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Desktop grids: Connecting everyone to science
|Today's personal computers are powerful but, most of the time, a large proportion of their computational power is left unused. A desktop grid takes this unused capacity, no matter what its location, and puts it to work solving scientific problems. With over 1 billion desktop computers in use, desktop grids can offer a low cost, readily available computing resource for scientists while allowing citizens across the world to contribute to scientific research. Together with grids and supercomputers, desktop grids can be a useful complement to the e-Infrastructure landscape.
Index :
|What is a desktop grid?
Desktop grids fall into two categories - local and volunteer. While local desktop grids are comprised mainly of a set of computers at one location, a business or institute for example, the resources in a volunteer desktop grid are provided by citizens all over the world.
Today researchers are using desktop grids to simulate protein folding (Folding@home), find ways to provide clean water (IBM's World Community Grid), and model climate change (Climateprediction.net). Scientific problems that can be split up into small tasks and sent to different computers for computation are perfect for solving with desktop grids. These projects farm out tasks to computers located across the globe which send the results back to scientists once they are complete.
Desktop grids can open up computing to researchers that otherwise would be unable to access such large amounts of computing power. For example the Citizen Cyberscience Centre has been set up to help scientists in developing countries access the power of internet-based volunteer networks. Initiatives such as Africa@Home and Asia@Home have also encouraged more researchers in these regions to use desktop grids.
A large majority of volunteer computing projects are based on open source software called BOINC. BOINC allows scientists to plug their own projects into the software, so volunteers can easily download and run applications on their computer. The BOINC client, used by the volunteers, can be configured to run only when the PC is not in use, often as a screensaver, or to run at the lowest priority while the PC is in use. Other desktop grid middlewares include XtremWeb, developed by INRIA/CNRS, which is mainly used to manage computations on desktop computers within an organisation.
David Anderson, BOINC director - "BOINC is being used by over 50 volunteer computing projects, doing research in everything from quantum mechanics to cosmology. About 430,000 PCs from all over the world, many of them equipped with GPUs, participate in these projects. Together they supply about 6 PetaFLOPS of computing power."
|Bringing physics home
LHC@home 2.0 aims to bring the world's largest particle accelerator into your home. The platform – an extension of the already successful LHC@home – allows volunteers to connect to CERN-based research projects simply by donating their extra computing power. The project Test4Theory, for example, simulates high-energy particle collisions which scientists can compare to real-life collisions, such as those occurring in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
"My dream is to be able to establish a 'virtual LHC', which would require being able to generate 40 million events per second, as much as the real LHC, running at full steam," says Peter Skands, the lead scientist behind Test4Theory. "We estimate that it would take somewhere between 10 000 and 100 000 connected computers to achieve this, a combined amount of computing power that we have only faintly begun to imagine, since we started working with LHC@home 2.0. With the enthusiasm we have seen in the public so far, there definitely appears to be awesome possibilities for what we can do with this platform."
|Nicole Vasapolli, BOINC volunteer - "I'm a meteorologist so was originally interested in donating my computing time for climate research as it was related to my work. But, as time went on, I began to take part in many other exciting life science projects, to assist scientists in solving pressing problems. I've found that BOINC is free, easy to install and it's an entertaining way to be part of scientific progress."
|Netting malaria
Anyone going on holiday to a malaria-affected country will often head to their doctor for a course of malaria tablets. But for those who live in countries at risk, taking preventative medicines is impractical.
So what do citizens of these areas do? They use mosquito nets or insect repellent, treat their houses with insecticide, or get rapid treatment in the event of becoming ill.
While none of these methods are perfect, each can make a big impact given the widespread nature of the disease. Malaria is preventable and treatable but three quarters of a million people die from it every year, putting healthcare services in affected countries under enormous strain.
Healthcare providers and governments need to find ways to determine the most effective combination of treatments for their area. They can use mathematical models to simulate the effectiveness of different combinations of malaria control, and work out what the best solution is for a given situation.
In 2003 researchers at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute started running malaria models to answer these questions. Starting with just 50 of their own PCs, they soon opened up the project via BOINC and malariacontrol.net was born. Today 50,000 people contribute computing time to the project, through over 70,000 PCs. In total, malariacontrol.net and its volunteers have notched up over 10,000 CPU years helping healthcare professionals fight malaria.
|Enhancing other e-infrastructures
Desktop grids are just one of a number of ways in which researchers can access computing capacity. They can provide a useful complement to the other facilities in the e-infrastructure landscape. While supercomputers are able to solve a wide variety of complex computational problems they are expensive and are limited to a relatively small number of researchers. Cluster-based grids can provide a cheaper solution for more researchers, but for a more limited set of applications. Assuming the computers making up a desktop grid are already paid for, they can open up computational research to more scientists at an even lower cost.
For a discussion of the difference in costs between desktop grids and the Amazon EC Cloud see this video: http://vimeo.com/23053530
Desktop grids have high capacity but not a guaranteed quality of service as the available computing power depends on which computers are not being used. EDGI hopes to include a cloud in the infrastructure, which can be used as and when necessary. This will allow the service to be used by applications which need to be completed within a specific deadline.
By integrating desktop grids with other e-infrastructures, researchers can run applications across different types of computing resources, matching parts of the computational problem to the most suitable execution environments. For example, some parts of an application can be run on a desktop grid, and others on a high-end supercomputer. Collaborations between a number of infrastructure providers, such as those established through the International Desktop Grid Federation (IDGF) are already in place to enable these applications. On the international scale the DEGISCO project aims to export and share desktop grid knowledge outside of the EU, while policy bodies like e-IRG are preparing the setup of the legal and political frameworks.
|Mikhail Posypkin, Institute for Systems Analysis of Russian Academy of Sciences - "Desktop grids offer a cost-effective alternative to supercomputers or service grids. Unlike supercomputers or service grids large desktop grids are almost free: all you need is a meaningful distributed application. Presently desktop grids can contribute their resources to existing grid infrastructures thus producing a really powerful combined distributed computing infrastructure."
|Vicky Huang, ASGC - "Asia is a geographically large region, with diverse and scattered resources (technologies and facilities) coupled with the general problem of insufficient investment from government in academic hardware supply. As such, the concept of desktop grids and volunteer computing is very suitable and useful to popularise in the Asia-Pacific region through initiatives such as DEGISCO."
|Desktop computing challenges
Desktop grids can provide a variety of different benefits, however their use raises a number of challenges. A Desktop Grids for eScience Road Map produced by the DEGISCO project in July 2011 took a closer look at some of the following issues:
• Supporting a desktop grid: Aside from having to develop applications that can run across a number of heterogeneous systems, the distributed nature of a desktop grid poses unique problems. As volunteers provide the resources, it is difficult to test and fix applications.
• Making it green: Desktop grids are often touted as a 'green solution' as they use computing resources already in existence. However, in reality, determining whether a desktop grid is green, or not, is complex. How volunteers choose to donate their computing time plays a big part in this – adding on a CPU load to a machine running at a low capacity doesn't cost much energy, but using a computer that would otherwise be switched off does. Even the country a machine is running in can make a real difference. Connecting a computer in a hot country such as Dubai to a desktop grid is likely to use more energy, as the machine needs to be kept cool.
• Local policies: Desktop grids are subject to the local ICT policies at the institute or organisation that is hosting the donated computer. For example, if a company chooses to switch off computers at night, this can affect the availability of the desktop grid.
• Evolving hardware: Today increasing numbers of people are accessing the internet through new technologies such as mobile phones instead of PCs. In the future this evolving situation could have consequences for the desktop grid concept as it currently stands.
|Morgan Duarte, BOINC volunteer - "I'm sharing my computing resources with BOINC to help solve tomorrow's challenges and be more involved in scientific progress and our future. I believe it is an efficient way to use our continuously increasing computers' power without affecting my own personal use. For me, volunteering my computer for science is very rewarding."
|Leslie Versweyveld, AlmereGrid & IDGF - "The special feature desktop grids have to offer is that they are already part of the e-Infrastructures landscape. We are actually sitting on a huge source of computational power that is largely left unused in numbers of universities, research institutes, companies, home offices and households. It is already there, we only need to tap into it, technically gain access to it and transform this enormous resource of computational power to fuel e-science research in all possible areas. Basically, it is a mere question of ecological recycling."
|When citizens become scientists
When Einstein@Home discovered a new pulsar its discovery wasn't credited to astronomers, but to its volunteers - Daniel Gebhardt, from Mainz, Germany, and husband-and-wife team Chris and Helen Colvin of Ames, Iowa. Pulsars are highly magnetised, rotating neutron stars that emit a beam of electromagnetic radiation. Einstein@Home, a BOINC project, was originally set up to search for gravitational waves in data from the US LIGO Observatory.
However in March 2009, the project also began to use its volunteers' computers to search for signals from radio pulsars in observations from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The new pulsar, discovered in October 2010 and named PSR J2007+2722, was the first deep-space discovery by Einstein@Home. Since then a further seven pulsars have been discovered by Einstein@Home volunteers, showing how donating your computer can make a real difference.
|Francois Grey, Citizen Cyberscience Centre - "In my view, the most revolutionary aspect of volunteer computing is the public participation. Far from being passive, many participants turn volunteer computing into a serious hobby. Some contribute to debugging the software, others help newcomers in the forums, still others set up teams and events to encourage more participation. I predict that ultimately, this will lead to public involvement in setting the agenda for the research that is carried out using public resources. Just as has already happened for journalism on the web, the distinction between amateur and professional will start to blur."
|Managing a desktop grid
Unlike supercomputers or cluster-based grids, desktop grids have an extra component that needs to be managed – their volunteers. Using volunteers to donate computing time forms the basis of all volunteer desktop grids, and can create positive links between citizens and science.
The first step - recruiting volunteers - needn't be a difficult one. When the project LHC@home began, its creators thought it would attract no interest. However one thousand people downloaded the application in the first 24 hours with no publicity effort at all. Often volunteers are interested in the area of science they are contributing towards such as searching for new drugs or ways to generate clean water. AlmereGrid has taken recruitment one step further, by setting up a 'city grid' intended to reach out to volunteers that may not be traditionally interested in donating computing time. AlmereGrid has partnered with local and national companies across Almere in the Netherlands to disseminate information on volunteer computing and get more people interested in the topic.
While projects do not need to pay volunteers to use computing resources, they do need to keep volunteers informed. To ensure volunteers' interest is sustained over a project's lifetime they should be provided with feedback and information on how the project's research is progressing.
|Fundraising through science
The Charity Engine has ambitions to be a worldwide computer. Launching in summer 2011, Charity Engine will provide volunteers' computing time to a collection of hand-chosen projects and raise money for charities at the same time. By joining Charity Engine, its volunteers will also have the chance to win a cash prize of up to a million d ollars, every few weeks.
Charity Engine raises funds for its associated charities, as well for its prize draws, by selling volunteers' computing time in bulk to science and industry. Its volunteers are not asked to support any particular science project they simply agree to let Charity Engine send ethical work to their PCs.
"Our volunteers are joining to make computergenerated charity donations and prize draw entries, they might not actually care about the science," says Mark McAndrew, founder of Charity Engine. "But that's fine, because all that idle, wasted computing power will make Charity Engine the ultimate supercomputer - and we love the science."
Mark McAndrew has discussed the Charity Engine in more detail on the Citizen Cyberscience blog.
CPU: Central Processing Unit; a microprocessor (a processor on an integrated circuit) inside a computer that can execute computer programs.
GPU: Graphics Processing Unit; a device that renders graphics for a computer. GPUs have a highly parallel structure that makes them more effective than generalpurpose CPUs for some complex processing tasks.
Quality of service: the ability to guarantee a certain level of performance.
|For more information:
AlmereGrid: www.almeregrid.nl
BOINC: http://boinc.berkeley.edu
Charity Engine: www.charity-engine.org
Citizen Cyberscience Centre: www.citizencyberscience.net
DEGISCO: www.degisco.eu
Desktop Grids for eScience - A Road map: http://bit.ly/DEGISCOroadmap
EDGI: www.edgi-project.eu
Einstein@Home: http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu
e-IRG: www.e-irg.eu
IDGF: www.desktopgridfederation.org
LHC@home: http://lhcathome.web.cern.ch
Malariacontrol.net: www.malariacontrol.net
XtremWeb: www.xtremweb.net
EGI: www.egi.eu
iSGTW: www.isgtw.org
e-ScienceTalk: www.e-sciencetalk.org
|e-ScienceTalk is co-funded by the EC under FP7


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Jessica Simpson Is Getting Huge
Jessica Simpson is getting huge!
The country singer was spotted showing off her growing baby belly in a skin tight, cleavage-baring grey dress as she made her way around New York City. Jessica tried to hide from the paparazzi but she had no luck this time. She was also spotted at the 25th Annual Footwear News Achievement Awards held at MoMA in a red mini-dress.
Check out Jessica Simpson's growing baby bump and comment below! (Insights)

subset: commoncrawl


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ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio – Different local, state and federal law enforcement agents gathered together to serve an arrest warrants to dozens of individuals in a massive meth lab bust early Wednesday morning in Ashtabula County.
The Madison Township Police Department, Geneva Police Department and the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office were among the law enforcement agencies who were involved in the huge drug bust. They were also the agencies who were involved in the investigation which started last year.
The eight month long investigation by the three agencies led to the issuance of warrants of arrest for sixty five individuals, according to the reports.
Madison Township Police Chief Leonard Del Calzo said that they were able to secure five dozens felony warrants for the raid that took place early Wednesday morning. Some of those persons who were taken into custody were arrested last year for the same crime, according to the reports.
Those who were arrested in the meth lab manufacturing bust were men and women whose age range from twenty's to forty's. There were more than one hundred twenty law enforcement officials who assisted in the drug bust.
The individuals who were arrested were arraigned 9:00 and 9:30 Wednesday morning. There were two separate arraignments because of the number of persons who were arrested.
Some of the law enforcement officials are still securing the area where the bust took place. They are still waiting for the team who will do the clean up.
There were several meth labs that were discovered to be active during the massive meth lab bust, according to the reports.
There was no report of any person who was hurt during the raid. There were no reports of individuals who resisted arrest when the warrant was implemented.
Godfrey Obe is a news writer for NinjaCOPS.com where you can get G-Force nunchaku with swivel, rechargeable stun gun flashlights and law enforcement stun guns.


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RC Circuit Exponential Decay
Purpose: to demonstrate the exponential decay of the voltage across an RC circuit; to discover the relation of the time constant of the decay to nuclear physics concepts such as half-life and lifetime
Materials: 9 volt battey, 9 v battery clip, resistor (~1 megohm), capacitor (~10 mF), connecting wires, timer
1. Connect the capacitor and resistor parallel to each other; then connect the battery and clip to the capacitor-resistor combination. See the schematic diagram and the sketch in Figure 1. If the capacitor is polarized, make sure that the black (+) lead of the clip goes to the + side of the capacitor.
2. Wait for 2-5 minutes. During this time the capacitor will charge up.
3, Set the multimeter to read voltage.
4. Disconnect the battery from the clip and immediately connect the multimeter to the clip. See Figure 2. Start your timer and record the voltage for time 0 in your data table. A data table is given in the student worksheet.
5. Every ten seconds, read and record the voltage. Continue this for at least two minutes or until your voltage readings change only very slowly from interval to interval.
6. Make a graph of voltage as a function of time. (See the student worksheet.)
Determine if the curve you get in your graph truly indicates exponential decay. One way to do this is to graph the natural logarithm of the voltage as a function of time. First, divide every voltage V by your initial voltage Vo. Then find the natural logarithm of V/Vo for each time. Finally, graph ln (V/Vo) as a function of time. Do you get a straight line with a negative slope? If you do, then you have an exponential decay according to the equation V = Vo e-t/t, where t is the time constant of the RC circuit.
The decay of elementary particles and the decay of nuclear isotopes follow the same mathematical form. In particle physics, the particle lifetimetakes the place of the time constant. In nuclear physics, the half-life is the time for the number of atoms of the isotope to decay to half its value; how would you find the half-life of our RC circuit?
Data Table:
Time t (sec)
Voltage V (volts)
ln (V/Vo)
Make an additional or a longer table if data runs beyond 120 sec.
[Albany Quarknet] [Experiments] [Tizzler Decay] [Soda] [RC Circuit] [Muon Lifetime] [Cosmic Muons]


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The University Record, February 15, 1999
By Rebecca A. Doyle
Jose Marie Griffiths, university chief information officer and executive director, Information Technology Division, announced this week that the University will move to create a federation of university information technology organizations to better plan and manage the Universitys information technology infrastructure and services. Griffiths explained that the federation will evolve as she and others identify how best to configure new working relationships and responsibilities.
Information technology is now a major resource for this institution in carrying out our strategic initiatives, she said. We need a coherent community of all our information technology experts who can assist us in identifying the threats and opportunities that information technology [IT] poses for the endeavors of an academic community and how best to manage this critical University resource.
Griffiths said that the new direction in coordination of information technology services follows the recommendations of the Information Technology Strategic Directions Group, a group of deans and executive officers representatives. Last year the group charged the Information Technology Architecture Committee with creating a plan that takes into consideration the role of central and unit-based IT organizations and asked the committee to address the potential for a federated IT organizational structure and governance.
The IT Architecture Group reported its findings in November, recommending the establishment of a more formal federation of the information technology providers from across the University to better plan and manage the Universitys information technology infrastructure and to provide an increasing quality of service to the entire University community.
Griffiths will take steps to convene a Federation Executive Committee that will be responsible for continuing to identify the shared needs and available resources for IT across the institution, she said. As an example of shared needs in information technology, she cited recruitment and retention of skilled staff and the issue of how best to deploy scarce resources.
The committee also will be asked to determine those services that are best provided centrally and those that are best provided locally. When the University moved to a distributed computing environment in the mid-1990s, many units moved to their own electronic mail, word processing and database management applications, including taking on the responsibility of upgrading and maintaining them. This also involved being responsible for security on departmental networks and individual computers. That distributed computing system replaced the previous very central one in which most of the work in information technology was accomplished at workstations or terminals connected to one giant computer that was maintained by the Information Technology Division, including nearly all campuswide applications.
Griffith recognizes the still-growing importance of information technology to both students and faculty and notes that the some 1,500 individuals across campus working in information technology point to several opportunities to re-examine how we have distributed resources to different parts of the institution.
Access to technology tools is so critical to all of our students and faculty that we must find ways to maximize every IT investment we make and leverage its capabilities to as much of our community as possible.
The initiative is supported by the provost. Just as we emphasize the value of interdisciplinary and collaborative work in other University endeavors, says Nancy Cantor, we also recognize the benefits of this approach for IT support and services.
Griffiths approach to gathering IT resources and expertise will guide the U-M to a less widely spread and more efficient use of those resources, but she understands that change takes time and is sometimes difficult.
I recognize that it is easy to say that we will move now to a federation, but it will be difficult to behave that way for some time. We will all need to work together to grow the federated activities and structure, and to design something that will take into consideration all the various needs and interests of our diverse and extensive institution.


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July 9, 2003
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be here to testify before the Subcommittee on VA's role in the care of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. With me today is Dr. Craig Hyams, VA's Chief Consultant for Occupational and Environmental Health.
Because over 200,000 U.S. troops have been engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I am grateful for the opportunity to emphasize that VA is prepared to provide high quality health care and disability assistance to Iraqi Freedom veterans. Since the Gulf War in 1991, VA has developed and implemented improved policies and programs to care for our nation's newest war veterans. As we have all witnessed over the last couple of months, this conflict is not over and our men and women in uniform remain in harms way and deserve our best efforts.
Health Care following Combat
It is critical to provide high-quality health care after every war. Congress understands this and under 38 U.S.C. § 1710(e)(1)(D), added by Public Law 105-368, VA was authorized to provide health care for a two-year period to veterans who serve on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Gulf War, or in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 1, 1998. Consequently, combat veterans, like those now serving in Iraq, have a two-year period of access to free VA health care, unless there is sufficient medical evidence to conclude that the illness is not attributable to that service.
To date, 22 combat veterans have been transferred to VA from DoD for specialized, long-term health care and rehabilitation. These patients have had spinal cord injuries, gunshot and grenade wounds, and other combat trauma. There have been relatively few veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom who have otherwise presented for care at a VA medical center because most combat troops are still serving in Iraq or remain on active duty. The Iraqi war veterans presenting to our clinics have had a varied range of health problems. No illnesses due to chemical or biological agents have been reported.
Assessment of Health Care Needs
In addition to providing high-quality health care for veterans, VA now has the capability to collect and analyze comprehensive health information with its computerized outpatient and inpatient medical records. The capability to assess the health status of veterans has been greatly improved since the Gulf War. Standard health care databases help VA evaluate specific health questions. Importantly, VA clinicians are able to review veterans' prior treatment in VA when the veterans obtain care from the Department. This capability will support broad, long-term, and comprehensive assessment of health status because many veterans return frequently for VA health care and are often seen in different clinics, and may be evaluated in different parts of the country for specialized health care needs.
VA is working with DoD to obtain a roster of recent combat veterans to facilitate analysis of computerized health records. Furthermore, veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom are eligible for evaluation in the Gulf War clinical registry. Every Iraqi Freedom veteran is being offered an opportunity to participate in this registry, which provides a thorough clinical evaluation and documentation of symptoms and potential exposures.
Supplementary Clinical Programs
VA is developing a new clinical reminder that will pop-up on the computer screens of VA health care providers when they encounter a new patient who may be a veteran of the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. This clinical reminder will ensure that health care providers evaluate veterans for deployment-related medical and psychological risks. It will also provide Internet links with relevant clinical practice guidelines and exposure health risk information.
In addition, the VA Depleted Uranium Follow-Up Program at the Baltimore VAMC is coordinating screening of the urine of veterans who may have been exposed to depleted uranium during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The service is being provided to both VA patients and to the Defense Department for active duty troops. The results of this testing are provided directly to the veteran and their VA or DoD physician.
Ensuring High Quality Post-Deployment Health Care
Specialized health care during the post-deployment period can help prevent long-term health problems. Therefore, VA and DoD developed evidence-based clinical guidance for treating veterans following deployment. Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG's), which are based on the best scientifically supported practices, give health care providers the structure, clinical tools, and educational resources they need to diagnose and manage patients with deployment-related health concerns. VA and DoD have developed two post-deployment CPG's: a general purpose Post-Deployment CPG and a CPG for unexplained fatigue and pain. Our goal is to make sure that all VA health care providers are well-informed about specific deployments and related health hazards. Information on these Clinical Practice Guidelines is available online at www.va.gov/environagents.
Assessment of Difficult-to-Diagnose Illnesses
The majority of veterans returning from combat and peacekeeping missions are able to make the transition to civilian life with few problems. Most who come to VA for health care receive conventional diagnoses and treatments. Some veterans have greater problems on their return to civilian life, and a small percentage of them develop difficult-to-diagnose symptoms. Sustained clinical care and research is needed to understand post-deployment health problems. Consequently, VA has established two "War-Related Illness and Injury Study Centers" ( WRIISC's), in East Orange, NJ, and Washington, DC, to provide specialized health care for veterans from all combat and peace-keeping missions who suffer difficult-to-diagnose but disabling illnesses.
VA's two WRIISC's focus on determining the causes and most effective treatments for chronic symptoms, which are a problem following all wars. Health care at the centers is available to veterans of all eras -- including recent war veterans -- through referral by primary VA health care providers. The two centers also provide research into better treatments and diagnoses, develop educational materials, and develop specialized health care programs to meet veterans' unique needs. More information on the WRIISC's can be found at the VA website, www.va.gov/environagents.
Veterans Health Initiative
VA has built upon the lessons learned from our experiences with Gulf War and Vietnam veterans' programs to implement innovations and improved approaches to health care for all veterans. The Veterans Health Initiative ( VHI) is a comprehensive program designed to improve recognition and treatment of deployment health effects, to better document veterans' military and exposure histories, and to establish a database for further study.
The education component of the VHI prepares VA healthcare providers to better serve their patients. VA has completed modules on spinal cord injury, cold injury; traumatic amputation; Agent Orange; the Gulf War; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; ex- POW health effects; blindness/visual impairment and hearing loss; and, radiation. We are currently developing modules on infectious disease health risks in Southwest Asia; sexual trauma; traumatic brain injury; health effects from weapons of mass destruction; and, occupational lung diseases. These important tools are integrated with other VA educational efforts to enable VA practitioners to more quickly and accurately arrive at a diagnosis and to provide more effective treatment.
Enhanced Outreach
Veterans and their families, elected representatives, the media, and the nation all need timely and reliable information about wartime health risks. Consequently, VA has developed two brochures that addresses the main health concerns for military service in Afghanistan and Iraq. These brochures answer health-related questions that veterans, their families, and health care providers may have about these hazardous deployments. They also describe relevant medical care programs at VA. These two brochures can be accessed at:
Another challenge for outreach is to address the specific concerns of veterans and their families over the potential long-term health impact of environmental exposures during deployment. These concerns are addressed through newsletters and fact-sheets to veterans covering health and compensation issues, including environmental health risks; regular briefings of veterans service organizations; national meetings on health and research issues; media interviews; and, other educational material and websites with information, like www.va.gov/environagents.
Very importantly, VA recently published -- in collaboration with DoD -- a new brochure called "A Summary of VA Benefits for National Guard and Reservists Personnel." This brochure does an excellent job of summarizing the benefits available to this special population of veterans upon their return to civilian life. Too often Reservists and National Guard personnel have not received timely information about the benefits they have earned. A million copies of this brochure are being printed and distributed. This brochure is also available on line at: http://www.va.gov/environagents/docs/SVABENEFITS.pdf.
Recruit Assessment Program (RAP)
VA is committed to the development of a life-long health record for all military personnel and veterans. Therefore, VA is supportive of DoD's efforts to develop and implement the Recruit Assessment Program ( RAP) that will collect comprehensive baseline health data from U.S. military recruits.
VA Vet Center Program
VA's Vet Centers, originally conceived to provide a wide variety of readjustment services to Vietnam veterans, have been invaluable in providing similar services to veterans from more recent combat and peacekeeping missions. More than 115,000 veterans of the Gulf War have made use of their services. The VA Vet Centers are now ready to help veterans of the current hostilities in Iraq.
Disability Compensation
To assist in disability evaluations, VA has actively worked with DoD to implement a standardized separation physical examination that thoroughly documents a veteran's health status at the time of separation from military service and that also meets the requirements of the physical examination needed by VA in connection with a veteran's claim for compensation benefits.
Additionally, VA has worked to provide fair compensation for Gulf War veterans with difficult-to-diagnose illnesses. Under 38 U.S.C. § 1117 (as amended by Public Law 107-103), VA has authority to compensate Gulf War veterans for chronic disabilities resulting from an undiagnosed illness or certain medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses. Service members who serve in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations during the current conflict with Iraq will also be eligible for compensation for disabilities resulting from undiagnosed illnesses under this authority.
VA places a high priority on the development of improved methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnesses related to deployments. In October 2002, VA's Office of Research and Development released a Program Announcement on Deployment Health Research to expand VA's research portfolio on long-term health effects of hazardous deployments, such as the Gulf War, Bosnia/Kosovo, Afghanistan, and the current war in Iraq. Up to 20 million dollars will be spent on research to evaluate deployment health hazards. The results of this research program should provide useful guidance in improving the medical care of veterans who return from combat, and in improving preventive medicine efforts during future deployments.
Deployment Health Work Group
One of the important lessons learned since the Gulf War was the need for continuous and formal intergovernmental coordination among VA, DoD, and Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS). As a result, the Deployment Health Work Group of the VA- DoD Health Executive Council was established in 2002 to ensure interagency coordination for all veteran and military deployment health issues. Governmental coordination will play a critical role in addressing health problems among veterans in future conflicts and peacekeeping missions. This work group has met repeatedly during the recent conflict in Iraq to coordinate government efforts, such as the development of a roster of deployed troops.
Transmission of Health Data between DoD and VA
VA and DoD are closely collaborating to develop the capability to share medical information electronically. Recently, the VA/ DoD Joint Executive Council and Health Executive Council approved the adoption of the Joint VA/ DoD Electronic Health Records Plan. This plan provides for the exchange of health data and development of a common health information infrastructure supported by common data communications, security and software standards. This will allow interoperability of DoD and VA high performance health information systems. Since June 2002, VA providers have had online access to health information from DoD's Composite Health Care System for discharged and retired service members. Currently, such information is available for more than 1.5 million separated service members. Key initiatives in the Electronic Health Records Plan are the Federal Health Information Exchange ( FHIE) and HeatlhePeople (Federal), which allows VA clinicians to view DoD health information for separated service members.
Deployment Health
VA applauds the efforts of DoD to prevent health problems among deployed troops and to provide immediate care for combat casualties. DoD has made substantial progress in lowering morbidity and mortality rates on the battlefield. Nevertheless, we have to focus greater attention on the long-term health problems of veterans that occur after every war. The trauma of warfare has lasting effects. The physical and psychological wounds of war heal slowly, and toxic exposures on the battlefield may have enduring health consequences long after the actual war has ended.
The key to addressing the long-term needs of veterans is improved medical record-keeping and environmental surveillance. VA therefore is actively engaged with DoD in obtaining as much deployment health and exposure information as possible, including data on troop locations and data collected as part of pre- and post-deployment health screening.
A veteran separating from military service and seeking assistance today from VA will receive improved health care and disability assistance. VA has successfully developed new programs and adapted many existing programs for the benefit of combat veterans. VA also has significant experience with the special provisions in law authorizing disability compensation for war veterans with unexplained symptoms. In collaboration with other federal agencies, VA has initiated new programs for developing and coordinating federal research on veterans' health questions. The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to helping ensure the health of service members both during deployment and after they leave military service.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. Dr. Hyams and I will be happy to respond to any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee might have.
House Committees | Senate Committees | Find my Representative | Find my Senator
Veterans and their family members who wish to contact the Department regarding a claim, benefits, or services, may call VA Toll-Free at 1 (800) 827-1000 or 1 (800) 829-4833 [TDD], or Contact the VA via the web.
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Reviewed/Updated Date: November 10, 2009


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| This talk page is for discussing the Flatliner article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
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I don't think this needs more info. Have you played Chinatown wars? The missions are simple to explain and adding more info is uneeded. --Chimpso 12:44, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- It just needs a plot, that's all. The walkthrough will then be moved to a subpage. Simple as that. Does not need much more info except for the plot. You could help, since I admittedly have no Chinatown Wars or a Nintendo DS. Masterpogihaha 12:47, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- I just got Chinatown Wars a few days ago. Plus a walkthough that small doesen't need a seperate page. A walkthrough like this does.
- Every walkthrough needs a subpage. Take this and this as an example. They are shorter than the walkthrough here, and they're in a subpage. Masterpogihaha 12:58, 18 July 2009 (UTC)


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Job Overview
This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with vacancy announcement UT-14-1155031 under merit Promotion procedures. Please review that announcement to see if you are eligible for consideration Delegated Examining procedures. NOTE: Applicants must apply separately for each announcement in order to be considered.
If you are interested in a challenging and rewarding career with access to a generous benefits package, consider the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP or Program) as your employer of choice. The USTP is a litigating component of the Department of Justice with responsibility for overseeing nearly all bankruptcy cases filed in the United States from chapters 7, 12, and 13 consumer cases to major chapter 11 business reorganizations. The Programs mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders debtors, creditors, and the public. USTP employees headquartered in Washington, DC, and in 93 field office locations across the country handle a wide range of administrative, regulatory, and enforcement matters. Of particular importance are the Programs efforts to address fraud and abuse by debtors, creditors, and others in the bankruptcy system by taking both formal and informal civil enforcement actions and making criminal referrals to U.S. Attorneys as appropriate.
The USTP places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates, including candidates from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, women, LGBT individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
The incumbent will serve as the Supervisory Information Technology Specialist (Deputy CIO) for the Office of Information Technology, Executive Office for the United States Trustees (EOUST). The Deputy CIO assist the CIO in providing a strategic vision for the information technology program and is responsible for the conception, development, and implementation of policies, procedures, and standards, that create and sustain a strong and flexible IT enterprise. This encompasses such areas as enterprise architecture, technical infrastructure, cyber security, information assurance, application development and integration, disaster recovery, deployment of IT resources, and telecommunications. The Deputy CIO represents the USTP on matters internal and external to the agency and shares with the CIO ultimate accountability for the IT program. Serves as the principal advisor to the CIO and is responsible for establishing an agency's technical vision and leads all aspects of technology direction, according to it's strategic direction and growth objectives.The USTP includes 21 regional offices located in 93 locations throughout the United States, and includes over 1,200 users.
Supervisory Status
Promotion Potential
Travel Required
- Occasional Travel
- Occassional travel may be required


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Leander ISD Tax Information
How the Property Tax System Works in Texas
1. The Williamson Central Appraisal District and/or the Travis Central Appraisal District determines the value of all properties, grants exemptions and certifies values to the taxing units.
2. The governing bodies of taxing units, such as the School Board or City Council, review budgets and then set the tax rates, which determine how much taxes are due on each property.
3. The Tax Assessor-Collector calculates how much you owe for each taxing unit, prepares and sends bills, collects monies due and disburses the funds to the appropriate taxing unit.
Attention Homeowners!!! You do NOT have to pay a fee to file a homestead exemption. Please contact the Williamson Central Appraisal District or the Travis Central Appraisal District concerning any corrections in ownership, valuation or exemptions.
Timely Payment Of Property Taxes
Property taxes are due upon receipt. You have from October 1, of the current year through January 31, of the next year to pay Current Year Taxes without penalty or interest. Action by Mail is timely if:
(1) it is sent by regular first-class mail, properly addressed with current postage prepaid; and (2) it bears a post office cancellation mark of a date earlier than the specified date due. If you wait until the last day of the month, please make sure all requirements are met. There are no exceptions. On February 1, all unpaid current year taxes become delinquent. Penalty and interest are added to the original base amount and continue to increase until taxes are paid.
If before the delinquency date of February 1 an individual who is disabled or at least 65 years of age and is qualified for an exemption under Section 11.13(c) pays at least one-forth of a taxing unit's taxes imposed on property that the person owns and occupies as a residence homestead, accompanied by notice to the taxing unit that the person will pay the remaining taxes in installments, the person may pay the remaining taxes without penalty or interest in three equal installments. The first installment must be paid before April 1, the second installment before June 1, and the third installment before August 1.
By Law, the Tax Assessor-Collector cannot waive penalty and interest on delinquent taxes, adjust values, or ignore deadlines established in the Texas Property Tax Code.
|Landowners Bill of Rights
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November 14, 2011
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The production was a rock musical by writer Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken with a story centering on "a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood." Popularized on Broadway during the 1980's, the musical was based on a 1960 comedy film directed by Roger Corman. A later motion picture version featured Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray.
Starring were Zach Payne as Seymour, Natalie Willingham as Audrey, Chase Whittet as Mr. Mushnik, and Blake Bergeman as the dentist Orin.
The plant Audrey II was voiced by Xan Cramer with puppeteers Mason Anderson, Cameo Gonzales, Cody Reynolds, and Mariya Swann
Other cast members were Kyle Clifton, Brooke Goodson, Hailey Hart, Justin Kiser, Kyle Mayes, Kelsey Timmins, Tori Townsend, and Bailey Youngs. Additional Skid Row inhabitants were portrayed by Jessica Garza, Becca Gomez, Danya Gonnella, Victoria King, Angelina Lewis, Nick Mayes, Elizabeth Parris, Cassandra Trevino, Morgan Willis, and Izzy Woods.
The play was under the direction of GHS theater arts teacher Phil Groeschel with musical direction by GHS choir director Greg Doss. Choreography was done by GHS drill team instructor Brittany Freeman, and Danene Mhoon and Mary Jackson coordinated costumes.
The production team was led by stage managers Kayla Godfrey and Sara Callahan.
The crew also included: production design assistants – William Black, Kayla Godfrey, Dylan Krebbs, Sam Pixley; running crew – Matthew Bird, Andrew Bowen, Jacob Cain, Brian Casey, Bailey Fenton, Kasey McKnight, Preston Rose; lightboard operator – Dylan Krebbs; spotlight operator – Kaitlyn Andrews, David Broberg; sound board operators – Bob Peacock and Luke Sandelin; makeup crew – Melissa Whittet (coordinator), Kaylie Bird, Leah Derrington, Katie Gunderson, Jillian Johnson, Kasey McKnight, Jan Bergeman.
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text:
Recalling '94 fire, officials study Ariz. blaze
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Investigators from across the United States poured into the mountain town of Yarnell on Tuesday to figure out why 19 elite firefighters perished in an out-of-control wildfire and whether human error played a role in the tragedy.
The investigation into the nation's biggest loss of firefighters since 9/11 will look at whether the Hotshot crew paid attention to the forecast, created an escape route and took other precautions developed after a similar disaster in Colorado nearly two decades ago.
The team of about 10 investigators from various agencies also will look at whether the crew should have been pulled out before the fire exploded.
Within hours on Sunday, violent wind gusts turned what was believed to be a relatively manageable lightning-ignited forest fire into a death trap that left no escape.
In a desperate attempt at survival, the firefighters unfurled their foil-lined emergency shelters, but those offer only limited protection when in the direct path of a raging fire.
The federal government overhauled its safety procedures following the deaths of 14 firefighters on Colorado's Storm King Mountain in 1994. Investigators found numerous errors in the way the blaze was fought.
"The reforms after Storm King were collectively intended to prevent that from happening again, which was mass entrapment of an entire Hotshot crew," said Lloyd Burton, professor of environmental law and policy at the University of Colorado.
"There are so many striking parallels between this tragedy and what happened on Storm King in 1994, it's almost haunting."
Those changes included policies under which no firefighters should be deployed unless they have a safe place to retreat. They must also be continuously informed of changing weather.
"If you don't have those things in place, it's not advisable to deploy a team in the first place, because you can't guarantee their safety," Burton said.
The Hotshot team based in Prescott entered the smoky wilderness over the weekend with backpacks, chainsaws and other heavy gear to remove brush and trees and deprive the flames of fuel.
But the blaze grew from 200 acres to about 2,000 in a matter of hours as "the wind kicked up to 40 to 50 mph gusts and it blew east, south, west — every which way," said Prescott City Councilman Len Scamardo.
"What limited information we have was there was a gust of wind from the north that blew the fire back and trapped them," Scamardo said.
With the investigation just beginning, it's not clear what help water- or retardant-dropping aircraft could have provided for the doomed crew.
One contractor, Neptune Aviation Services, had three aerial tankers making drops on the fire earlier in the day. But at the time the firefighters died, the planes had been grounded because of treacherous conditions, said chief executive Ronald Hooper.
"It wasn't safe for them to be in the air at that time," Hooper said. There were "severe winds, erratic winds and thunderstorms in the area."
However, government dispatch logs show at least two other planes were flying over the fire at the time, one large tanker and one small one. There was also at least one firefighting helicopter in the air early on Sunday afternoon.
Dick Mangan, a retired U.S. Forest Service safety official and consultant, said it is too early to say if the crew or those managing the fire made mistakes.
"The fact that they're dead and that they had to deploy fire shelters tells us that something was seriously wrong," Mangan said. But then again, he said, they may have been doing everything right, and "this just might have been a weather anomaly that nobody saw coming that happened too quickly to respond to."
He said the crew members may have taken too many risks because they were on familiar ground and were trying to protect a community they knew well.
"When you've got especially structures and residences involved, and you've got local resources, there's a fair amount of social and political pressure, some of it self-generated by the firefighters, who want to do a good job," Mangan said. "They don't want to see a community burn down. They want to get in there."


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Posted by Truth on March 08, 2017 at 13:15:55:
In Reply to: Re: West coast premier posted by MHS on March 08, 2017 at 12:54:18:
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Why did West Coast Premier have try outs for their top team if they already had the team picked out?
: : : : : : : : : : : : :
: : : : : : : : : : : : : Every Nike club already has their top team picked out but still hold tryouts to say, "you almost made it but we have this copper team available for you."
First of all most of WCP coaches are not college coaches. One is actually a coach at MT Sac Junior College and the others are his minions. Truth be told WCP was one step away from not having a Nike sponsor. Therefore desperate measures where taken and they combined with another travel team that had a lot of talent but no Nike sponsor. True it is a business but it is unfortunate that it is more about money than the children.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : But every team has tryouts to see if something special walks through those doors.
: : : : : : : : : : : : Yes, most clubs already know who is on their top team based on returning players.
: : : : : : : : : : : : Yes, the tryouts are to see if someone special walks through the door. But most of the clubs are aware if that will happen, since the parents of that player usually have already contacted the club.
: : : : : : : : : : : : However, every spot isn't guaranteed. Most top teams run 12-14 deep. Spots 10-14 are usually a tossup. They're usually offered to the best of the rest kids...the ones who could be stars on the 2nd highest team or could choose to play spot minutes on the top team. So the tryouts are to determine those kids and offer them spots.
: : : : : : : : : : : : Understand, it's about exposure. The coaches of those teams have college connections. Even a kid on a lower lever team playing for WCP will get more looks than a kid playing for the top mom and pop team. So don't be pissed if your kid doesn't make the top team. They will still learn concepts playing for WCP that they will never get at a mom and pop team.
: : : : : : : : : : : WCP is just looking for some mom and pops who are wealthy to kick in thousands of money cause they think it's presitious to sit on the WCP bench. Go play for a Club that plays good competition, stays local and doesn't charge that much and you're a winner all the way around saving costs on travel and your kid gets to play, gets the experience,turns into a player, gets a Scholarship.
: : : : : : : : : : "Learn concepts playing for WCP...". That's pretty funny. And tell me which colleges are looking at WCP teams other than 17u national.
: : : : : : : : : WCP Concepts are give me money, more money, even more, go run some laps, watch other good players, do what they do, give me more money, etc.
: : : : : : : : Comedy.
: : : : : : : : If you'd rather stick with a HS coach or a dad/mom who started a club so his/her kid could be the star and only plays local, be my guest. But I've seen college games and noticed that some of the offensive and defensive concepts WCP teaches are identical. But then the majority of the coaches at WCP are college coaches. But nah...they know nothing about the game. And why would anyone want to play on a national stage and raise their profile? Silly people.
: : : : : : : :Is WCP better than Storm? You mentioned that their coaches are college coaches, is that correct? College not HS?
: : : : : : There's a lot of bad college coaches out there even some high paid ones.
: : : : : If you want to pay your money to WCP go ahead. Some people want to know all sides of the club experience. The truth is, WCP is like most clubs. Hype factory, recruit good players. Done.
: : : :
: : : : From my observation, if you are a rotation player on the top team of the Nike teams (WCP Black, Tarausi, Swish Black, Sparks Gold) then everything is fine. Whatever you pay you probably get your $$$ worth.
: : : : But if you are on a second or third team - buyer beware. Second tier coaches, lower divisions in tourneys, average players, etc.
: : : : But hey, you get to wear the gear LOL.
: : WCP is like any other business. They have a product and they charge a price for it. If you don't like it you can go somewhere else but you don't need to bash them online. There's plenty of good people there, and some that aren't so great too, just like any other club. Find the right situation for your child and don't get caught up in the finger-pointing and name-calling.
: Bean's dad you are right. Its like that everywhere even at your local high school. If your kid has talent and you go to an inferior school then the kids there will give an incoming potential star player problems with the finger-pointing and the name-calling. Even if it is for a year you are subjecting your kid to a lot of drama. That is why it is always good to find the right fit for your kid from the coaching all the way down to how the kids treat your daughter. A lot of these coaches now don't care about the kids just about the product on the floor. For me, you need a coach or coaches that will help your kid grow and develop on the club level and in high school. Club coaches are around your kid for 5 months and your high school coach is around your kid for 7 months throughout the year. So for your kids to grow you need to find the right mesh to help your kid keep getting better from year one to year four. If your club coach or program is inferior it will hurt your kid and the same goes for high school as well. For me, both are important but high school should get more attention because of the education that will be provided to your kid.
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text:
Xbox One--Price: $499--Microsoft's Xbox One comes with the motion-detection Kinect sensor, an impressive lineup of games between now and March and partnerships with the National Football League, most major cable companies and Steven Spielberg, who will be making a live-action Halo series available to Xbox Live subscribers in the future. It may have gotten some negative feedback at first, but Microsoft has made policy changes to please gamers.
PlayStation 4--Price: $399--Sony's console focuses heavily on independent game makers. It also has its own extensive catalog of successful franchises. Also, Sony has a social option that gives gamers the ability to share game footage with friends. Also, the PS4 will suggest games you might enjoy.
Samsung UHD TV--Price: $3,500--UHD—or ultra high-definition—TVs are the next big thing in the television industry. There's a problem, though. There's no 4K content available right now and it may be a while before there is. UHD sets are great for people who want the best in their home theaters, but for the rest of us, there are lower-priced options for terrific 1080p sets.
Kindle Fire HDX--Price: $229-$579 --If the iPad is the tablet for business people, the Kindle Fire is the tablet for entertainment junkies. It has a beautiful display, a phenomenal battery life and a powerful quad-core processor driving things.
Chromecast--Price: $35--Google's plug-in streaming video device came out of nowhere this year, but it's a great stocking stuffer for techies. Just plug the gadget into a high-definition TV to stream YouTube, Netflix and other online content services, and you'll be able to control channels and other options with a smartphone. It's a low-priced alternative to Apple TV and the Roku box, which also are great streaming devices to consider.
Dish Hopper with Sling--Price: Varies on subscription package--Dish Network's Hopper might seem odd, but the system won Best of Show at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. The ability to skip commercials on selected programming is nice, and the added ability to let customers watch live programming on any channel they subscribe to on their phone or tablet is useful for people on the go.


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Hap retained his unblemished record for the current year, drawing off to win the $200,000 New Hampshire Sweepstakes Handicap (gr. IIIT) by seven lengths on Saturday at Rockingham Park. The win marks the second of the year for the Bill Mott-trained 5-year-old, coming on the heels of his Dixie Stakes (gr. IIT) triumph at Pimlico in May.Hap settled in next-to-last position early on, as Hexagon set the pace while tracked by Sweeping Energy and Gander. Hap launched his bid while four wide on the second turn and easily cleared the field, bounding away in the stretch to the decisive victory under John Velazquez. Hap completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.32 on firm turf.Gander finished second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Flash of Joy. Shy Approval came home fourth, followed by Crown Noble, Sweeping Energy, and Hexagon.Hap seems to relish racing in the greater New England area in the summertime. At last year's Saratoga meet, he reeled off wins in the Bernard Baruch (gr. IIT) and Fourstardave (gr. IIT) Handicaps before disappointing in the fall in the Kelso Handicap (gr. IIT) and Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT).Hap (Theatrical -- Committed, by Hagley) was bred by the late Allen E. Paulson and races for Paulson's Living Trust and E.L. White. He earned $120,000 for the win, his eighth in 13 career starts.As the 3-10 favorite, Hap returned $2.60, $2.20, and $2.20. Gander paid $2.20 and $2.20 and completed the $4.20 exacta. Flash of Joy was worth $2.20 to show. (Chart, Equibase)
Hap Romps in New Hampshire Sweepstakes
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Posts: 306
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Redmond
Device: iPad Pro,Nexus 7,Kindle Paperwhite,Kobo H2O Ed 2
rss2book publish/subscribe server down due to Pacific Northwest storm
Just want to apologize for publish/subscribe not working; I was in an area badly hit by the windstorm last Thursday and my house is still without electricity and may be for several more days. We had an outage last Wednesday too, so I'm rapidly approaching one week of server downtime. My UPS can only handle about an hour, unfortunately!
I'll post a message once I have power again and you can publish/subscribe away again.
I used to joke when I move to the USA from South Africa five years ago that I had moved from the first world to the third, but it feels more and more like that. In Cape Town winds like what Seattle had last week are pretty normal, and the power never goes out. Back in the bad old days of apartheid we'd have rare outages if the ANC blew up a generator somewhere but the power would usually be back up in an hour or two. You'd think that Americans would learn from experience and remove large trees from powerlines - these outages happen to us several times a year although not this bad - but I guess this is yet another of a number of areas where they don't. Or maybe its because they privatize the power system but have area-based monopolies, so there is little incentive to invest in fixing things instead of just repeatedly patching. Whatever the case, its makes me yearn to move back to civilization.
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text: Is this called the Dapper Dunk? Ike Richman, public relations vice president for Comcast-Spectacor, goes into the dunk tank at the recent Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival at the Wells Fargo Center. It was all for charity, and to celebrate his 25th anniversary as part of the Flyers family — Comcast-Spectacor is the club's parent company — and his birthday.


text:
Phoenix Fashion Week in its sixth year is once again gaining national acclaim for bringing charitable endeavors to the runway. For the third year, the organization is partnering up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure Phoenix, the local chapter of the national foundation to help raise cancer awareness. Born out of a promise between sisters, the Susan G. Komen Foundation has become the largest network of people with the common goal of fighting to end breast cancer over the last 26 years. With over 100,000 survivors and activists and even more supporters, the foundation is constantly finding more ways to voice their mission and create awareness for the cause.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, over 30 designers will open Phoenix Fashion Week with Be Fashionably Pink, a celebrity fashion show at the W Scottsdale benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure Phoenix.
Phoenix Fashion Week has also created silent auction event in an effort to raise money for the foundation. Throughout the evening attendees will be able to bid for select items generously donated by participating designers, artists and sponsors. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Susan G Komen Foundation. Guest will also have a chance to donate directly to the foundation the night of the event.
To learn more about "Fashionably Pink" or to purchase tickets to Phoenix Fashion Week, visit www.phoenixfashionweek.com. For more information on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Phoenix and to find a way to help, visit www.komenphoenix.org.


text:
Transgenic technologies have enormous potential to improve crops of interest in a relatively precise way. However, the methods to introduce foreign DNA in a plant cell, either by Agrobacterium, microinjection, particle gun, or protoplast transformation, are relatively inefficient. For identifying those cells that have integrated the DNA into their genome, a selectable marker gene is co-introduced with the gene of interest. Approximately fifty different selection systems have been developed over the past several years. Despite the large number of systems, marker genes that confer resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin (nptII) and hygromycin (hpt) or the herbicide phosphinothricin (bar) have been used in most plant research and crop development techniques. Selection markers are not required in mature plants, especially when they are grown in fields. The European Union suggests avoiding the use of selectable markers in genetically engineered crops, and the ultimate goal is to introduce as few foreign sequences, in addition to the gene of interest, as possible. Moreover, the generation of marker-free transgenic plants responds not only to public concerns over the safety of genetically engineered (GE) crops, but supports multiple transformation cycles for transgene pyramiding.
Transformation without selection
De Vetten et al.1 reported transformation of potato without the use of selectable markers. The best results were obtained with the potato variety Karnico, using the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL0, which exhibits extremely high transformation efficiency because it contains a DNA region originating from a super virulent A. tumefaciens strain. In this experiment, approximately 5000 regenerated shoots were isolated and analyzed by PCR. Transgenic lines were obtained with an average frequency of 4.5%. However, vector backbone sequences, which are as undesirable and unacceptable as selectable markers, were transferred along with the gene of interest in 60 out of the 99 transgenic lines. Moreover, only 10 vector-free lines contained a single T-DNA insertion, which is another important criterion for commercialization of GM crops.
Marker elimination strategies
1. Co-transformation
The simplest marker elimination strategy is the co-transformation of genes of interest with selectable marker genes followed by the segregation of the separate genes through sexual crosses. Co-transformation has been accomplished in a number of ways, including co-inoculation of plant cells with two Agrobacterium strains, each containing a simple binary vector, dual binary vector systems, and modified two-border Agrobacterium transformation vectors.2
2. Ipt selection
The isopentenyl transferase (ipt) gene that leads to cytokinine overproduction and results in transgenic shoots with abnormal shoot morphology can also be used as a selectable marker. In this case, appearance of normal-looking plants emerging from abnormal tissues indicates excision of the ipt gene, resulting in marker-free plants. Ipt selection was combined with a plant-derived T-DNA-like P-DNA fragment and used to generate marker- and backbone-free potato lines in a dual binary vector system with negative selection provided by codA against nptII marker gene integration. CodA is a conditionally lethal dominant gene encoding an enzyme that converts the non-toxic 5-fluorocytosine to cytotoxic 5-fluorouracil. Using this highly efficient way of selection hundreds of marker- and backbone-free Ranger Russet potato plants displaying reduced expression of a tuber-specific polyphenol oxidase gene were produced by Rommens et al.3
Efficient transformation systems using Ĺshooterĺ mutant Agrobacterium strains are also reported.4 These strains possess defective auxin-synthesis genes, but carry an intact ipt gene on the T-DNA of their own Ti plasmid that results in proliferation of transgenic cells and differentiation of adventitious shoots. Using a Ĺshooterĺ strain, regeneration on growth regulator-free media only occurs after successful infection of the plant tissues by agrobacteria. Furthermore, in a Ĺshooterĺ mutant / binary vector experiment, more than 60% of the transgenic lines proved to be ipt-free.4 Thus this system is a potentially useful alternative for marker-free gene transfer.
3. Recombination methods
This strategy is based on the use of site-specific recombinases, under the control of inducible promoters, to excise the marker genes. Successful use of the Cre/lox, FLP/FRT, or R/Rs systems has been reported in different plant species in which Cre, FLP, and R are the recombinases, and lox, FRT, and Rs are the recombination sites, respectively.5
Recently, a binary vector designated PROGMO was constructed to assess the potential of the Zygosaccharomyces rouxii R/Rs recombination system for generating marker- and vector backbone-free transgenic plants with high transgene expression and low copy number insertion.6 The PROGMO vector utilizes a constitutively expressed plant-adapted R recombinase and a codA-nptII bi-functional, positive/negative selectable marker gene. It carries only the right border (RB) of T-DNA and consequently the whole plasmid will be inserted as one long T-DNA into the plant genome. The Rs recognition sites are located at certain positions such that recombinase enzyme activity will recombine and delete both the bi-functional marker genes as well as the backbone of the binary vector, leaving only the gene of interest flanked by a copy of Rs and RB (Fig. 1).
The efficiency of PROGMO transformation was tested by introduction of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene into potato. It was shown that after 21 days of positive selection and using 300 mgl-1 5-fluorocytosine for negative selection (Fig. 2), 29% of regenerated shoots carried only the GUS gene flanked by a copy of Rs and RB.
The PROGMO vector approach is simple and might be widely applicable for the production of marker- and backbone-free transgenic plants of many crop species.
References and further reading
1. de Vetten N et al. (2003) A transformation method for obtaining marker-free plants of a cross-pollinating and vegetatively propagated crop. Nat. Biotechnol. 21, 439-442
2. Miki B & McHugh S (2004) Selectable marker genes in transgenic plants: applications, alternatives and biosafety. J. Biotechnol. 107, 193-232
3. Rommens CM et al. (2004) Crop improvement through modification of the plantĺs own genome. Plant Physiol. 135, 421-431
4. Bukovinszki A et al. (2006) Engineering resistance to PVY in different potato cultivars in a marker-free transformation system using a Ĺshooter mutantĺ A. tumefaciens. Plant Cell Rep. DOI 10.1007/s00299-006-0257-8
5. Hare PD & Chua N-H (2002) Excision of selectable marker genes from transgenic plants. Nat. Biotechnol. 20, 113-122
6. Kondrák et al. (2006) Generation of marker- and backbone-free transgenic potatoes by site-specific recombination and a bi-functional marker gene in a non-regular one-border Agrobacterium transformation vector. Transgenic Res. 15, 729-737
Ingrid M. van der Meer
Mihály Kondrák
Zsófia Bánfalvi


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PC-controlled conveyor enhances productivity, customer service
To improve productivity and customer service in meeting the demands of its $1.3 million, 4,000-order-per-day business, Kennametal Inc., a global supplier of metal cutting tools, wanted to consolidate eight regional distribution facilities into one, state-of-the-industry, automated North American Distribution Center.
To improve productivity and customer service in meeting the demands of its $1.3 million, 4,000-order-per-day business, Kennametal Inc., a global supplier of metal cutting tools, wanted to consolidate eight regional distribution facilities into one, state-of-the-industry, automated North American Distribution Center.
Kennametal also sought to improve customer service with a one-order, one-shipment, and one-invoice system, at its 125,000 ft2Cleveland, Ohio, facility.
Implementing a computer-controlled 4,800-ft conveyor system has improved inventory management, order entry, and material handling systems.
Exceeds initial target
Kennametal facilities manager Tom McNamara says, "Our operating performance proves that, while technologically sophisticated, the system is easy to use. Our initial target for efficiency was to get 94% of orders out the door on the same day. We're already at 97%, and we see the opportunity for ongoing significant gains, because of the control system's flexibility."
The control system's open platform, incorporating Cutler-Hammer's (Milwaukee, Wis.) PC-based DeviceNet solution, provides flexible information flow, and allows real-time automated updates of product movement through the warehouse, from arrival on the receiving docks until departure from shipping. It also provides order status updates to management. In conjunction with smart distributed controls, Kennametal's PC-based system moves products through the facility and to customers with increased order processing speed and accuracy, according to those involved with the project. PC-based controls ensured the system's ease of installation and start-up, reduced wiring costs, and provided diagnostics to reduce downtime.
Kennametal's distribution center has a 30-ft ceiling and uses a mezzanine system with eight bays and 16 zones. The conveyor system uses Cutler-Hammer's NetView, which provides DeviceNet addressing; Steeplechase Software's (Ann Arbor, Mich.) PC-based control, which handles tote control and motor control; and NetPoiNT, which provides HMI screens of process overview, tote management, motor and network diagnostics. The system also uses Advantage enclosed control on DeviceNet, Prism photoeyes, touchscreen monitors, and other Cutler-Hammer products.
The control system tracks more than 32,000 variables, in addition to information to control the conveyors, such as timers, inputs, and counters.
A key requirement of the conveyor control system, Mr. McNamara says, was the need for linkage with Kennametal's SAP system, an Oracle-based, inter-enterprise software system that tracks each step while fulfilling orders. The link with the SAP software was created quickly, allowing a SAP server application to run in the same PC.
Using the connection, orders are sent via multiple order entry locations to the North American Distribution Center, where fulfillment begins. Kennametal has already tapped into the informational resource created linking SAP system and Steeplechase PC-based control.
Mr. McNamara says the new system exceeded initial expectations. "Even though we're still technically in start-up, we track errors using Six Sigma criteria, calculating the number of errors per million lines shipped. Our target is 500. While we are not there yet, we have consistently been over our goal, which is 99.9 percent accuracy," he says.
For more information from Cutler-Hammer, www.ch.cutler-hammer.com , from Steeplechase Software, www.steeplechase.com , ; or visit www.controleng.com/freeinfo .
System improvements at a glance
Kennametal's new 125,000 ft
Gets 97% of 4,000 daily orders out the door same day;
Allows real-time automated updates of product movement;
Provides order status updates to management;
Lowered wiring costs;
Provides diagnostics to reduce downtime;and
Tracks more than 32,000 variables.
Source: Control Engineering with information from Kennametal
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Herb Voland
With Six You Get Eggroll
Widow Abby McClure (Doris Day) manages lumberjacks by day and looks after her three sons by night. One day, she meets nice-guy Jake Iverson (Brian Keith), a widower with a daughter. They fall in love, get married and try to blend their two families into one functioning unit. Howard Morris directs this family comedy co-starring Barbara Hershey, George Carlin, Alice Ghostley, Jamie Farr and Pat Carroll.


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Small-cap fans should consider these five stocks
The saying that "good things come in small packages" applies to the stock market. During the past few decades, small-capitalization stocks — though probably riskier than large-caps — have outperformed their bigger brethren.
If only a few analysts follow a small stock, so much the better. Academic studies have demonstrated that stocks followed by three analysts or fewer tend to outperform the overall market.
Since I began this column in 1997, I have written 19 columns specifically on small-stock recommendations. This one is the 20th.
I'm working on a complete tabulation of the results. At this point, I have results for the 14 columns published since March 2000.
For those 14 columns, the average one-year gain has been 21.4 percent, compared with 5.3 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 and 9.3 percent for the Russell 2000, a small-stock index.
Eleven of the 14 sets of recommendations beat the S&P 500, and the winning percentage was the same against the Russell 2000. Thirteen of the 14 sets were profitable.
For the earlier columns, "one year" is an approximation, as I used to measure results from the time one column was published until the next one on the subject went to press.
My list from a year ago proved to be a dud. A 13 percent loss in Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC), which I own for clients, helped to pull down the average gain to 0.3 percent. That was far behind the 18 percent gain in the Russell 2000 and the 16.9 percent gain in the S&P 500.
Bear in mind that performance results for column recommendations are hypothetical and don't reflect transactions costs or taxes. Past performance doesn't predict future results. And results of column recommendations shouldn't be confused with the performance of actual portfolios I manage for clients.
Hoping to get back on the winning track, I offer five new small-stock recommendations for the coming 12 months.
I'll start with LSB Industries Inc. (LXU) of Oklahoma City. It gets most of its revenue from chemical manufacturing and about a third from climate control products.
LSB has been profitable eight years in a row and is expected to put up record earnings this year. The stock, which is covered by only three analysts, is moderately priced at 13 times earnings.
Employers Holdings Inc. (EIG), out of Reno, writes workers' compensation insurance. It has earned a profit every year since it went public in 2007. Last year, it had a 21 percent return on stockholders' equity, which is quite good. Yet the stock sells for only seven times earnings.
That is partly because workers' comp is a dangerous and unpredictable line of business. But so far, EIG seems to be navigating it well.
Five analysts follow Employers Holdings stock, and four of them rate it a buy. Normally I don't like to side with the majority, but in this case, I will.
American Public Education Inc. (APEI) is based in Charles Town, W.Va. It provides online education in specific specialized fields, mainly military and governmental.
This company also went public in 2007 and has never had a loss year. It is debt free, a quality that always catches my eye. Earnings set a record in 2012 and are expected to break it in 2013.
APEI stock traded above $40 for most of February but fell to about $34 on the impact of federal budget "sequestration." Assistance for military tuitions was one of the items cut. In my view, the chances that the federal funds will be restored are fairly good.
Fourth, I recommend Stewart Information Services Corp. (STC). Based in Houston, Stewart provides title insurance and related services. I expect more turnover in the housing market in the coming 12 months, and I figure Stewart will benefit.
Five horrible years for housing have hurt Stewart and its peers. That's why only two analysts bother to follow the stock. (Both rate it a buy.) And that's why the stock sells for only six times earnings. At that level, I think it is attractive.
Last but not least, I like Ebix Inc. (EBIX) of Atlanta, which provides information technology products and services to the insurance industry. It has shown steady and consistent earnings growth in the past several years, with a growth rate near 25 percent a year.
Ebix shares sell for just under 10 times earnings. Four analysts follow its stock, three of whom recommend it.
John Dorfman is chairman of Thunderstorm Capital in Boston and a syndicated columnist. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The Ministry of Defence has sold 204 of the 460 acres that make up HMS Daedalus in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, to the South East Development Agency (SEEDA).
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has bought the remaining 256 acres.
Daedalus, one of the largest brownfield sites in the Solent area, sparked controversy when the government earmarked it for a new asylum centre.
Over the next three to four years, SEEDA will work with local planning authorities, businesses and local communities, devising how best to develop the site.
Paul Hudson, SEEDA's executive director of development and infrastructure, said: "A key objective for the Agency is to remediate redundant brownfield sites and turn them into vibrant and sustainable communities of the future, relieving the pressure on greenfield sites.
"The lack of availability of serviced employment land and new business space has been identified as an important requirement in south Hampshire."
The agency also hopes to provide residential accommodation for key workers and affordable housing for low-income families.


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I cannot figure out how the scoring works for this game. It does not seem to
operate according to the explanations given in the rules. It does not seem to
be consistent either. It seems random. Sometimes you get bonuses, other times
you don't, sometimes when you're supposed to -- you've taken off consecutive
pairs of the same suit -- and other times for no apparent reason.
I think it has something to do with how much time has elapsed, or how many
tiles you have removed. But even then, it doesn't explain all the randomness
in the scoring.
I have searched & googled the internet & can't find out anything.
Has anybody figured it out?


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Hunter Hayes working on pilot's license
Listen to Hunter Hayes on iHeartRadio
Looks like Hunter Hayes is on his way to becoming a pilot. According to The Boot, Hunter is working to get his pilot's license. He says, "I've got tons of hours on a flight simulator. Anytime I can go fly for a few hours, I go. It's stressful and stress-relieving at the same time. You've got five or six things you've got to pay attention to. But I'm a geek. Flying is so tailored to me."
Hunter is the lead country Grammy nominee with three nods including Best Country Solo Performance for "Wanted" and Best Country Album for his self-titled debut. He's also the only country act in the all-genre Best New Artist category.
He says, "It's quite the experience to be going to my first Grammy show with nominations and the fact that there's an 'S' at the end of that nomination word is really cool. I don't even know what to expect, obviously. I don't know how to prepare. I don't know what to anticipate. I'm looking forward to experiencing it for the first time just like taking it all in and just enjoying it."
Photo Credit Getty Images


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On Thursday the largest striped bass caught so far in this year's 67th Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby was weighed in. Peter (Pete) J. Spengler, 75, of Cuttyhunk and Westport, Conn., caught his fish at 9:05 a.m. aboard Capt. Duane Lynch's boat.
"It's been stellar, absolutely stellar," Amy Coffey, who has volunteered at the weigh-in station for over 20 years, said on Thursday afternoon. "We had all four species weighed in from both boat and shore [in the all-tackle divisions], which is unusual for the first week." Ms. Coffey estimated that it has been five years since the phenomenon last occurred.
As if on cue for the sixty-seventh Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, the fish are running again.
There was a bluefish feeding frenzy at the Cape Pogue gut late one afternoon last week, one of those churning blitzes where you could throw out an old shoe and catch a fish. And out on Nantucket Sound, boats have been lined up like summer traffic at Five Corners as fishermen chase the silvery schools of bonito now flashing through the cooling saltwater. There are reports of stripers being caught on the north shore.
'Tis derby season. In just two days the Vineyard community will undergo a large transformation as the 67th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, the Island's annual Olympics for fisherman, begins.
The 56th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish
Derby begins at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, a minute past midnight. The first
groggy fishermen of the month-long contest will line up to weigh in
their catch when the derby headquarters opens at 8 a.m. in Edgartown.
The end of the 56th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and
Bluefish Derby is a day away. Many of the Island's top fishermen
will fish right to the end, through tonight and into tomorrow. The derby
will end when the headquarters at the foot of Main street in Edgartown
close at 10 p.m. tomorrow.
An awards ceremony will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Oak
Bluffs nightclub Atlantic Connection.
© 2017 Vineyard Gazette


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Mumbai: Rishi Kapoor, the famous veteran Bollywood star, is very enthusiastic about the Padma Bhushan award, for which his uncle Shashi Kapoor has been named. Padma Bhushan is India's third highest civilian award. We are pleased with this nomination, but not as pleased as we have been if Shammi Kapoor's name were on the list as well.
Rishi said that he would have been even happier to see both his uncles receive this high honor, especially as the contribution Shammi has brought to the Indian Cinema is not one to be overlooked.
The family has a great reason to celebrate, nonetheless, and Rishi thanks God that the Kapoor family value is finally recognized by the government. Until now, no other member of their family has received such an award in the last decades.
However, it is only fair to mention that the Padma Bhushan award has been awarded in the past to the legendary actor Prithviraj Kapoor, Rishi's grandfather, back in 1969, and two years later, his father, Raj Kapoor also received the award.
The Kapoor's are indeed very talented!


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Condé Nast Traveler, a magazine published by Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, has reported on some new data from Foursquare, a social networking website for mobile devices.
Millions of Foursquare users have rated airport restaurants, and topping the list is One Flew South, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where users gush about the "best airport food."
Condé Nast Traveler readily admits Foursquare users can't claim to be a scientific and comprehensive survey of the flying public's taste, but lists the results anyway.
While Dema at the Westin Detroit Airport did not make the list, FriendsEAT co-founders Blanca Valbuena and Antonio Evans dined there a few years back. The first thing Blanca noticed was the great wine list.
"I ordered mushroom ravioli in a cream sauce and opted for additional shrimp ($28 – and no extra charge for the shrimp). Antonio opted for the Cajun chicken in sherry cream ($25). Both dishes were delicious."
As for the popularity of the Burger King in Beijing, one user wonders, "Is it really this good, or have I been in China for too long?"
(Click "Next" to see World's Most Popular Airport Restaurants)


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Woolmer strangled
Today's statement from Jamaican Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the local and international media.
"Consistent with our approach from the time Pakistani cricket coach, Mr Robert Woolmer was found in his hotel room on Sunday, March 18, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has updated the media on all developments concerning our investigations of this case.
"The Jamaican police are in a position to inform that it is now in possession of the official post-mortem report from the government pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the late Mr Woolmer.
"The pathologist report is now available and states that Mr Woolmer's death was due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Robert Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaica Police as a case of murder.
"Steps are being taken to conclude these investigations which include collecting statements from all persons who in the opinion of the police can be of assistance to these investigations.
"In due course further announcements will be made as to the progress our investigations of Mr Woolmer's murder.
"The JCF is making an appeal to anyone who may have information that would help us to identify Bob Woolmer's killer or killers to come forward in order that his wife, Gill and his family can begin the process of healing.
"It is our belief that those associated with or having access to Mr Woolmer may have vital information that would assist this inquiry. We appeal to these individuals to come forward now to assist us with our investigation.
"Our condolences go out to Gill, Bob's widow and their sons, friends and members of the Pakistan team.
"This statement is now on the website of the Jamaica Police. I thank you."
When news happens: send photos, videos & tip-offs to 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764), or us.
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GREAT BEND, Kan — At approximately 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Great Bend Police Officers were dispatched to the area of the 1300 block of MacArthur Road in Great Bend in reference to shots fired.
Upon arrival, police said it was discovered Dennis Morrison had discharged a firearm at a 2002 Ford Taurus driven by Jacob Keenan. Morrison was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Keenan was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary and criminal threat.
The incident remains under investigation with the Great Bend Police Department.
Check Hutch Post for additional details as they become available.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014 9:53 am
By Allison Ross · Bankrate.com
Major bitcoin trading exchange Mt. Gox has gone offline with little warning or information, leaving those with money in the exchange wondering if they'll ever get their bitcoins back. The volatility at Mt. Gox has shaken the Bitcoin community, with some of the leading Bitcoin companies scrambling to restore faith and integrity in the cryptocurrency
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 7:33 pm
By Jennie L. Phipps · Bankrate.com
Managing risk is key in retirement, but low interest rates make that difficult.