.
Posted 30 November 2012 - 08:49 PM ( #4 )
I installed everything and it's all working fine.
Except the program doesn't recognize the microphone.
I cannot wake Kutchipatchi up. It'll error saying it cannot detect a good microphone, which is quite rediculous since my laptop has a perfectly working one built in AND the PC Pack Tree Mircophone works fine too.
I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software to no avail.
...At least some of the features works without use of a microphone.
*totally bummed out for not being able to "talk" to Tamagotchi*
Posted 30 November 2012 - 08:53 PM ( #5 )
Posted 30 November 2012 - 08:58 PM ( #6 )
My laptop has a specific microphone jack.
The Tree works fine too. I tested it on a voice recording program I have installed.
I just don't see how the program wont recognize even the built in microphone..
Posted 30 November 2012 - 09:13 PM ( #7 )
Posted 30 November 2012 - 09:18 PM ( #8 )
I shall try that immediately


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Introducing JSPL | Contribute | Subscribe | Editorial Board
See for yourself…
Read the editor's introduction and a sample article. Download the sample issue. (PDF, 336 k)
Introducing the Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters
The Apostle Paul stands as an incredibly important figure within the religious and intellectual history of Christianity and Judaism in the first century. The study of Paul (the historical person, author, tradition, and legend) and the Pauline letters (content, context, authenticity, theology, and reception) continue to capture the fascination of scholars, students, religious communities, and even the media. A number of journals geared toward New Testament studies in general often contain a disproportionate number of articles dedicated to the study of the Pauline corpus. There is a never-ending avalanche of Ph.D. theses written about Paul and about the countless approaches and methods used to analyze the Pauline materials. Indeed, the study of Paul and the Pauline letters appears to be an almost inexhaustible field of investigation. Therefore, we think it time that Pauline research should have its own dedicated journal as a specific conduit for Pauline research as it is broadly practiced. In light of these considerations, it is my pleasure to present to you the Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters (JSPL).
The JSPL will present cutting-edge research for scholars, teachers, postgraduate students, and advanced undergraduates related specifically to study of the Apostle Paul and cognate areas. It is proposed that the many and diverse aspects of Pauline studies be represented and promoted by the journal (see below, "Contribute"). The purpose of the journal is to advance discussion on these areas of Pauline research. As such we invite submissions on the above mentioned topics that make a significant and original contribution to the field of Pauline studies.
The inaugural issue of JSPL includes a contribution by one of its editorial board members, Dr. Susan Eastman of Duke Divinity School (USA) on "Philippians 2:6–11: Incarnation as Mimetic Participation." Delving into the Christ-Hymn, Eastman argues for a close link between imitation and participation in Paul's explication of his gospel to the Philippian audience. The first regular issue of JSPL will include studies such as Paul Foster, "Eschatology in the Thessalonian Correspondence"; Michael Gorman, "Justification and Justice"; Richard Bell, "Paul's Theology of Mind"; and a review of Douglas A. Campbell's The Deliverance of God by Christopher Tilling and Michael Gorman, with a further response from Douglas Campbell.
We invite contributions in areas such as:
- Pauline chronology and biography
- The Pauline corpus, including its collection and textual transmission
- The historical, cultural, literary, and social context of Paul and the Pauline writings
- Diverse perspectives, such as post-colonial interpretation and critical theory
- Studies in Pauline theology and theological interpretation of Paul's letters
- The reception of Paul in the early church
- Studies in the history of Pauline research
- The relation of Pauline texts to practical theology
- Essay-length reviews of significant new publications in Pauline studies
- Issues dedicated to particular themes
Get it here:
Eisenbrauns – Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters.


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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Wednesday she won't be backing either of the two ex-felons running for commissioner seats in the March Democratic primary.
Former city Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez, who did federal prison time for a City Hall job-rigging conviction, is running in a South Side and south suburban district. Preckwinkle said she'll be backing appointed Commissioner Stanley Moore in that contest.


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Theresa Gallant sits with a bouquet of roses she received from the Kidney Foundation of Canada on P.E.I. Gallant has been a volunteer with the foundation for 35 years and she was recently honoured for her work. Colin MacLean/Journal Pioneer
Summerside – It used to be that the best place to go when canvassing door-to-door for charity in Summerside was the bootleggers'.
That's where the real money was – and friendly people too, said Theresa Gallant recently as she sat with guests on her living room couch.
"Ah well, as long as they gave some money, it was good for them to do. Maybe they just give it to me to get clear of me – but they were good," recalled the Summerside mother of 10.
Gallant, 80, got a visit on Monday from Matthew McFarlane and Anne Christopher from the local chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
They brought roses.
This year will mark the 35th year Gallant will hit the pavement for the foundation, collecting money for its door-to-door campaign.
She's one of the longest-serving volunteers the organization has on P.E.I., said Christopher, chairwoman of the newly formed Summerside chapter of the national charity.
Gallant has been with the organization ever since it got started on P.E.I., she added, so the organization wanted to do something to recognize all her hard work.
"It's important to recognize anyone who has spent so much time and dedication doing volunteer work. I think recognizing people for their volunteerism is something that should be done more often, in any volunteer association," said Christopher.
MacFarlane also pointed out that May is the month when volunteers from the foundation will be doing their canvassing.
The door-to-door campaign is the Kidney Foundation's largest annual fundraiser and brings in thousands of dollars across P.E.I. every year.
"It wouldn't be possible without people like Theresa getting out and making the effort of going door-to-door. Because it is harder and harder to find people like Theresa," said MacFarlane.
"It's people like her who are the lifeblood of any charitable organization and we're all very pleased and honoured to have such dedicated volunteers with the kidney foundation," he added.
Gallant, who has canvased for other organizations even longer than she has for the kidney foundation, said she appreciates the flowers and the recognition but it's not why she's been doing it all these years.
"It's really nice, because when I went out collecting I'd never thinking of getting any recognition at all," she said.
She said she kept at it because it was her way to get out of the house and see the neighbours amidst trying to raise her children.
"I love talking. I think that's it. I love the people," she said.
"I collected for everything that was on the go. When you get into going door to door for one thing, they get to know you – so you keep going."
Sometimes the kids would even tag along – willingly or not.
Gallant's daughter Bonita said she was mostly spared having to accompany her mother, but that just meant she had other duties.
"I remember I had to babysit a lot," she laughed.
"I don't know if they ever growled behind my back, but they never did in front of me. But they'd be going anyway – whether they growled or not," said Gallant.
Canvassing is still great fun, she said, she gets her exercise, she gets to see her neighbours and does something nice for the community.
You'd be surprised how receptive people are when they see her coming after all these years. She's never had a bad experience, she said.
"I never got insulted or anything ... I never got chased."
"They were scared of her," laughed Bonita.
"Well – everybody knew me," added Gallant with a smile.


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Fira (Swedish for Celebrate)
A WAMP project PLUS a collection of other open source programs.
Designed to be a simple server setup, with a basic beginning webpage, that ANYONE with a broadband connection can use to host thier own website.
Other Useful Business Software
User Reviews
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Philippine Catholic Groups Make Push for 'Pro-Life' Candidates
Filipino lay leaders endorsed 10 senatorial candidates who opposed a controversial bill giving free contraceptives to the poor, hoping to sway today's elections in which half of the 24 members of the Senate faced voters.
Bert Alba, a lay leader and convener of Catholic Vote Now, which has endorse 10 senatorial candidates they label "pro-life," said they used guidelines by bishops to arrive at their endorsements.
"The role of the Church hierarchy is to guide and not to dictate," Mr. Alba said.


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The third Women's Forum, hosted by MP Niki Ashton, will be taking place in Ottawa on October 30th. Women from across the country will gather in person and online to work on building the feminist agenda.
Register on the conference website here.
Set yourself a reminder to follow live, by registering below!
Catch up on some of the highlights from 2013 here, and replay the full live blog here. You can also tune in to some of the incredible speakers from 2013, includeing Erin Marie Konsmo, Nora Loreto, Catherine Voyer-Leger, Jarrah Hodge, and last year's Panel on Inequality and on the Politics of Advocacy.
It was during the 2012 Women's Forum that the "Binders full of women" controversy emerged on Twitter, based on a comment made by Mitt Romney. When then Canadian Minister for the Status of Women, Rona Ambrose, chose to joke about Romney's comments rather than attend the forum, twitter went wild. See our Storify of how it all played out here. Replay the full live blog from 2012 here.
See you October 30th!
- Tell the truth and avoid rumours.
- Add context and background.
- Report typos and logical fallacies.
- Be respectful.
- Respect copyright - link to articles.
- Stay focused. Bring in-depth commentary to our discussion forum, babble.
- Use oppressive/offensive language.
- Libel or defame.
- Bully or troll.
- Post spam.
- Engage trolls. Flag suspect activity instead.


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The L Word: The Show Must Go On (The Web)
The L Word has one hot television season left, tear. But it looks like there's hope for at least one lucky lady! At the Television Critics Association press tour, Showtime's Entertainment President, Robert Greenblatt promised that there's a spin off in the works. Hip, hip, hooray! The best part is, you won't have to rely on your pricey cable provider for some sweet lesbo lovin', as these are actually webisodes that will be available on the internet. Plus, Greenblatt also promised that The L Word will continue on the web "to a large extent", and whatever that mumbojumbo means, it's great news for fans. After all, how could they abandon us when gay marriage is going legal, teen queen Lindsay Lohan just switched teams, and the #1 song on the Billboard Charts is Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl (And I Liked It)"?! The sixth season of the groundbreaking show goes into production this fall for its 2009 slot and the spin-off will be taped simultaneously. L Word creator Ilene Chaiken is currently working on casting, so until she's got her ladies lined up, she's keeping quiet about the new program's deets. We hope they give the show to sexy hairstylist Shane or even quirky blogger, Alice. But really, like all our favorite things, we'll take it where we can get it. [After Ellen]


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Bookmark | Share | Email | Print | More...
A Daily Devotional
This Devotional Is Related To Dependency And Co-dependency Issues. Rules Of Godly Common Sense Apply.
feeling angry, victimized, unappreciated, and used...
8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (NIV)
Others may have done things in the past to make you feel angry, victimized, unappreciated, and used. Indeed, you may have a valid reason to feel anger. You may have been taken advantage of and victimized by others. You may have been unappreciated by others. You may have been used by others. These are common experiences of just about all people. However, when these kinds of occurrences happen in life we have a choice to make. We can choose to be drawn into the darkness put upon us by others or we can choose to stay out in the light and love of Christ. If you are truly a child of God, others may try to do things to make you angry but you do not have to respond or feel angry. In Christ, others may try to victimize you but you do not have to be a victim. In Christ, others may not appreciate you but you do not need the appreciation of others. In Christ, others may use you to their advantage but you do not need to feel used because you have given over all of who you are to Him who died for you. The power we live under in Christ is an insulating power. This insulating power keeps us from feeling angry, victimized, unappreciated, and used by others.
Bookmark | Share | Email | Print | More...
Shepherd's Care
Care Ministries author and webmaster, Rev. Patrick Kelly, is affiliated through
ministerial ordination with Church of God Ministries, Anderson IN


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'Famine' nets 7,000 cans for Carenet
Macon County youth find out what it's like to go without food in an effort to help those in need.
This weekend's 30-Hour Famine event driven by the First United Methodist Church brought in over 7,100 cans of food for local food pantry Carenet.
During the 30 hour fast from February 22-23, youth from area churches led and attended worship services, slept in cardboard houses, learned more about world hunger issues, and volunteered at CareNet and Habitat for Humanity.
Organizers of the famine tell us that 7,104 cans and $1700 in donations were collected for Carenet. Additionally, $1,750 was raised for World Vision.
The youth made good use of their time fasting by filling over 400 backpacks with food for distribution to local school children, sorted 2440 nails for Habitat, and made 6 blankets for the United Methodist Home for Children.


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Jefferson Adams is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. His poems, essays and photographs have appeared in Antioch Review, Blue Mesa Review, CALIBAN, Hayden's Ferry Review, Huffington Post, the Mississippi Review, and Slate among others.
He is a member of both the National Writers Union, the International Federation of Journalists, and covers San Francisco Health News for Examiner.com.
In an effort to expand the market for Kansas-grown sorghum, a professor at Kansas State University and a group of food science graduate students are conducting research into the use of sorghum in new gluten-free food products for people with celiac disease.
Celiac.com 10/03/2012 - In an effort to expand the market for Kansas-grown sorghum, a professor at Kansas State University and a group of food science graduate students are conducting research into the use of sorghum in new gluten-free food products for people with celiac disease.
Kansas is one of the top sorghum producers in the U.S. In 2006, as the manufacturing of gluten-free products started to take off, sorghum farmers began looking for alternative uses for their crop.
Fadi Aramouni, K-State professor of food science, said that quest triggered the university's research into sorghum as a gluten alternative. In America, sorghum has traditionally been used for animal feed, but the growing market for gluten-free foods, along with the availability of food-grade sorghum, is fueling the use of sorghum in these types of food products, he said.
Aramouni said the research initially focused on developing a sorghum-based tortilla. He and the students looked at the six varieties of sorghum grown in Kansas and determined which one they thought would work best. They considered factors such as grain hardness, protein, carbohydrate and fiber content, shelf life, dough quality, and flavor.
Right away, the research team ran into problems with milling, "because it turns out that the particle size during the milling will affect the properties of the sorghum flour," Armuni said. One problem is that sorghum tends to form a batter rather than a dough, so it is necessary to add eggs and other stabilizers, such as gums, to craft a suitable dough.
Using the facilities at Kansas State's grain and science industry department, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Manhattan, the research team has been able to create tortillas, breads, Belgian waffles and waffle cones from sorghum.
Their research is largely funded by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, and includes comparing the glycemic index of their sorghum products to those made of wheat, corn and rice. The glycemic index measures how a given carbohydrate raises blood glucose.
In the last few years, the team's sorghum-based creations have won first prize in the American Association of Cereal Chemists competition.
using their new knowledge of sorghum, the researchers are now working to create gluten-free soft pretzels, sweet rolls and dinner rolls, vanilla-flavored Waffle Cones and Crunchums, a raspberry-jalapeno-flavored sorghum snack.
"This is not cooking. This is science," Aramouni said.
It is important science, he adds, because people who must eat gluten-free food need better, more nutritious products. What new gluten-free products would you like to see on the market? Share your comments below.


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Police Say Sharmeka Moffitt Set Herself On Fire In Alleged KKK Attack
Yesterday. we were aghast to hear that a 20-year-old Louisiana woman named Sharmeka Moffitt claimed she had been attacked by three men and set on fire, burning the majority of her body, in a hate crime.
Last night, police confirmed that Sharmeka Moffitt actually faked the "attack," scrawled the n-word and KKK on her car, and set herelf ablaze.
Moffitt had originally called 911 to claim she was exercising in a Winnsboro, Louisiana, park on Sunday evening when she was attacked by three men wearing white hoodies who set her on fire and scrawled "KKK" and a racial slur on her car. She was hospitalized in critical condition with third-degree burns over most of her body.
On Tuesday night, a police spokesperson confirmed that Sharmeka Moffitt lied about the attack, damaged her own car, and set herself on fire. "This was a disturbing case for all involved," Franklin Parish Sheriff Kevin Cobb told a press conference. "All indications show this was a self-inflicted situation."
Suffice it to say, we are relieved that the Ku Klux Klan — or any other hate group, or any other human being — was not behind this incident. I can't be the only person whose stomach dropped reading the initial story.
Nevertheless, this acti is an extremely mentally ill, desperately-attention-seeking thing to do. Our thoughts are still with Moffitt and her family and we hope that she gets the help she needs.
[MSN via The New Star]
Contact the author of this post at [email protected] Follow me on Twitter.


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Andrew Breitbart was an innovator and inventor, a man who as much as any shaped the media culture of the Internet age.
But what a flawed hero is our Rupert.Like Hearst, he was never a pioneer or much of an innovator as a newspaper publisher.
Tremendous leadership, excellent manager, innovator, mother of two and cares about the future of all children.
The Daily Beast would like to thank Lexus, sponsor of our innovator Interviews series, for making these chats possible.
Mulally had been an innovator all his career, putting a personal mark on the enormously successful 777 program and—imagine this!
The hollow shells of worn-out institutions rattled wherever this innovator stepped.
Every artist is in some measure an innovator; for his own age he is a romanticist.
He was for them no innovator, but rather the unrecognized tyrant who held them back from real innovation.
If he does any thing out of the common course, he is an innovator.
Even in this era of culture and science, the reformer and the innovator of moral and social customs ran the risk of persecution.


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This is cool research from the NEA. It paints a more clear picture of the arts in the US.
"First in a series of online Arts Data Profiles tallies artists at the state and metro levels, breaks out key demographic characteristics
WASHINGTON, DC -- What do we know about the 2.1 million artists in the United States' labor force? To help answer that question, the NEA today released "Equal Opportunity Data Mining: National Statistics about Working Artists." This new online research tool offers 70 searchable tables with figures on working artists by state and metropolitan area, by demographic information (including race and ethnicity, age, gender, and disability status), and by residence and workplace. The public is welcome to investigate the tables, a map of state-level rankings, and links to original sources.


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- All
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- Decoupage
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- Sale
Large Leopold Desk Caddy – Discontinued Style
$80.00 $64.00
Discontinued quote 20% off!
Here at Peg and Awl we are traditionally quite traditional. Yet we have lately enjoyed experimenting with modernity – combining the traditional with the modern – and it has proved quite fun!
So here we shall introduce, Emmett – our new laser machine! With Emmett's assistance, we have been able to add some of our favourite handwritten quotes – from the journal of yours truly – to our Large Desk Caddy.
Our desk caddies are great for those with more than a few stray pens. This is the large with 11 holes.
Each caddy will vary in grain and indications of the wood's prior use.
- Reclaimed Heart Pine
- Finished with tung oil
- Minimally packaged with a letterpressed tag and jute
Large (11 Holes):
Inches: 10″ long by 3″ wide by 4″ tall
Metric: 25.4 cm long by 7.6 cm wide by 10.2 cm tall


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Investor Relations
Company at a Glance
Nelnet (NYSE: NNI), headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, is one of the leading education planning and education finance companies in the United States and provides innovative educational services in loan servicing, payment processing, education planning, and asset management for families and educational institutions. These products and services help students and families plan, prepare, and pay for their education while making the administrative and financial processes more efficient for schools and financial organizations. Through an innovative product mix, Nelnet has implemented a successful strategy to diversify revenues.
Nelnet's comprehensive approach to the education life-cycle has helped the company further penetrate markets through a variety of businesses that promote strengthening relationships with families, schools and lenders nationwide.
Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, with other offices around the United States and Canada, Nelnet serves customers throughout the education life cycle
Additional Information
See Nelnet's 2016 Annual Report
2016 Letter to Nelnet Shareholders
2015 Letter to Nelnet Shareholders
Phil Morgan: 402.458.3038
Jul 14, 2017
Nelnet to Announce Second Quarter Results on August 7
Electronic Delivery Enrollment
- Please click here to register for Electronic Delivery Enrollment


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10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: Green Umbrella: Zappa's 200 Motels
Last Modified:
Part of GU1 Green Umbrella
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Jeff Taylor, Larry the Dwarf
Michael Des Barres, Rance
Matt Marks, Mark
Zach Villa, Howard
Rich Fulcher, Cowboy Burt
Hila Plitmann, Soprano Solo
Morris Robinson, Bass Solo
Joel David Moore, Frank
Joe Fria, Jeff
Ann Cusack, Donovan/Good Conscience
Alan Ruck, Ginger/Bad Conscience
Diva Zappa, Janet
Sheila Vand, Lucy
Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, music director
James Darrah, director
Emily Anne MacDonald, scenic and properties designer
Cameron Jaye Mock, scenic and lighting designer
Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, costume designer
Adeline Newmann, video designer
Vanessa Dionne, wig designer
John Garofalo, associate lighting designer
Alexis Pletcher, assistant scenic designer
Rebecca Guzzi, assistant costume designer
Margery Simkin, casting
Ian Underwood, keyboard 1/electric alto sax
Randy Kerber, keyboard 2/Hammond organ
Joe Travers, drum set
Scott Carter Thunes, electric bass
Jamie Kime, electric guitar
Zappa: 200 Motels (world premiere)
About This Performance
See all insideOut Walt Disney Concert Hall 10th Anniversary Celebration events
In May 1970 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, Zubin Mehta led the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention in the world premiere of Zappa's Concerto for Mothers and Orchestra. Zappa incorporated some of that music into the score for his surrealistic band-on-the-road film 200 Motels, released the following year, as was a soundtrack double album featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and narrator Theodore Bikel, as well as the Mothers. Zappa was often frustrated with orchestras, but his music was gradually embraced by the classical world, particularly as championed by Pierre Boulez. (Boulez also conducted the LA Phil in a concert that was also part of the same Contempo '70 mini-festival that featured Zappa's Concerto.)
Come for:
A once-in-a-lifetime concert event celebrating the spirit of creative freedom that Walt Disney Concert Hall epitomizes.
Note: This performance contains mature content and language as well as strobe-like lighting effects.
Programs, artists, dates, prices and availability subject to change.
Upbeat Live: pre-concert talks
- Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 7:00pm
Chad Smith
Chief Operating Officer
Chad Smith introduces performers RICH FULCHER (Frank Zappa), MICHAEL DES BARRES (Mr. Ogden), JOE FRIA (Mr. Campbell), and SCOTT THUNES (Justice Mocatta) will read "Drool, Britannia" from Frank Zappa's autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book. Immediately following Chad Smith was joined by GAIL ZAPPA.


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New on the Eagle P3 ProjectWhat's new on the Eagle P3 Project? Check here for the latest news and updates about the project in general. Check the Construction Information page for traffic impacts.
Safety information and resourcesSafety and security are top priorities at RTD and we have a number of programs in place focused on those topics. In addition, we have information available on every aspect of safety and security as it relates to a public transportation agency that you can imagine. It includes everything from staying safe around trains to getting help quickly if you need it. Find it here.
Video: "On track to opening Day"This video takes us from the start of the biggest P3 transit expansion
project in the U.S. back in August 2010 to where it stands now. All three of Eagle's rail lines are scheduled to open in 2016. See the video here.


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HANNA-L ArchivesArchiver > HANNA > 2003-02 > 1044429592
Subject: [HANNA] Will - Archibald HANNA - Fairfield Twp, Westmoreland Co., PA - 17-May-1793
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 02:19:58 EST
Will of Archibald HANNA - Deceased, Page 112, Number 139
(Transcribed by Jim McNamara, from FHLC Film # 1,316,409 SLC, UT on
In the name of God Amen. I Archibald Hanna of the County of Westmoreland and
the Township of Fairfield, a blacksmith finding myself to labour [labor]
under some bodyly [bodily] disorders but blessed be God of perfect mind and
memory do make and ordain this to be my last Will and Testament. In the
following manner and form, I leave to my last dearly Beloved wife her living
out of my land during her natural life she continuing my widow, and I allow
her the House I now live in with the Bedding, Spinning Wheel and Dresser
Furniture to be at her disposal, and also she is to have the use of all the
moveable that is contained in the House as long as she continues my widow,
and at her Death or Marriage then the House with all the Furniture that it
now contains Except the Bedding and Dresser Furniture which belong to my wife
will fall to my second son William, and I do allow my wife two cows, the cow
that carrys [carries] the bell and the Black Cow, all the sheep and Hogs that
is now on my farm and also, I allow her to have Fourteen Pounds to be
collected of my book accounts or a horse of that value with her saddle and I
also allow her my Negro Cato resting her Widowhood, I allow my beloved son
Hugh all the Debt Due me from William Brown of Virginia and also my Negro
Cato at the decease or marriage of my wife - and I allow my second son
William my land I now live on with the cow I bought of James Brady and her
two Calves [and] also Fourteen or fifteen [pounds] to be collected of my book
accounts or a horse of that value to be given to him at anytime before the
decease or marriage of my wife that at the discretion of my executors when
they may think he has need of horse or at any time when he may expect he will
work the land willed to him, Together with all the farming utentials
[utensils] that is now on the farm and allow Mary, Robert William's wife
seven shillings & six pence, and Robert Williams my daughter Mary's Husband
seven shillings and six pence, if my son William should agree to work the
land from and after my Decease and give his mother a sufficient Mintainance
[maintenance] he may hereby have all that he can raise of the land, & if he
do [does] not give her a good living then she is to have the power of renting
it to the Best advantage she can for her. Mintainance [maintenance] of after
my just Debts and Funeral Charges is paid, I allow My Daughter Hannah all the
money that's Due from my customers or Due from any person to me Except that
parts of my accounts that is other ways [otherwise] willed and also my smith
tools I allow to be sold and the price of them with the other money I allow
to be put to Intrest [interest] for her until she arrives to the age of
Eighteen years and I also allow her a two year old Heffer [heifer] that is
now on my farm. I hereby disallow my son William to sell my land willed too
him or any part thereof During the Widowhood of his mother, Thereby, appoint
my friends James Pollock and James Brady Junior to be Executors of this my
last will and Testament. I hereby utterly Disallow or revoke and Disanul
[annul] all other former Wills, Legacies or Bequeaths by me in any wise
heretofore willed or Bequeathed. Ratifying and confirming this and no other
to be my last will and Testament in witness, where of I have here unto set my
hand and seal this seventeenth day of May in the year of our Lord
one-thousand seven Hundred and Ninety-three.
Archibald HANNA - <Seal>
Recorded June 20th 1794
Signed Sealed Published Pronounced to be the last will and Testament of the
said Archibald Hanna in Presence of the subscribers
[Signatures follow: ARCHIBALD, McGUIRE, SAMUEL (His 'X' Mark) PHILLIPS]
Jim McNAMARA
BIFHS-USA, Newsletter Editor - http://www.rootsweb.com/~bifhsusa/index.html
Searching Surnames:
McNAMARA-McGRATH, CLEARY-CONWAY,
This thread:


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Barbecues are an all-American phenomenon that not only bring people together, but also get them talking. There's no better way to be a part of the conversation than by having your brand name adorned on clients' BBQ tools and grill sets. Have a look through our sizzling hot range of promotional goodies and see what gets those creative juices flowing. At ePromos, we'll work with you to pick and design tasteful BBQ gear that recipients will be glad to use repeatedly.
This promotional stainless steel promo BBQ set with spatula, tongs and fork in a elegant wood carrying case make a great gift for the summer.
Twelve piece promo BBQ set makes a great gift to show your appreciation.
A beautiful promotional BBQ set made of sustainable bamboo that even the pickiest of pandas will love.
Promotional Cooler Bag and Grill including the grill! A unique, attention-getting promotional gift!
This promo BBQ set comes packed with everything you'll need for a day at the grill.
Using only the best FDA compliant materials and all natural bamboo case this BBQ promo gift set will sure fire up your next event.
Complete stainless steel barbecue promo gift set with sleek stainless steel case.
Stainless steel barbecue promo gift set with spatula, tongs, fork, knife and brush.


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Some might say Big Buck Hunter – a hunting-themed arcade game in which players use plastic rifles to blast away at digitised deer, elk, caribou and a variety of other fauna – is typically American. And they'd be right. Unapologetically brash (the game features dolled-up, scantily-clad female "guides"), Big Buck Hunter also happens to be a moose steak-sized slab of fun, particularly when paired with that other great American trend: a beer and a shot of whiskey. Or several.
Big Buck Hunter has grown into something of a phenomenon Stateside, with a grand tournament taking place annually, a member's club enabling players to track their progress online, and arcade cabinets commonplace in the nation's not-so-salubrious drinking establishments. This year saw the release of the 1080p Big Buck HD (pictured), which this US-residing journalist can confirm is a level above the older CRT-equipped machines. Feast your eyes on the trailer below and feel your trigger finger itch.
If you want to try Big Buck Hunter for yourself, there are iOS versions of Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari (the latter for iPad). But we can't imagine it's the same without the stench of stale beer in your nostrils and a garish fake firearm in your hands.
Big Buck Hunter
The kind of bars that have a Big Buck Hunter machine often feature a jukebox. Yes, we know that they aren't "new" tech by any stretch of the imagination, but they seems to have become all but defunct in the UK – where you're more likely to be subjected the bar staff's compilation of X Factor rejects than music you'd genuinely like to put in your ears.
We're happy to report that jukeboxes are still going strong in the US, whether it's the Internet-connected modern variety that features every song under the sun, or a hulking old model with a "carefully curated" set of alt-country CDs to flip through. We've even found one local bar in Brooklyn where the jukebox is free – but for fear of causing a stampede of thrifty musos, we're keeping its identity to ourselves.
Image courtesy of Flickr user Max Howell
This isn't an America-wide trend by any means, but New York's Metro Transit Authority subway system makes the London Underground feel positively archaic. The trains don't run quite as frequently, but they do run all night, every night – a big reason why NYC really is the city that never sleeps. The subway carriages are also more spacious than our Tube trains, and all of them are air conditioned to provide welcome relief during the Big Apple's brutal summers. We'd prefer to keep the Tube's cushioned seats, mind you – the MTA use smooth plastic seating that's easy to hose down; we'll leave you to ponder just why that might be necessary.
While 4G LTE is a relatively new technology in the UK and is currently available through only one network (Everything Everywhere), US smartphone users have a veritable wealth of options at their metaphorical table. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, US Cellular, Leap Wireless and C Spire all offer LTE, although coverage varies between the networks and is generally limited to large urban areas.
While weirdly-named, distinctly average Android phones are even more commonplace in America than they are here, we can't help but regard the HTC Droid DNA with envious eyes. Exclusive to the Verizon network, it features a 1080p full HD display – still rarer than hen's teeth on a smartphone – as well as a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 2GB of RAM, Beats Audio and 4G LTE capabilities. We want one, and we want one now.
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Her breasts were growing!
She snatched her hands away from the hooks between the cups of her bra and cupped them underneath her bosom. Her sense of touch confirmed what her eyes claimed: the sensible A- cup foundation was stretching and straining as the glands inside pressed outward. Soft flesh bulged around, over, and under the cups. She felt the straps across her shoulders and back stretch and bind, pressing into her. The pressure was distracting, but not enough to divert her attention from the impossible happening before her eyes.
Stitches strained and popped. A metallic creaking brought her attention back to the clasps of the bra. Her eyes goggled as she watched the three small hooks bend straight, at the same time the eyelets began to pull free of their stitching. She shifted her balance to accommodate the increasing bulk, suddenly aware of the now-painful pressure from the straps. She dug into the heavy, swelling softness at her front, determined to pull the much-too-small bra off over her head. At just that added tension the overstressed stitching and warping hooks gave way together. With a tearing, ripping snapping the bra disintegrated.
Her breasts surged and bounced with sudden freedom. She took an involuntary step forward to catch her balance and cradled them in her arms. She felt the soft flesh of them slide over her forearms and wrists and push against her upper arms as they continued to expand. She couldn't see her feet now when she looked down, even with one extended forward. They were heavy, and pulled at her shoulders and back. Yet perhaps because it was alien and not really painful, the sensation was pleasant, sensual... even erotic. She felt a warmth arise below, and her breath caught. Her hips described a slow, languid circle, her eyelids slid halfway shut, and she smiled as she looked down at her breasts, now large enough to spill out of the cradle of her arms.
She took a step back, suddenly awkward in her heels, and half-sat, half-fell onto the couch. Her breasts landed with a slapping sound on her thighs, their weight warm and soft. Breath ragged, she ran her hands over the expanding curves, reveling in their size and softness. A fingertip brushed the edge of one aureole, and her gasp ended in a little cry. Her nipples were erect, achingly so. She reached forward with both hands, straining a little, and lightly, ever so lightly, brushed the tumescent nubs...
As her head cleared she marveled. First at the strength of the orgasm she'd just had; only her time with a Tantric master even came close to such intensity. Second that her breasts seemed to have liked it also. Before they filled her lap. Now they overflowed, spreading out over her knees and to either side, pinning her legs.
A small corner of her mind worried about dealing with such a chest. But the majority of her attention now was on reaching between her legs to pleasure herself. She ached with need. But getting around the bulk in front of her was problematic. She leaned forward, trying to part herself with one hand while reaching down with the other. She watched her breasts swell more as she did so. Her center of balance shifted; with a small cry of dismay she fell forward. Her engorged nipples buried themselves in the short, rough pile of the carpet, and sweet electricity fired through her. She spasmed, cried out -- and felt another orgasm coming on the heels of that one, fueled by her ecstatic convulsions.
She eagerly rode the wave, feeling her breasts swell even larger underneath her. Now they supported her ribs, now her belly. She reached one hand back, arching her back. Down between the cheeks of her rear, she strained and touched her hot, swollen lips. Desperately she parted them, rubbing, flicking the hard nub nestled inside--
Her breasts were huge pillows beneath her, her nipples and clitoris on fire. She didn't ever want this to stop. But that little voice of rationality grabbed her figurative ears and screamed. How could she live with breasts this size? She couldn't even stand up! She was going to keep cumming until she died from exhaustion1 They'd find her stiff, her hand stuffed between her legs, her breasts huge slabs of cold meat--
She sat up with a cry, grabbing her chest. For a few moments she couldn't figure out how she'd gotten clothes on again so quickly, or how she'd gotten back up on the couch. And her breasts were tiny again! Where had gone all that heaving, sighing flesh?
Then she looked around at the messy living room, strewn with the debris of last night's party, and remembered. She looked at the empty little plastic bottle on the table, its label garishly proclaiming its original contents. In pink puffy letters was the legend "BOOBYFRUIT," with the slogan beneath, "Double your cup size, double your fun!" She remembered now getting the little bottle, laughing at the joke on her petite size, downing all the pink jelly beans at one go, making jokes about outstripping Dolly Parton, Wendy Whoppers, and any other large-breasted female who came to mind. And she almost remembered falling asleep on the couch after everybody else had gone home, with one last smile at the little bottle. Of course it had been a dream. Things like that just don't happen in real life.
Or do they?
Did she feel a stirring under her shirt?
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For the United States, KORUS offers diverse economic advantages. Most strikingly, KORUS will open Korea's service market to U.S. exports, allowing the United States to exploit its competitive advantages in financial services, education and information and communications technologies. The agreement also will lead to increased imports from Korea, which in turn will help the United States achieve greater economic specialization. The likely effects of more specialization—and of increased Korean investment in the United States—include greater U.S. efficiency, productivity, economic growth and job growth. Meanwhile, U.S. investors will gain new opportunities in the increasingly active Asia-Pacific region
Korea, Colombia, Panama: Pending Trade Accords Offer Economic and Strategic Gains for the United States - Brookings Institution
Current Status: Blessed (1)
Seeded on Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:40 PM
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I wanted to start my review before I had my procedure, but really didn't get the chance. I think I owe it to everyone on this forum my own experience as I don't think I could have come all this way without the support and information on here. I had my consultation on the 16th of December and my surgery was booked for the 16th of January. I have always been a very confident girl, my nose was actually never such a big issue, but I always felt it always looked out of place
No Looking Back........ -Newcastle Upon Tyne, GB
4 more days to go.....
I have posted 2 pictures of myself, but I will post more of my profile from every angle. I am currently on day 3, the swelling has gone down a little but it's still early days.
getting there slowly
3 more sleeps till I have the cast taken off! I have a burst blood vesel in my right eye which I noticed after the surgery, it looks quite bad and it's still there. I called my doctor today to ask her if I should be worried, she asked me to come in tomorrow but I was not confident enough to leave the house and told her so. It sounds like it's something quite common especially with a rhinoplasty.
bruisy birthday!
I have bruised quite badly, I think it's because I'm slightly anemic, but compared to pictures on here mine is quite bad. I really hope it settles, not long till my cast comes off. Trying really hard not to focus on that day as I always feel down and somewhat sad about not seeing my old nose again........has anyone felt like that? I'm trying to focus on positive things like being able to wear my hair in a centre parting and not worrying about how large my nose looks in pictures. I had a closed procedure, so I'm hoping I won't scar? I just want to emphasise on the emotional side of having such a big procedure done, had it not been for certain people in my life supporting me and being there for me, I really would have struggled. Day 3 was the hardest I broke down and couldn't pick myself back up again for a while. I think I upset my kids too as they're not used to seeing their mum so helpless and weak :-( it's so important to have positive people around you for this very sensitive time. It's also a good idea to refrain yourself from anything that might give you a negative insight into rhinoplasty, because let's face it...........its done and there is no going back, so being in a good frame of mind for the recovery period is a must! I hope everyone is well and anyone with upcoming surgery, good luck and well done for coming this far. X
sorry for not updating!
Hi all, I've had my lovely mother in law come to look after me while I recover. Since I last updated you all, I have had my cast taken off............I was devastated! But fast forward 4 days, I,m liking it. The swelling has come down immensely but it took time, only today (post 12 days) has the bridge swelling come down. My tip is still slightly swollen, but I know in good time it will go down. I have so far been very lucky in terms of pain, but I have bruised quite badly and the burst blood vessels in my right eye is still there, but I am going to be patient. I've been taking arnica tablets religiously and also applying the cream, but in all honesty, I don't think it's helping at all. One thing I would love to recommend though is steam inhalation with vicks. My surgeon told me to dissolve some vicks in hot water in a bowl and very gently inhale it with a towel over your head so to not let the steam escape, come out every time you feel you need air. I didn't do it right away I waited 2 days after my cast removal to do this as I felt a little unsure about it at first, but wow!!!!! I,m so glad my surgeon advised me on this. At first I didn't understand how it would benefit as I wasn't congested, but after doing it a couple of times, I definitely see and feel the difference. It softens the "things" that have hardened up inside your nose and brings them down. I would be very careful though when cleaning these bits out as my surgeon was very thorough about not picking and poking as it can be very dangerous, so be careful. Apart from the swelling, bruising and burst blood vessels, I can't complain about much else. My nostrils are definitely bigger, but I'm hoping and praying its just swelling. Has anyone else noticed this? I use to love my before nostrils, but my surgeon said they haven't been touched, and I have faith and trust him, to know in time I will see the old shape and size of my nostrils again. I am hoping that when I update my next review I can change my status to "worth it" but for now I need time to see how things go. On the day I had my cast removed I was sick with nerves, I took some pk's and went to my appointment. I was met by a lovely nurse (I wish I had her during my stay for surgery) she took me through and prepared me mentally for what to expect and feel, but assured me that it will change over the course of time and boy, was she right! Anyway, my lovely surgeon came toaassist the nurse in taking of my cast and to also check my nose. I had already made the conscious decision not to look at myself in the mirror in fear of my reaction in front of a stranger. The nurse understood, but still thought it would be better if I did before I left, I wasn't sure............the cast was taken off, it wasn't painful just uncomfortable, the painful part was having the plasters taken off that held the cast in place, but my nurse tried really hard to be gentle. Once it was taken off it felt so strange, the nurse told my surgeon about how I didn't want to see my nose, he also respected that but also advised that I should. As they were both discussing my "unseen" nose to me, I welled up when my surgeon said it was looking good. He spoke to me for a while and asked me to see him in a month's time. After he left I was alone with the nurse. I got up and showed her a picture of my old nose, she told me it's alot straighter now and has a lovely silhouette, I felt like crying again. I told her I will put on my sunglasses and look in the mirror, so that I'm not startled and I am so glad I did. With my sunglasses I could just see the tip, but my bridge was narrowed down and that was the one thing that was worrying me, would it suit me, would I like it? So many questions were pounding into my head. I bravely took of my sunglasses and looked for about 3 seconds, I felt sick...........I looked like a character from the avatar! Anyway my surgeon was fantastic and realistic at explaining to me what to really expect, so I guess I kept all that in mind and dealt with it well, which the nurse thought I had dealt with well. She told me every day it will change and I will love it, I really did believe her as she knows from doing so many cast removals and follow ups how much gradual change occurs. I am so far happy with my choice of surgeon and hospital. I have posted some more pics, but as I have really bad bruises under my eye I have edited them out. I will keep you all posted soon. Xxxx
Mr McLean was really nice and very professional.
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