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Safety division recommends shareholders pick up tab, not ratepayers
The state agency investigating the 2010 horrific San Bruno blast recommended today (May 6) that Pacific Gas & Electric pay $2.25 billion for its negligence and spend $2.25 billion to make its gas transmission system safe. "This penalty will be the largest penalty ever assessed to a utility company," said the Consumer Protection and Safety Division of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The good news is that neither the fine nor the capital expenditures should be picked up by ratepayers, according to the recommendation; shareholder should bear the entire burden, said the division. A CPUC commission judge will make the decision on the penalty later this month.
The division spared few words: the accident was the worst of any electric or gas utility in the history of California, and "the serious failure by PG&E to detect and prevent this explosion, leading up to (and during) the incident, was morally and ethically reprehensible," said the division. "PG&E had literally no idea that the flawed pipe sections that ruptured were there." PG&E stock is down $1.59% to $46.50.
More like this:
- Small boost in price of San Bruno explosion — March 15, 2015
- Chief of staff at CPUC resigns — Sept. 15, 2014
- PG&E to pony up big for San Bruno explosion — Sept. 2, 2014
- Utilities commission was cozy with utility — July 27, 2014
- Federal government to audit CPUC over San Bruno handling — July 20, 2013
Somehow I doubt the shareholders will be on the hook for what happened, but it wouldn't bother me if they were.
aardvark: Of course, this is one recommendation that the CPUC judge will take into account (hopefully). Under Mike Peevey, the CPUC has been pro-utility and its shareholders, and anti-ratepayers. So we will have to see. But at least this is a step in the right direction. Best, Don Bauder
The idea that ratepayers pick up the tab for events that occur in the normal course of business makes sense. But gross negligence and a catastrophic blast like that in San Bruno are not in the normal course of business. Hence, the stockholders are on the hook. Isn't that, more or less, the concept of a regulated public utility?
Visduh: You are absolutely right. Suppose a retailer gets caught using bait and switch tactics on its customers. Should those customers have to chip in and pay the retailer's legal fees and fines? Of course not. Ownership has to pay for negligence and/or fraud. Best, Don Bauder
Someone should be frog hopping in an orange jumpsuit. If blowing up a suburb isn't a crime, we need to pass a law. Strange how a couple of angry punks frighten a nation, when the greedy rich can set off a kiloton blast and it doesn't even bankrupt the company. Killing people to save a dollar should put a firm out of business, and everyone responsible in prison.
Psycholizard: Good points. As you can see, the Consumer Protection and Safety Division of the CPUC uses very strong language to denounce PG&E, not unlike your words. But I know of no criminal investigation going. Best, Don Bauder
yeh! strong language will make them think twice about their aging system. ( probably make the persons retire with a fat pension before they can be held accountable )
Murphyjunk: I get your point. You have fingered the modus operandi of the CPUC. The Division of Ratepayer Advocates or the Consumer Protection and Safety Division will issue a report denouncing a utility for its negligence and/or incompetence. But an administrative law judge and/or the full commission will issue a laughable wrist slap. Best, Don Bauder
WALL STREET LAUGHING OFF THE SCOLDING: Wall Street seems unconcerned about the recommended fine for PG&E. Indeed, Wall Street may consider the fine less than it expected. PG&E stock is up 1.8% this morning (May 7). Best, Don Bauder
The era of impunity from criminal prosecution for killing and threatening of lives of ratepayers due to criminal negligence by CPUC, SCE, PG&E and SDG&E executives must be ended and the executives prosecuted or it will just keep getting worse, as Fukushima proved. Shareholders, not ratepayers, must pay the costs of their criminal negligence or corporations will continue to get away with murder.
Anon92107: According to the basic premise of capitalism, shareholders should pay for mismanagement. But the modus operandi of California utilities is too close to crony capitalism, not capitalism. Best, Don Bauder
Don, my all time favorite Economics bible is Paul Samuelson's textbook, where I learned the same fact of life you just said about 50 years ago. I still keep it on my bookshelf for ready reference, but your column keeps updating me.
Unfortunately Greed always has and always shall rule, regardless of consequences against acceptable quality of life long-term future of humanity, as Washington proves 24/7.
Our generation trashed the legacy of the Greatest Generation so our grandchildren will be the first generation to pay the hideous price of our failure to prevent and fix the out of control mess we are in.
Anon92107: I agree that greed has always been dominant in our system, but beginning in the 1980s, the obsession with greed escalated tremendously. This has been quite harmful to our economy. Best, Don Bauder
NO doubt in my mind that the recent rate increases were inanticipation of this,
None of what is made public was not thought out with the help of all parties involved ( and not to the benefit of the public)
Murphyjunk: Absolutely. The CPUC operates behind closed doors -- and the utilities are in on those closed-door sessions. The public is not invited, because the conspirators are planning ways to screw the public. Best, Don Bauder
In their minds, they are not out screw the public, they just want to enrich themselves , screwing the public is just collateral damage,
Murphyjunk: The two phenomena are linked. Profits are maximized as ratepayers are screwed. But you are right on the motivation: it's self-gratification, self-aggrandizement, and insufferable greed. Best, Don Bauder


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Dear Ann Landers: I am writing about the letter signed "Weakening in Buffalo," whose husband refused to put his dirty clothes in the hamper. She finally got tired of it and refused to pick up after him. As a result, his good suit has been on the floor for two months, and it is driving her crazy. You told her to pick up the suit and hang it in the closet. You also said when her husband saw it hanging in the closet, he would be ashamed of himself and shape up. I disagree.
That husband is exhibiting classic passive-aggressive behavior. Giving in to him will only support his controlling, childish behavior. She should pick up the suit, toss it in his car, and let him deal with it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Selected as Party of the Day on September 15th!
A Bug Filled Fourth Birthday!
Party Recap
My son wanted to plan his own birthday! He said he wanted his friends to come over to look for bugs and do a craft. He also wanted green (his favorite color), orange and yellow as the colors. And a cake....NO cupcakes, much to my chagrin!
2 comments
Robbin M wrote:
Lovely party. Love the color combo, the gorgeous snack table and all the attention to detail.
Jenni B wrote:
So creative! I loved it.. .I really liked the activity ideas (decorate your bug bucket and a bug hunt)!
To leave a comment Log in -or- Join the party


text: If football doesn't float your boat but you still want to have some fun today, Grant Robinson has created a fun game called Guess-the-Google. Guess-the-Google shows twenty images arranged in a grid formation where you have to guess the keyword that created the montage. Once you open the website click Launch Project to open the game. You only get so many seconds and guesses, so play smart!


text:
Bye-bye Pam. There's no way that Erin is going. Either way, I'm sad.
Bye-bye Pam. There's no way that Erin is going. Either way, I'm sad.
I am in the minority who likes Karina. She looked absolutely beautiful dancing tonight.
I like Pam more but I think she's going especially as she's injured.
I'm sad either way too.
"Do you want to change the world?...Think Different, Be Different...Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish Now, lets go invent tomorrow. Steven Paul Jobs
Do they really want to stir up Ocho's fan base?
Tom's the only one who was thoughtful to bring up Erin's birthday.
Don't kiss up now judges, this is all your fault.
Going home tonight is...I'm scared to even watch.
WHEW! Pam/Damian are gone But Erin/Maks are still around! Either way, the wrong person went home. No way Pam deserved to go. So I'm thrilled Erin/Maks are still there, but really sad to be losing Pam. The show will definitely have a void.
Sorry to see Pam go but whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!
Karina is kinda bitchy but so it Maks. They are too tempermental and alike to be together.
Pam is gone. What a bummer.
Fun's fun, but Niecy should have gone this week.
Sad for Pam. Congrats Erin and Maks fans.


text:
Vienna, 29 November 2013 – Andrä Rupprechter has been appointed Secretary General of the Committee of the Regions, effective 1 April 2014. His appointment means that another Austrian is to take over a management position of great relevance for Austria within the European Union. "I would like to congratulate Andrä Rupprechter most warmly on his professional success. I wish him every success for his new task", Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said.
The Committee of the Regions is the voice of the regions, cities and communities at European level and is involved in all important European projects that have an impact on the regional and local level. With his many years of experience in leadership roles both in Austria, as Head of a department of the Austrian Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, and in the EU, where his most recent position was that of a member of the General Secretariat in the Council, Andrä Rupprechter is best qualified for his future position.
Contact:Federal Ministry for European and International AffairsPress Department Tel.: +43 (0) 50 1150-3320Fax: +43 (0) 50 1159-213 abti3(at)bmeia.gv.atwww.mfa.at


text:
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text:
A warrior trained in bullets and blades, Renata cannot be bested by any man---vampire or mortal. But her most powerful weapon is her extraordinary psychic ability---a gift both rare and deadly. Now a stranger threatens her hard-won independence---a golden-haired vampire who lures her into a realm of darkness…and pleasure beyond imagining. A combat-loving adrenaline junkie, Nikolai dispenses his own justice to enemies of the Breed---and his latest quarry is a ruthless assassin. One woman stands in his way: the seductive, cool-as-ice bodyguard, Renata. But Renata's powers are put to the test when a loved one, a child, is threatened and she's forced to turn to Niko for help. As the two join forces, as desire fans the flames of a deeper hunger, Renata's life is under siege by a man who offers the exquisite pleasure of a blood bond---and a passion that could save or doom them both forever.
Spend some more time among the Midnight Breed.
©2008 Lara Adrian, LLC (P)2010 Tantor
"This is one of the best vampire series on the market!" (Romantic Times Book Review)
"Worth the wait"
I waited almost two years for this book to come on audio. Yes, I did read the paperback. However, the audio was so intense it was not hearing or reading the story for the first time. Reneta is my favorite. You feel what she feels.
"Unexpectedly Sweet & Engaging"
I've enjoyed re-listening to many bookmarked portions of the story.
Renata is by far unique to the Breed series to date. She's strong-minded, strong-willed, and a powerful female character. Renata is real... she's had a difficult life and has learned not to count on anyone. If not for Mira, the innocent child she shares difficult circumstances with, she would have no purpose. Niko manages to peel back the many protective layers she uses to shield herself and develop a true partnership.
Huber does a great job acting out some intense scenes in the story. I love her interpretation of accents as well as the consistency of their voices.
Initially, the story unfolds more slowly. Once Renata breaks Niko out (about Chapter 16), you won't want to put the story down.
Along with Midnight Rising (Book 4), Veil of Midnight (Book 5) is pivotal to the overall series' story. The reader really begins to understand the dark plans of Dragos.
"Great story, loved the narrator and the writer"
The entire series is great, Im hooked. If you try it, you won't be disappointed.
"Very sexy..."
This book from the breed series was very sexy and well written, glad I got this as part of the series
"Keep Listening!"
I'm a fan of this series and this book was another great installment. Thank goodness Tantor is committed to the entire series, and Hilary is still narrating. Nice work!
"One of my favorite series!"
The Midnight Breed series has now become one of my top favorite vampire series. I feel I don't need to completely review this one book because it is just one part of the whole, but it was terrific.
I'll be using my credits for the remainder books very soon.
I didn't think it could get better then the previous books but this one has become my favorite! Can't wait for Shades of Midnight.
"The Oracle"
Another good episode in the Breed way of life. Nico and Renatta are perfect together. I really enjoyed the twist in the end with the GenOne hunter. I am so ready for the next episode.
"Not losing steam"
I am still enjoying this series and have been listening to the books while doing organizing, love this option. I am really enjoying the continued storyline and characters and sex scene's are smoking hot!
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text:
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Lamar Patterson had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists Saturday, propelling 19th-ranked Pittsburgh over Maryland 83-79.
Talib Zanna helped out with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Panthers (18-2, 6-1 ACC), who won a second straight following a Jan. 18 loss to No. 2 Syracuse.
James Robinson added 13 points and Cameron Wright scored 12.
The Terrapins (11-9, 3-4) got 19 points and five steals from Dez Wells. Jake Layman had 18 points, five rebounds and three steals.


text:
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in giving to Chadron State.
The Chadron State Foundation is proud to partner with Chadron State College to provide scholarship and program support for students from across the nation as they embark on their educational journey.
Your donation allows students the opportunity for new experiences, to make memories, and to grow both academically and personally. The one-on-one attention from professors helps the college continue its long history of providing an excellent education to our nation's future leaders.
We are grateful for your support and invite you to return to campus to see all of the exciting changes made possible by your gifts. We look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you!!
Connie Rasmussen
Executive Director/CEO
Copyright © Chadron State College. All Rights Reserved.
Member, Nebraska State College System • Employment Opportunities • Equal Opportunity Employer • Title IX Reporting/Resources
Accreditation Information • Website Feedback
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text:
The Amber Project: A Dystopian Sci-fi Novel (The Variant
Today's Free Kindle eBook: The Amber Project: A Dystopian Sci-fi Novel (The Variant Saga Book 1)
In 2157, a mysterious gas known as Variant spreads across the globe, killing or mutating most organic life. The surviving humans take refuge in an underground city, determined to return home. But after generations of failures and botched attempts, hope is beginning to dwindle. That is, until a young scientist makes a unique discovery—and everything changes. Suddenly, there's reason to hope again, and it rests within a group of genetically engineered children that are both human and Variant. Terry is one of these children, modified and trained to endure the harsh conditions of a planet he cannot begin to understand. After years of preparation, Terry thinks he knows what to expect. But the reality is far stranger than anything he can imagine—and what he will become is far more dangerous. Interview with the Author:Q: Is this book part of a series?A. Yes, the Amber Project is part 1 of the Variant Saga, a series of dystopian young adult novels. Q: What sort of genres do you typically read? Are they the same as what you write?A. I read a lot of science fiction, but not as many apocalypse books as people think. The Amber Project is dystopian scifi, but I don't normally read a ton of that. My favorite books are Ender's Game, Old Man's War, The Great Gatsby, Paradise Lost, Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, and The Gunslinger. A few of those influenced this book, but not all. A lot of my influences came from other forms of entertainment, like films and video games. I grew up playing games like Fallout and Bioshock, so there's plenty of influences there. Q: Will there be other books in this universe besides the main series?A: Yes. I'm planning a few spin-offs as well as several short stories.Q. So why should readers give this series a try?A: Because the Variant Saga is a fast, fun, thrill-ride! It dives into genetic engineering and child soldiers, tackling serious issues and themes, and provides a rich, explosive world of exploration.Ultimately, readers who enjoy lightning-fast pacing with a plot that twists and turns all the way to the end will get a kick out of this series.Q: Where can readers learn more about upcoming releases?A: Visit my website www.jnchaney.com and sign up for the email list. You'll get free short stories, books, artwork, and updates on upcoming releases. The Variant Saga ebook categories: Post-Apocalyptic Science FictionMilitary Genetic Engineering Dystopian Young Adult NovelsDystopian futureFirst contactDystopian fiction young adult seriesDystopian science fiction
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text:
Performance Study of a Deep Space Communications System With Low-Density Parity-Check Coding Under Solar Scintillation
The communication link is the only way for space probe to receive tele-command data from and return telemetry information to the control center on the earth. The design of deep space communication system has lots of challenging problems. For example, the solar scintillation effects can be significant for deep-space telecommunication links during superior solar conjunction. In this paper, the design and application of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) coding scheme for deep space communication under solar scintillation condition is studied. In particular, the deep space communication channel under solar scintillation condition is modeled as a kind of Rician Channel that characterized by scintillation index, and the LDPC codes are optimized under such kind of channel mode to improve the Bit-Error Rate (BER) performance.


text:
OLYMPICS supremo John Coates has become a skater boy.
He's got a thing for indoor rock climbing as well.
The veteran sports powerbroker is encouraging his beloved Olympic movement to get a little edgier to reach out to Generation Next.
He's even talking about mixed Olympic swimming relays, featuring two men and two women.
"They do it in world short course now — we could have that in the Olympics,'' he said.
Coates, now the IOC's vice-president, is driving a range of far-reaching changes through the Olympic Agenda 2020 program and has been listening to pitches from sports desperate to join the five-ringed extravaganza.
"We have to find a way of being able to introduce new sports and sports that are relevant to young people,'' he said.
"We were terribly impressed with the presentation by indoor rock climbing and we were terribly impressed by the skateboarding.''
At Sochi, Coates ventured to Extreme Park in the Rosa Khutor mountain resort to watch athletes like Torah Bright and Kent Callister compete in new-wave snowboarding events, such as halfpipe.
"It was refreshing to watch some of them have terrible disappointments, but to bounce back up and go and congratulate the next bloke,'' he said.
"I did stand back and reflect on these kids that aren't used to structured sport. We just have to be flexible to include new events.''
Olympic champion Steven Bradbury has warned that while the Winter Olympics has become "the X-Games on steroids", the Summer Games needs to "get its head out of the sand".
But the idea of the biggest sports show on earth getting even bigger poses a range of logistical issues.
Rio de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Olympics, is already struggling to cater for the 10,000 athletes — including golfers and rugby players — who will head to Brazil expecting world-class facilities.
While Coates said the IOC is feeling more positive about Rio's preparation, the Australian team is likely to end up paying for about 150 of about 420 team members to stay in hotels.
"We are concerned about the potential travel distances between the Olympic Village and Copacabana and the lagoon at Ipanema where events like sailing, rowing, canoeing, beach volleyball, triathlon and road cycling will be held,'' he said.
At a special IOC members' meeting in Sochi, an idea was discussed of spreading a Summer Olympics over two cities to ease the logistical burden.
It received a lukewarm response, but China is bidding for the 2022 Winter Games to be hosted jointly in Beijing and another city, Zhangjiakou, connected by a fast train which would cover 180km in 40 minutes.
Increasing the number of days over which the Olympics is run is also on the table.
Coates sees part of the solution as possibly being rotating athletes through the Olympics by scrapping some of the less meaningful contests in sports like rowing which decide placings outside the top four.
"If we increase the number of athletes, we may not have to increase the number of beds in the Village if we rotate athletes through the Games,'' he said.
"But if you do that, are you defeating the purpose of the Games by having young people mix together and attend the ceremonies?"
A special IOC meeting will be held in December to finalise the mooted changes.
The Olympic Games remains the world's most lucrative sports franchise, raising almost $6 billion between 2009 and 2012, mainly through media rights.
It controls its sport like no other organisation. It films all Olympic action itself and provides the feed to official TV broadcasters.
It exerts authority over the "look" of sports venues and offers strict protections to its global sponsors. Everyone knows that if you are going to the Games, do not bother showing up with anything other than a Visa card.
Coates said the IOC was considering setting up its own Olympic TV channel "like National Geographic".
"We own the assets — all the Olympic film is digitised — and we have a lot of good stories to tell to educate young kids,'' he said.
"It's not a threat to the official broadcasters, but we could also cover some of the smaller sports who struggle to get coverage for their events."
The IOC remains determined to take its show to far-flung corners of the planet, despite the political blowback and logistical challenges which arise. It is also focused on trying to reduce the cost of bidding for the Olympics, which has blown out to almost $80 million per city.
"At some time, I hope the Games will go to Africa and at some time the Middle East — we just have to do it,'' he said.
Originally published as Coates getting extreme


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Functional orthodontic appliances on ds..tell me it gets easier please!(21 Posts)
he is meant to wear them ,top and bottom for at least 22 hrs a day
he's had since friday last week , we allowed him to leave off quite a bit over the weekend as it was his birthday etc.
so he's cracking on now with wearing them
drooling all over the place
can't speak but it's slowly getting clearer
pain is controllable
but my q is ..will he be able to close his jaws ??
he is meant to wear for a yr
i missed the appt ..dh went with him and he said he thinks he will eventually be able to close his jaws
I never knew it would be so hard for him
he said he'd rather have teeth out and train tracks but obviously this is best treatment for him
Hi ggirl you have my sympathathy! Firstly I'd recommend this thread which I found really reassuring when my ds was getting his twin blocks (which are functional appliances).
Im not really sure what you mean by 'close his jaws'. My son had very protruding front teeth when he started treatment and found it difficult to close his top lip over his teeth. This is completely rectified less than 6 months later and he now only has to wear his blocks at night. His back teeth don't meet properly now so hopefully wearing the braces less will help his bite to settle. He's going back in November and may need fixed braces next.
The results we have had have been amazing. Encourage your son to wear it as much as possible and he will see results incredibly quickly. The pain, drooling, speech etc improve very quickly and he soon won't notice he's wearing them!
ScarlettDarling thank you , your experience and that thread are very reassuring .
Ds is in the first week and still stoically struggling , first night he actually kept them in all night last night !
He doesn't have protruding front teeth in the common sense ..but crooked and one of them sticking out a bit . He can't actually close his mouth properly with the appliance in ..looks like he has a ball in there !
It really was shocking when he came back from the first visit .
He is very encouraged by the fact that if he wears them as directed he may not have to have them for the full 12 months.
My son and I cried in the car on the way back from the orthodontist when he first got them...we couldn't believe how awful they are. I was heartbroken! Honestly, within a week or two things improved hugely. After that, he hardly noticed he was wearing them.
Good luck!
He won't be able to close his mouth as he won't be properly locking the blocks in place. It took my DD about a week before she could manage to do this. Hang in there, within 2 weeks DD was talking normally and you can barely tell the brace is in.
Oh thanks so much that's so reassuring and positive , I'll tell him . He's just gone to bed with some paracetamol and tissues to mop up the saliva
It will get easier. However I would err on the side of caution re. Timescales. Ds had his twin block for over a year and will have had his fixed for at least 18 months by the time he's finished. If your Ds is on the younger side it may help speed things up.
I have posted these images of my son's impressions to show the amazing difference after wearing twin blocks for 18 months and train track braces for 18 months. It was hard at first, painful and saliva but after about a week he wasn't noticing them. Paracetamol for the pain, and good hygiene as germs breed more in the mouth under the braces..
Wow rhino that is an amazing result ! How old was your ds?
Liz , ds is just 14 , birthday on 11th , he's at beginning of puberty .
ds went out after school with his friends and just shoved the blocks in his pocket ..came sauntering back in and forgot he didn't have them in..caught red-handed
he says he isn't speaking in class
and he takes them out in spanish as he cant speak english with them in let alone spanish
will he be able to speak and be understood ?
will he look more normal ?
My son was 12 through to 15 when he wore them, I would say after a week he had stopped having pain, and could talk normally after 2-3 weeks. He still has a retainer to wear at night and also a permanent retainer glued behind his upper front teeth. His orthodontist asked his permission to use his empress ions to motivate young people struggling with the twin blocks, as at one stage they had said that my son may need surgery on his jaw as there was such an overbite.
Tell your son it will be worth it in the end, and if he keeps taking them out he will end up wearing them longer! My sons friends soon got used to him wearing them, and he didn't get teased about them at all.
Thanks Rhino , so we are one week in on monday ..I'll tell him his speech should be better by end of the month if he keeps them in and talks and practices
Professional opinion! Orthodontic nurse, please don't out me IRL!
Yes, perseverance!
Sorry, full answer in few mins, when woken up fully and coffee inserted!
Ok caffeine levels restored! First about the appliance. I'll try to explain in English! Functional appliances are used to reposition the jaws and alter the way the patient bites.Not always because the teeth stick out (overjet) also because the teeth may be closing too far over the opposite teeth (overbite). Sometimes in the mouth it can look normal but its also the way the jaws and the teeth relate to each other. A functional appliance can use block length to hold the jaw forward or back and block height to hold the jaws apart while the teeth come through further. These movements change the overjet and overbite. Some functional appliances also have a screw to widen it and the jaw but not all. Second part to follow in mo.
Crikey, turning into quite an essay!
Ok honest bit here. Functional appliances are brilliant and you get absolutely amazing results as see by PP pics, there is however a big but, at first they are awful to wear. They are a big appliance, top and bottom together, a real mouthful, wires digging in cheeks, drooling and lisping, mouth held open. It seems awfully cruel to start with. It does get better with perseverance very quickly. To help you can try the following:
- pain, whatever normally has for headache, ibuprofen good if can take, check with chemist no medical contraindications, usually pain worse for first few days the tapers off.
- wires digging in, this because mouth getting used to something new, the friction can cause ulcers. You can help by using an age appropriate ulcer medication, I like anbesol age check with chemist what's best for him. Also you can get a special wax from the orthodontist which you take a small piece and put over the wire that's digging in. This helps the ulcer to heal. Don't use it constantly or the cheeks wont get used to the appliance.
- drooling, caused by the tongue thinking its food, not a lot you can do, but continuing with wear, tongue will get used to it and it will stop.
- lisping/difficult speech, again tongue and mouth not used too foreign object. Perseverance and it again gets used to it. Encourage reading out loud, telling jokes and singing at home as much as you can, practice really helps. Just beware of the spitting while talking to start with!
He will look very propped open to start but that will get better.
I can't stress wear, wear, wear enough. The more he wears the quicker that he gets used to it and the problems reduce.
They are a mouthful, but really work and in orthodontic terms pretty quickly. It will be a long treatment but well worth it.
Hope my essays helped. Any other questions feel to ask! On maternity at the mo so good to not be discussing feeds and nappies x
jesterkat thank you so much for your info , great to have your professional opinion.
My husband went with ds when they were fitted so I feel I've missed out on some info.
But generally I think we were completely unpreprared for these blocks. Orthodontist said retainers ..no mention any period of adjustment needed..and tbh that has not helped .
Ds got these put in the day after he went back to school so poor kid is adjusting to new classes and new face ..lol
I will let him read your post when he comes home..he is trying to persevere .
He's been told to take them out when he is eating , seems different for others. Is there a reason for the difference, type of appliance ?
Thank you again..we may be back if there are more problems .
Ds took his out to eat.
Great post from Jesterkat. She so accurately described my son's experience.
My son was told that eating with his blocks in was the best thing he could do. Apparently they do their work when the jaw muscles are being used, so eating and talking with them in helps to speed things up. Your son may have a different appliance though. Perhaps that's why he's been told to take them out for eating.
Hi again, glad to be of help! Eating depends on which type of functional appliance he has. I can think of some you keep in and some you take out. Best to check with your orthodontist what they want him to do. Scarlet is correct the muscles being used helping speed movements. Sounds like you're doing a great job encouraging him, he'll get there, it's like everything else new, takes time. One other thing that may be worth mentioning is that he may require further treatment after the functional appliance, depending on the alignment, crossing,or crowding.
If he has any questions feel free to ask.
well he is a lot more positive , still producing saliva but no pain anymore , although are about to tighten tonight.
His speech is still needing some work but I'm hoping with increased confidence he will speak more at school
thank you all for your positive support it really helps a lot
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text:
Injured shortstop Derek Jeter, wearing a walking boot to protect his cracked left ankle, said he will return to the New York Yankees lineup before the end of the season.
"I've been told this bone will heal," Jeter said during a press conference in New York. "When it heals, I'll be ready to go. It is frustrating that I can't magically make it heal sooner than it is taking. But there is no doubt. I have no doubt."
Jeter, who broke his ankle during the playoffs last season, had surgery in October but the Yankees thought he could be ready by opening day. That didn't happen and last week a small crack in his ankle was discovered, pushing back his return even further.
Now the target date seems to be after the all-star break in July. But if Jeter, 38, knows when he will be back, he's not saying.
"I'm not getting into timelines. The last timeline I set, I didn't make," he said. "Whenever it heals, I'll be back. It's been a frustrating process. Just when you think you are close to coming back, you have a setback. I guess it is part of the healing process.
"When you get hurt, it is supposed to take time. It is supposed to take time when you break a bone. Unfortunately, it has taken more time than I anticipated."
Top Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy will visit renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews Monday in Florida.
Bundy, who hasn't pitched since late March due to tightness in his right arm, had an MRI done and evaluated by the Baltimore team doctor but Orioles' brass wants the righthander to get a second opinion from Andrews. The MRI showed no damage to Bundy's elbow and the Orioles believe the injury is muscle-related,, not a ligament problem.
On Monday, the 20-year-old complained his elbow "didn't feel right" during a light throwing session, according to MLB.com, so the Orioles booked an appointment with Andrews.
Bundy was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft and considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow late Wednesday.
Billingsley, who was hurt last season, is expected to be out for up to a year. He tried to avoid surgery, instead getting platelet-rich plasma injections, but finally opted to go under the knife.
Billingsley will start physical therapy in 7-10 days, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Also, Dodgers right-hander Shawn Tolleson will be out 3-5 months after having back surgery. Tolleson was called up April 12 after Zack Greinke broke his collarbone in a brawl with the San Diego Padres.
Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Rick Camp died Thursday at age 60 at his home in Bartow County, Ga.
"Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and former teammates," the Braves said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Camp, a seventh-round draft pick of the Braves in 1974, spent nine years with the team, working mostly out of the bullpen. He had back-to-back seasons with an earned-run average of lower than 2.00 in 1980-80.
The native Georgian had a career record of 56-49 with a 3.37 ERA.
In 2005, Camp was sentenced with four other people to three years in a federal prison for trying to defraud a mental health facility in Augusta, Ga.
New York Yankees minor-leaguer Mason Williams was charged with DUI in Tampa, Fla., according to the Newark Star Ledger. Williams, 21, is one of the Yankees top outfield prospects ... Boston Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves will head to triple-A Pawtucket after being demoted Wednesday. Aceves, who will be paid $2.65 million this season, has 72 hours to report to the minor-league team ... The Miami Marlins claimed lefty pitcher Duane Below off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. The Marlins will send Below, who had been designated for assignment by the Tigers, to the minors ... Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez will likely start his rehab assignment Friday at single-A Rancho Cucamonga. Ramirez is hoping to be back with L.A. by Monday ... The Colorado Rockies put first baseman Todd Helton on the 15-day disabled list with left forearm inflammation, a week after he last played. The Rockies called up infielder Ryan Wheeler from triple-A Colorado Springs to take his spot on the roster ... The Washington Nationals picked up the option for 2014 on general manager Mike Rizzo and are working on an extension beyond that, according to MLB.com. Rizzo has been the Nats' GM since 2009.


text:
The Cape Town stadium was the overall winner of the 2010 Steel Awards, which, perhaps, attracted the best- ever entries since the award's inception, says Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) executive director Dr Hennie de Clercq.
The awards were hosted by the SAISC and held concurrently in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town this year, with construction group Aveng as the main sponsor.
The judges said that the Cape Town stadium was a magnificent structure with some of the best steelwork they had ever seen. "The execution of the steelwork, some of it fabricated locally and some of it imported, is testimony to the genius of the project team, which comprised engineers, fabricators and contractors from around the world in a collaboration which they and the whole country can be proud of," the judges noted.
They added that this project has been an eye-opener to the excellence that can be achieved in the industry, with lasting benefits for local industry.
"The transfer of knowledge and skills will play a significant role in future projects. In particular, the use of lighter steel structures, slender members and cable structures will increasingly manifest itself in the steel construction industry," said the judges.
They believe that steel was the only feasible material for the construction of the roof elements, as the tolerances that had to be achieved within the steelwork to support the rooftop glass panes would have been impossible with any other material.
To achieve the ambitious free-span requirements of 58 m, which include a cantilever section of 14 m, a lightweight suspended steel structure was adopted. Covering an astounding 37 000 m² and weighing 4 500 t, the stadium boasts the largest glass-covered roof in Southern Africa.
Steelwork contractor DSE noted that the stadium was a complex structural project and was one of the most intricate steelwork structures ever produced in its workshop.
The judges said that a project of this magnitude has extreme architectural and engineering demands, all of which were met in the most professional manner.
Project Team
The developer/owner is the City of Cape Town. The architects were Stadium Architects Joint Venture (JV), GMP International Architects & Designers (lead concept architects), Louis Karol Architects (lead managing architects) and POINT Architects & Urban Designers (lead integration architects).
The structural engineers were Green Point Stadium 2010 Structural Engineers JV, Roof and Facade, BKS, Schlaich Bergermann und Partner (Stuttgart), Stadium & Podium, ILiSO Consulting, Goba, Henry Fagan and Partners, KFD Wilkinson and Arcus Gibb.
The quantity surveyors were Cape Town Stadium QS Association, Davis Langdon, MLC, Abakali Quantity Surveyors and H&P Quantity Surveyors.
The project managers were Green Point Stadium 2010 Project Managers, MDA Projects, BKS Ariya Projects and NOA. The main contractor for the project was Murray & Roberts I WBHO JV. The selected roof subcontractor is Pfeifer Seil· und Hebetechnik for the Birdair/Pfeifer JV.
The subcontractor to the selected roof subcontractor Roof Truss Steelwork Contractor was DSE Structural Engineers & Contractors for Pfeifer Seil· und Hebetechnik. The compression ring steelwork contractor was ABJ Engineering & Contracting Company and the purlins steelwork contractor was Mazor Steel.
Other steelwork contractors were Balastrade Beams, Union Steel, Facade Steel, and Mostostall Hightex JV.
Joint Winner
The Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) was named the joint winner of the infrastructure category with the Durban's new King Shaka International Airport (KSIA).
The CTIA project involved the construction of new terminal buildings and the domestic departures lounge and their integration with the revamped existing facilities.
The judges said that CTIA was an outstanding example of the ingenious use of steel. "This is one of the best entries received, where not only were all the stringent requirements of the brief admirably met - including that it be ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup - but a facility has been created, which is economically sustainable well beyond 2010. Also, and of fundamental importance to this competition, this could not have been possible without the extensive and brilliant use of structural steel."
This project's challenges included constructing the new buildings within the confines of a fully operational airport; limited access to the site resulting in out-of-sequence design and construction; a complex geometry; an expanded brief from the client during the construction phase, erecting steelwork at heights in excess of 30 m in the strong Cape winds and creating buildings, where functionality and aesthetics were equal in importance and could be compromised.
Distinctly different structural solutions were adopted for the various buildings with structural steel, which enabled the design team to satisfy all the challenging requirements of the project - easily emerging as the overriding construction material.
The judges said that the amazing steel work is there to be appreciated by layman and professional alike and leaves one in no doubt that both the aesthetic and functional requirements were fulfilled brilliantly.
"This project is a beacon of what the South African steel construction industry and construction industry in general can achieve, and will be enjoyed by millions of local and international travelers in future," they said.
Project Team
The developer/owner was Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa), the architect was Blueprint Worx, the structural engineer was KFD Wilkinson Consulting Engineers. the subconsulting engineer was AKI (now part of Aurecon Group), the quantity surveyor was DT2 Quantity Surveyors, the project manager was TP2 Project Managers, the main contractor was Grinaker-LTA Stefanutti Stocks (GLS) JV and the steelwork contractors was Mazor Steel and Scott Steel Projects.
The other infrastructure category winner was the KSIA. On a 2 000 ha site, with a runway length of 3,700 m, sufficient for the latest wide-bodied aircraft, with runway and taxi areas of 400000 m², the KSIA can handle up to 7,5-million passengers a year, with an extension provision for 45-million passengersa year.
The judges said: "The KSIA is a world class entrance to a vital region of South Africa and to the country as a whole. The ingenious use of structural steelwork in a project of such grandeur and importance to the economic growth of this country is a tribute to the South Africa's engineering expertise", they said.
Structural steelwork was extensively used in all KSIA buildings with over 5 000 t used. The structures comprise, the 100 000-m² terminal building; a 15 500-m² cargo handling structure which will handle more than 150 000 t of cargo a year; a 60 m-high control tower; a multistorey parking garage and airport ancillary buildings.
The judges agreed that the tight delivery schedule and the relatively limited access period for erection were important factors in the judging process. The complete project, with a total value of around R8-billion, was completed in 32 month, which they said was an outstanding achievement, which set a new benchmark for the South African construction industry.
The focal point of the site is the 100000-m² terminal building, which comprises a basement, arrivals level, departures level and the facility's plant block and associated air corridor complex; the basic floor structures are constructed using reinforced concrete coffer and flat slabs.
In terms of the roof support, the architect's brief was to make a strong feature of its primary structural elements. This was achieved by creating a system of raking structural steel tubular structures springing from structural grid points, supporting deep tubular triangular girders.
"Some 5 000 t of structural steelwork was used in this project in a record time of 32 months. It is clear that the architects and engineers worked closely together to create an aesthetic and efficient structure. As one's eyes are drawn upwards, one is struck by the sheer magnificence of the roof above.
"With the whole world watching to see if the infrastructure improvements would be ready as promised, and they did it! This was a work worthy of the highest praise," the judges said.
The judges noted that the CTIA and the KSIA were joint winners of the infrastructure category as both projects overcame unique and similar challenges including having to be completed within the stringent 2010 FIFA World Cup time frame and special logistical challenges. With Cape Town, the project was completed with minimal disturbance to the existing airport operation, while with Durban, the logistics of relocating an airport added significantly to the judging criteria.
Project Team
The developer/owner is Acsa, the architect was Ilembe Architectural JV, the structural engineer was the Ilembe Engineering JV, the quantity surveyor was the Ilembe Cost Management JV, the project manager was Ilembe EPC JV, the main contractor wad the Ilembe EPC JV, the steelwork contractor was Redfab Impact Elma JV and the detailer was Structech.
Light Steel Frame Building Category
The Zambezi Retail Mall Extension won the light steel frame building (LSFB) category sponsored by NJR Steel.
The judges said: "When LSFB is expertly and appropriately used, it becomes clear that it was the only solution for that particular job. This was certainly the case at the Zambezi Mall extensions."
The sheer size of the roof structure - three separate roofs spanning between 7, 5m up to a maximum of 30 m clear covering an area of 7 200 m² and 7 700 m² including overhangs - was one of the main reasons for the professional team entering this project. "At the time of erection, it was the biggest lightweight steel roof in South Africa," they said.
At first planned to cover only a restaurant area, the southern portion of the roof - covering 2300 m² had to now accommodate an indoor cricket facility and the underside of the roof, at the lower end, was found to be 750 mm too low.
By this time, however, half of the roof trusses had already been erected. Originally intended to be supported on a concrete upstand beam, the support at this lower end of the roof was thus raised by 750 mm using lightweight stub columns and steel beams. Without even removing the lightweight roof trusses, the new raised supports were installed, and the roof was re-placed. "Accomplishing this major, last-minute change demonstrated the extraordinary flexibility of the roof truss and the beam/column steel," the project team said.
The judges pointed out that it was pleasing that a very large project had won the award. "During the past two years light steel frame building has come to the fore and was showcased in Steel Awards 2008 and 2009. In both instances, however, the prizes went to houses. The construction industry is definitely discovering that this form of construction can be used for a multitude of applications."
Project Team
The developer/owner is Capicol, the architec wass OSGLO Pretoria Architects, the structural engineer was Laubscher Engineers Africa, the quantity surveyor was Machlachlan du Plooy with Batticlo Holdings, the main contractor was WF Kroon Projects, the steelwork contractor was MaxSpan, the LSFB steel roof erector was All Africa Truss Systems, the LSFB roof truss fabricator was MiTek Industries, the LSFB wall erector iwasBlue Sands and Razorbill and the
LSFB steel wall frame supplier was Razorbill.
Architecture Category
The architecture category was won by the Freedom Park Museum, which was a 'dream come true' for the project team. Situated on the Salvokop Hill, in Pretoria, located strategically between the University of South Africa and the Voortrekker Monument, the Freedom Park Museum forms part of the second phase of the heritage development named //hapo - pronounced "Hlapo" - a name derived from the San phrase meaning "a dream is only a dream if it is dreamt by the community".
Initiated by former president Thabo Mbeki, Freedom Park, which raison d'etre is to promote unity, peace and reconciliation, serves as a centre of remembrance of all those who have died in military conflict in South Africa.
The Freedom Park Museum building itself is a work of art, awash with important and relevant symbolism. The group of asymmetrical buildings on different levels, creating the image of a multistorey unit when viewed from the outside - symbolise a cluster of boulders that typically form part of the African landscape and, recognising the significance of copper in African cultures, the metal was used on the sides of the building and for the roof cladding further enhancing the boulder-like appearance of the building. Also, the building is surrounded by numerous pathways and landscape structures, all with specific symbolic meanings.
Structural steel was chosen as the primary construction material and innovative steelwork solutions were developed including a universal connection system, which allowed maximum flexibility to sculpt the complex façade shapes and the innovative conversion to three dimensional drawings of extensive, detailed two dimensional structural steel drawings.
The judges, who were deeply impressed by this project, said:"While the architectural 'boulder' concept may be easy to imagine, it is inordinately difficult to create in reality. Freedom Park Museum represents aesthetics of the highest order and excellent professional and contracting work in the creation of a complex structure, which had to be completed very quickly."
"The outcome is a magnificent structure with high calibre steelwork that forms a prime heritage landmark for all South Africans and an important tourist attraction. Only through the extensive use of structural steel as a primary building material was this made possible," the judges added.
Project Team
The developer/owner is Freedom Park (subsidiary of the Department of Arts & Culture), the architect is the Office of Collaborative Architects: Gapp Architects / Urban designers, Luyanda Mpahlwa DesignSpace Africa and Mashabane Rose Architects, the structural Engineer is Aurecon, the quantity Surveyor is Davis Langdon/Chauke QS, the project manager is PMSA, the main contractor is Fikile - Stefanutti Stocks JV, the steelwork contractor is Central Welding Works, the detailer is Bendraft and the landscape architect is NLA/Bagale/Greening Inc./Momo JV.
A commendation in the architecture category was won by the Nike football training centre, in Klipspruit, Soweto.
The centre, yet another structure in Soweto to display outstanding architectural features, prompted the judges to say: "This is a lesson in how to achieve the impossible time-wise. It accomplished using the 'A' team of consulting engineers, the 'A' team main contractor and the 'A' team of steelwork and other subcontractors."
From a time perspective, 'achieving the impossible' is no exaggeration. With a start date of December 14, 2009, the project had to be completed by May 15, 2010, in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The judges, who noted that steel played a major role in achieving the deadlines, said:"The speed of erection of the structural frame and floors allowed adequate time for the main contractor to build the walls, clad the building in stone, install all services and finishes, and complete the project in time."
The development included two all-weather football pitches, two grass pitches, refurbishing the existing changing facilities and ablutions as well a new administration/events building.
The judges commented that the attractive rusty-brown 'ribbed' shell of the building, which cleverly spells out 'SOWETO', ingeniously draws one into the high-tech, funky interior, which is adorned with beautiful art works - made from various materials including Indian steel wire, brushed aluminium plates and perforated punched plates - and posters with motivational slogans of famous football stars, that are integral to the aesthetic integrity of the building.
They said that this was more than a successful, aesthetic, fast track construction project, but a social statement of the highest order. "It gives young footballers access to high-end training facilities, football education and top-level coaching and yet it's not just about football; it's about education on and off the pitch. Essential life skills, including HIV awareness, are taught helping these young sportspeople to reach their full potential," they said.
Project Team
The developer/owner is Nike South Africa, the architect was Luyanda Mpahlwa DesignSpace Africa, the structural engineer was AKI (now part of Aurecon Group), the project manager was SIP Project Managers, the main contractor was Rainbow Construction, the steelwork contractor was Tass Engineering and the steelwork subcontractor was Cadcon.
Bridge Category
Bridges played an important role in this year's awards with the 7th Avenue Bridge over the N1 motorway winning the bridge category.
Designed as a cable stayed bridge, the unique feature of this design is that it does not have a counterweight rear span. Typical cable stayed bridges, for example, the Nelson Mandela bridge- the 2003 Steel Awards overall winner, have a long steel clear span with a short counterweight span in concrete.
In the case of the 7th Avenue Bridge, the traditional short span concrete counterweight span is replaced with an outwards leaning concrete tower column, which transfers the forces in the cable stays both axially and by bending moment into the footing. According to the submission, the absence of a counterweight span gave the team an opportunity to do something 'very elegant'.
Structurally, the walkway and cable stay ends are tied to a toblerone circular hollow section truss creating a clear arched span over the freeway and while the absence of a counterweight span did give the team an opportunity to do something very elegant, a load path for all the forces at the top ends of the cable still had to be created.
The judges noted that dealing with the ends of the cables is one of the intricate issues in designing, detailing and building a bridge of this nature. Each slope is different and each angle of intersection between the cable and the concrete tower is different. "This requires immaculate attention to detail, which is an omnipresent feature of this job," they said.
They added that the 7th Street Bridge was a great example of 'the right material in the right place' and this, combined with the quality of the steelwork and the excellent presentation overall, made it a high-quality and elegant solution.
"This is a wonderful addition to Johannesburg's North Western gateway and the lighting at night makes it truly exceptional. It is clearly an example of excellent use of steelwork truly deserving this award in the bridge category," they said.
Project Team
The developer/owner is South African Road Agency Limited (Sanral), the architect was Professor Glen Mills/Sanral, the structural engineer was SSI Engineers & Environmental Consultants, the main contractor was WBHO, the steelwork contractor was Omni Struct Nkosi, the detailer was Omni Struct Nkosi.
Another bridge project to be recognised was the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Transport's pedestrian bridge project, which won a commendation in the community development category. The project consisted of six bridges over the Bisi, Hlembitwe, Mtwalume, Nondweni and Umzimkhulu (2) rivers.
The judges concurred that this project showed, the benefits structural steel brought to rural communities 'faced with natural barriers that adversely affect everyday life'. Before the bridges, school children often had to wade or even swim across the rivers to get to school and back at great risk to their lives.
From a technical perspective, the judges agreed that the bridge structures demonstrated the most efficient use of structural steel in terms of strength to weight, resulting in significant transport savings and obviating the use of heavy lifting equipment in these remote locations.
The design uses suspension cables sized to carry all dead and imposed loads. Further, a light steel bracing truss, capable of carrying a portion of the imposed and dynamic loading back to the supports, was introduced. The suspension cable doubled as a compression member of the bracing truss when carrying imposed loading.
This fundamental design philosophy was to create a very stable structure with very little perceptible movement even under unfavourable loading conditions.
With respect to construction, components were designed for modular off-site fabrication. No cranes were necessary during erection as the heaviest component weighed no more than 200 kg (excluding the cables). Hot dip galvanizing was specified for all structures to improve long-term life of the bridges.
Working in sensitive environmental areas presented its challenges, but these were admirably met with environmental impact being reduced by constructing the two towers and gravity anchorages well away from river channels. Also, minimal excavation and very limited site establishment was required for construction of these structures.
The judges noted that the basic structure of the bridges was so much more than 'just another foot bridge'. "What has been achieved here is a cost effective, stable bridge concept that is a veritable win-win for both the developer - the KZN Department of Transport - and the various communities so positively affected by it," they concluded.
Project Team
The developer/owner is the KZN Department of Transport, the structural engineer was Design and Detailing x 6 Structures - GDB Engineers(Geoff Bouttell), the consulting engineers and project managers were Nankhoo & Associates Consulting Engineers (Nondweni River),
VNA Consulting/Nathoo Mbenyane Engineers (Bisi River), Samani Consulting Engineers (Mtwalume & Umzimkhulu River), Emzansi Engineers (Umzimkhulu River, Qualashe), Goba (Kwaleja River), the main contractors were Erbacon/JV Partner Mahambayedwa, Nicon Ingonyama/Suvuka JV (Umzimkhulu River, Qualashe) and the steelwork contractor was Steelcon.
Community Development Category
The winner of the community development category was the Meetse-a-Bophelo Primary School, in Mamelodi, Tshwane.
The judges unanimously voiced their optimism about the Meetse-a-Bophelo project, its contribution to the community and its future application to the construction of other schools. They said that innovative, radical methods and materials have been used to explode all previously held myths that only brick and mortar solutions were suitable for schools.
The school was built using a combination of Arval façade system panels and extensive use of steel including: the IPE portal frames bolted to raft foundations; lightweight steel in dividing walls and cladding framework; steel roof sheeting fixed to steel top hat sections; insulated steel façade system as external walling and powder coated steel windows and doors with ancillary flashings.
According to the project team's submission, the main aim was to use alternative steel technologies within the cost-parameters of a conventional brick and mortar school and to then develop a prototype cost-efficient school building method that could later be produced in kit form and easily erected in other provinces.
"The buildings are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also incorporate unique design solutions, which are evident in various details such as the window sills, which combine a steel channel with a timber top for electrical trunking and data cables. Also, the triangular winged layout gives most of the classrooms a north-orientation with plenty of light and, with windows that can be opened just below the sloping ceiling line, the classrooms' natural ventilation regulates the temperature even on a hot summer's day."
"This is a remarkable achievement considering it was a pilot project and neither the professional team nor the contractor had ever worked with some of the technologies before," said the judges
"The Meetse-a-Bophelo Primary School buildings are an excellent example of what can be achieved with steel in the built environment. The project remained within budget and the promised construction time frame and, importantly, the design team managed to combine simple, well-known construction methods in new applications making it possible for the local labour force to be employed on the project. All in all it was a clear winner of the community development category award," they said.
Project Team
The developer/owner is ArcelorMittal South Africa, the architect was Geldenhuys and Jooste Architects, the structural engineer was Ilifa Africa Engineers, the quantity surveyor was Bert van den Heever QS, the project manager was Bert van den Heever QS, the main contractor was Lexkon, the steelwork contractor was Jomi Project Management, others were C.A. du Toit and Partners.
Mining and Industrial Category
The SACD Freight's Cape Town depot won the mining and industrial category.
According the judges, the 20 000-m² facility, clearly visible from the N1 highway as one exits or enters the city bowl, has, in spite of it being a functional, 'hard-core' industrial warehouse, 'all the hallmarks of a highly creative architect's touch and the professional finishes of a proud and professional construction team.'
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of SACD depot structure is the asymmetrical curved roof, which is not only of high aesthetic value, but also efficiently achieves the profile of minimum height requirements dictated by the cross-flow nature of the SACD warehousing function, which ranges from off-loading interlink vehicles, to incoming goods staging, to high-bay racking, to pick-and-pack areas, and out to container loading.
Roof areas are 19 000-m² internally, 4 600 m² for the loading bay, 1 400 m² for the container and 700 m² for the gable overhangs.
The judges noted that the architect's desire for a specially shaped roof was achieved through excellent engineering. "It turned out to be a cost effective fit-for-purpose design where plant and structural requirements are expertly married to create an aesthetic, architectural feature."
The structure rises from the 5-m loading bay height to its 19,5-m apex, giving 14, 5 m for racking. It then descends to 10, 5 m providing cover for the container loading area at a suitable height for the reach trucks operating in this area.
The judges said that the standard of finish and presentation in the entire project was exceptional, especially given that this was a fast track project, which was completed in only eight months. They confirmed that the use of a steel roof, combined with precast concrete walling enabled such quick delivery.
"This is not just another industrial warehouse. It is an excellently planned and executed project in which several initiatives and elements of 'good practice' were incorporated to create a practical, aesthetic and sustainable structure. It is a worthy winner of the mining and industrial category," they said.
Project Team
The developer/owner is SACD Freight, the architect was Glen Loudon Architects in Association with Perry Anderson Architects, structural engineer was Sutherland, the quantity surveyor and development Manager wasJMHT Quantity Surveyors, the main contractor was NMC and the steelwork contracto was Mazor Group.
A commendation in the mining and industrial category was won by the Zibulo Overland Conveyor (ZOC) with the judges defining it as 'a great mining project'.
The judges said that while almost all mines and collieries involve conveyors that are subject to stringent quality and environmental requirements there were several factors that made the ZOC stand out from a steelwork perspective.
Two of these factors are firstly, it is the longest single-flight overland conveyor in Africa, the second longest in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the longest in the world. Featuring three horizontal curves and several convex and concave vertical curves, its extraordinary length of 15, 9km necessitated comprehensive static and dynamic analysis of the entire system of which it is a part, and which includes conveyors, processing plants, product stockpiles and silos.
Secondly, the ZOC traverses sensitive environmental areas including vast wetland areas, which required nifty steelwork in places including specially designed gantries spanning the wetlands to prevent spillage and the consequent contamination of surface run-off water.
At Zibulo Colliery, coal is brought from a depth of around 176 m with an incline conveyor to the surface, where it is discharged into buffer silos and fed into a crushing and screening circuit by means of a second conveyor. Then, by means of an acceleration conveyor, this material is accelerated to a speed matching that of the undulating and curved ZOC and transferred onto it. The ZOC now transports 1 650 t/h of coal to the Phola processing plant - an Anglo American Inyosi Coal/BHP Billiton JV operation.
The judges noted that the complexity of the Phola coal beneficiation plant and its conveyor system, into which the ZOC must merge, renders its design and construction that much more impressive.
They added that this project was professionally executed from beginning to end. "From the hole in the ground at its source, all the way curving up hill and dale to the load out area just short of 16 km away it is a massive steel construction of sheer genius," the judges said.
Project Team
The developer/owner is Anglo American Inyosi Coal, the mechanical engineer, structural engineer, the main contractor and the engineering contractor was Roymec, and the subcontract fabricator was IVMA Engineering.
Tubular Structures Category
Finally, and yet another stadium winner, the Mbombela (Nelspruit) Stadium, won the tubular structures category, sponsored by the Association of Steel Tube and Pipe Manufacturers of Southern Africa.
From a technical perspective, the project can be described as 'boxed cantilever girders springing off concrete buttresses, cable stayed to shorten the cantilever spans'.
The project team's submission points out that because some of these box girders come off the corners at 45 degrees to the long sides and the short ends, the result is very complex and intricate connections consisting of 11 pipes intersecting in a node.
Like the Royal Bafokeng stadium, winner of the technical excellence category in 2009, the Mbombela Stadium was one of the few stadiums that was virtually entirely Made in South Africa.
In line with the dominant environmental theme of South Africa's 'far east', the architects incorporated a wild-life theme into the structures, and the now world-wide recognised herd of red, dust-covered giraffes and the Zebra stripe seats enhance the Mbombela stadium's status as the new and lasting 'grand entrance' to the lowveld and its game reserve treasures.
The judges noted that tubes are the standout feature of this project and prompted them to say that it was one of those endeavours that gave South Africa the opportunity to show what it can do when it comes to the construction of enormous and complex projects.
"The end result is an aesthetically pleasing, well executed and efficient structure, which is an inspiration to both the local population and the country as a whole to always keep striving for greater heights," the judges concluded.
Project Team
The developer/owner is Mbombela (Nelspruit) Local Municipality, the architect is R&L Architects, the structural engineer was Goba, the quantity surveyor was SVR Quantity Surveyors, the project manager was Platinum Sport Consulting, the main contractor was Mbombela Stadium JV, the steelwork contractor was the Cadcon-A. Leita JV and the detailer was Mondo Cane Design & Detail.
Sponsors for the Steel Awards
The full list of sponsors were the Aveng group- DSE Structural Engineers & Contractors, Trident Steel & Grinaker-LTA M&E; Steeldale (main sponsor), ArcellorMittal South Africa(T Square - table decoration sponsor), Association of Steel Tube and Pipe Manufacturers of South Africa (tubular category award sponsor), NJR Steel (LSFB award sponsor), B&T Steel Construction, Bolt and Engineering Distributors, Cosira Group, Group Five Projects, KMG Service Centres, Macsteel, Robor and Tubular Holdings (partner sponsors).
This press release was issued on behalf of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction on behalf of Brooke Browde Communications.
Edited by: Brindaveni Naidoo
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Wonder how you feel about the BBC's coverage of the Glastonbury-fest?
The BBC has admitted that 125 staff and 150 freelancers are at Glastonbury, either as presenters, producers, directors or technical crew in order to broadcast across BBC2, BBC3, BBC4 and an interactive channel, as well as on Radio 1, 6 Music, 5 Live and a dedicated website. Hosts include Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq.
Alongside them are about 130 short-term contractors hired by the BBC to offer 'support' at the 1,100-acre Somerset site. It says these include people who provide 'some specialist technical services, rigging at the start and end of the project, and security
Nice to know that even in this time of ….economic "down turn"….. the BBC feels obliged to pull out all the stops when it comes to this event.


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I am a PhD candidate in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Abhinav Gupta. I also collaborate frequently with Alyosha Efros and Martial Hebert. My research revolves around scalable visual recognition algorithms for discovering and harnessing structure in large-scale data.
During my PhD, I was supported by Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship for 2014-16. I have also enjoyed working with awesome researchers and engineers in industry, including internships at Google Research and Microsoft Research (details).
Before joining PhD, I received my Masters from the Robotics Institute, under the supervision of Alyosha Efros and Martial Hebert. Prior to that, I did my undergrad in Computer Science and Engineering from JIIT, Noida (India), where my thesis was on 'A Hypermedia-development Tool for Movie-based Comic-strip Rendering'.
Working on discovering the underlying regularities, or structure, in our visual world and leveraging it in large-scale recognition algorithms and systems. This work spans a wide range of recognition tasks, and includes frequent collaborations with researchers from both academia and industry.
Worked on data-driven visual similarity for image matching and retrieval, real-time assistive systems, and object detection.
Thesis on 'A Hypermedia-development Tool for Movie-based Comic-strip Rendering'.
Working with Abhinav Gupta, Rahul Sukthankar, and Jitendra Malik on incorporating feedback in object detection models.
Worked with Ross Girshick and Larry Zitnick on object detection and semi-supervised learning.
Worked with Mark Segal, Rahul Sukthankar and Thomas Leung on incorporating image geometry in deep neural networks.
Worked on large-scale indexing and nearest-neighbor search for high-dimensional data with Sanjeev Mehrotra and Jin Li.
Continued Masters research on image matching and retrieval, real-time assistive systems, and object detection; and worked on large-scale semi-supervised learning algorithm.
I enjoy working on artificial intelligence, particularly computer vision and machine learning; and my research interests include related fields such as robotics, graphics, natural language processing, human-computer interaction, systems, data mining, and cognitive and computational neuroscience.
My long term goal is to equip machines with visual perception abilities, which enables them to understand and respond to their surroundings.


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Francis Duggan
From Work To The Pub - Poem by Francis Duggan
He wonders why females him do not wish to know
But 'tis not him they dislike only his b o
Had he showered occasionally he might smell okay
Take me as you find me to that he might say.
That he does not have a young lady to walk out with hand in hand
Is something that is not hard to understand
His best clothes second hand he seldom combs his hair
And of his appearance he does not take care.
After work in the evenings he is at the pub
Or else in the Barroom of the Football Club
Only in his early thirties he may go through life
Without fathering children or having a wife.
His mates are partnered or married he's the odd one out
But of his type of person there's a few about
From work to the pub and from the pub to bed
For the past ten years this sort of a life he has led.
His friends are in relationships or living with a spouse
And he does not have a woman to keep tidy his house
And though he will never be the best dressed man in the Town
As a worker and a drinker he aims for renown
Comments about From Work To The Pub by Francis Duggan
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Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
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I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
Pablo Neruda


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The weekly newspaper's Best Of edition — now in its 28th year — is a whopping 204 pages long and is arguably the most impactful awards list in the city. On pages 19 and 20, in the "People & Places" listings, Channel 4 pops up with these three awards:
Best TV Anchor: Jim Benemann … The paper refers to Benemann's style with glowing words, saying he "reminds us why newscasts were set up with an anchor desk in the first place."
Best TV Sportscaster: Vic Lombardi … This isn't the first time Lombardi has won this award, and we certainly can't argue with the paper as they say "Lombardi is developing into something of a local faceman for this town's teams." They also praise his "effective 'Vic's Signature' commentaries," which you can view online at CBSDenver.com/Lombardi.
Best Hair on a TV Personality – Female: Karen Leigh … This silly category seems to be quite the popular one for Westword — it shows up in the edition each year and is broken down into a female and a male category (Ed Greene and Gloria Neal are former winners). This time around Karen lands at the top. "Leigh's luxurious, lustrous locks seem as suited to a beauty-pageant contestant as they do to a news anchor, but viewers have clearly flipped for her long, grown-out flip," the newspaper wrote. (Visit Karen's blog.)
Check out this year's complete awards at Westword.com/BestOf, and for more great recommendations, check out CBSDenver.com's Top Spots lists.


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A 24-year-old male suspect was on the run, armed and dangerous Thursday in the Union Springs area, according to a report late Thursday afternoon on the WSFA.com website.
According to a news release from the Bullock County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Raymond Rogers is asking the public to be on the lookout for Robert Sparks, who is accused of hitting a man in the head with a bottle near a residence on Johnson Street on Wednesday in Union Springs. Sparks then allegedly forced his way into the home, tied the man up and robbed him.
Union Springs police declined to talk to an al.com reporter about the case or provide a picture of Sparks Thursday evening but the WSFA report said Sparks may still be in the Union Springs area and that he is known to have relatives and friends in Montgomery and Atlanta.
Bullock County CrimeStoppers is offering a substantial award for Sparks' capture.
If he is seen please contact the Bullock County Sheriff's Department at 334-738-2670, Union Springs Police Department at 334-738-3131 or Bullock County Crimestoppers at 334-850-8537.
For more information on Sparks, please see the WSFA report.


text: Arrival date means date of purchase on all 2017-18 Seasonal Passes or Cat Cash gift cards. Purchases are non-transferable, non-refundable. Ages 4 and under receive a free season pass with parent purchasing a season pass; 65 and over receive a free lift ticket or season pass, anytime. Passes puchased online prior to March 5 are not valid until March 5.


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Apple has been focusing on improving App Store discoverability as of late, and now it has added a "Best New Updates" section for games, which introduces users to notable updates of top-selling titles.
Prior to this addition, Apple included game updates as part of its curated "Best New Games" section, which resulted in a long list that took ages to scroll through. By separating updates from entirely new games, users can now more easily browse through the list to discover games that they might otherwise miss.
At present, the Best New Updates section includes 19 titles ranging from big-names Plants vs. Zombies 2 (last updated Jun. 24) to the more obscure likes of Red Herring (updated Jun. 25). All games on the list were updated in June, with most in the past two weeks.
By highlighting the games which have received updates, Apple is providing an added incentive for developers to push out regular updates for their titles which, in turn, lead to enhanced replayability.
All of this is likely connected to the ongoing battle between Apple and Google over who gets first rights to blockbuster games. While Apple reportedly does not pay for things temporary platform exclusivity, it does offer big-name developers and games premium store placement in an effort to sway them toward favoring iOS.


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There might be a noise ordinance at your favorite relaxing vacation spot, but there's nothing stopping you from taking a rock book to the beach and cranking up the noise in your head amid the summer tranquility.
Our list of music-based summer beach reads includes some of the top memoirs that have come out over the last six months--by the likes of Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Heart, Pete Townshend, Cyndi Lauper, and Clive Davis--along with treatises on heavy metal and prog-rock that might have you banging your sunburned head against the back of the recliner.
by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman
If you want some debauchery and demonology to go with your gentle summer breezes, Louder Than Hell is the tome for you. It's as easy to dip in and out of this epic compilation of rock-star anecdotes as it is to slip in and out of the pool, even though you might feel like you're dripping blood on your beach towel after some of the hairier passages. The earliest chapters will have the greatest crossover appeal for non-metalheads, as the authors interview the members of seminal bands like Black Sabbath and AC/DC about both their serious and Spinal Tap sides. Later chapters get a bit more specific about subgenres ranging from '80s hair-metal to '90s thrash and industrial.
Sample passage #1 Gene Simmons of KISS: "At some point, I began to keep Polaroid snapshots of my liaisons to remember them. In a certain way, I loved every one of them. But when it was over, it was over. No fuss, no muss. No agony. To date, I have had over 4,600 liaisons. And I have to say that they were all wonderful, that they all enhanced my life."
Sample passage #2 Sebastian Bach on his feelings when Skid Row's brand of hard rock was rendered obsolete in the early '90s by grunge: "Yes, it definitely sucked and it was a bummer. But between 1989 and 1991 Skid Row sold 20 million records. We were all wealthy as f***, so it really didn't suck that bad. It sucked, but I bought a five-acre estate and I could walk around in the woods and ride on a boat. So my attitude was, 'F*** it, who cares?' It gave us a chance to buy some s*** and have some fun."
Sample passage #3 Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, on how he found out Judas Priest's lead singer was gay: At a party, McGrath was wearing "heavy metal jean shorts, rolled up...Then I see Rob Halford, and I've never met him before, so I am over the moon. I went to him with such enthusiasm--I looked like Play the Gameera Freddie Mercury, I go, 'Rob, I'm such a big fan.' I'm overly friendly, touching him…I gave Rob my number, told him if he ever wanted to hang out. He took it that I was cruising him, so he started calling my number...First message was [in British accent] 'Hello Mark, it's Rob here…I'd like to fly you out to Phoenix so we could see each other.' The way he said 'so we could see each other,' I went, 'He's gay!'…I was too freaked out. He left a few messages, but he speaks so eloquently, I almost turned gay. I wish I had a gay inclination, 'cause it would have been Rob Halford if I was going to get down with a dude. Believe me. I felt bad if I misled him in any way. I was like, 'Why would he think I'm gay? Oh, the shorts and the touching and the phone number.'"
by Rod Stewart
Stewart's memoir, newly issued in paperback to coincide with the release of his Time album, is every bit as blithe as you'd expect and hope, even when debauchery gives way to domesticity as Rod the Mod discovers true love and fidelity late in life. There are enough true stories about his wild lifestyle back in the day that he's happy to also address and dismiss the more legendary ones--attributing the urban legend about how he "serviced a gang of sailors in a gay bar in San Diego" to a fired assistant bent on immediate revenge. While he seems to merit his happy-go-lucky image, Stewart comes off as genuinely gobsmacked when his second wife, Rachel, tires of their nightly formal-dress dinners and leaves him, and an utter romantic when it comes to third wife Penny.
Sample passage On being cited by Johnny Rotten as a symbol of what was wrong with rock 'n' roll in the mid-'70s: "While punks were dressing in ripped T-shirts and bondage trousers patched with beer towels, you would have found me in my Rudolf Nureyev phase: harem pants, silk slippers, silver clips around the ankles, bit of a sash going on at the waist. Looking back, I can see how that would have got right up the nose of a young whippersnapper with an electric guitar and some attitude. Comfy, though--I'll say that much for it. Every man should have a brief Rudolf Nureyev phase, if the option is there…In a sense, punk gave people like me a kick in the pants. A kick in the harem pants, in my case."
by Ann & Nancy Wilson, with Charles R. Cross
The Wilson sisters didn't know they'd finally be getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when they sat down to do their memoir, but the timing couldn't have been more magical, man. The two of them alternate passages and prove more candid on matters of love than you might expect from their circumspect interview over the years. If you wondered why there appeared to be some tension onstage when the original '70s lineup got on stage at the Hall of Fame induction, it might have something to do with the Fleetwood Mac-style romantic entanglements among the band in their classic period. Nancy tired of guitarist Roger Fisher's wandering eye and broke his philandering heart by leaving him…for drummer Michael Derosier, another poor choice of partner, she soon came to realize. Meanwhile, Ann undertook a torrid affair with Mott The Hoople's Ian Hunter before discovering he was married. Meanwhile, thanks to the many sleazy men who had less luck with them, we get to hear stories of the kind of vintage sexism that inspired "Barracuda."
Sample passage "At one hotel, we met Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Over the course of a few hours, they had a Kamikaze-drinking contest, followed by a cocaine-snorting fest. Once they were good and loose, they got into a fistfight. Moments later, they were hugging each other and falling down, saying, 'I love you so much, man.' They would cycle through this pattern every hour. Eddie and Alex let it be known that if Ann and I wanted to sleep with them, they would be amenable to that. Their concept was two brothers with two sisters…They wanted us in one bed. It wasn't the only time we had that offer, and as with every other request, we turned it down."
edited by Marc Weingarten and Tyson Cornell
Yours is no disgrace if you love Rush, who just gave prog a belated entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or Yes, who arguably should have gotten in even before Geddy. Even if you were only a prog-rock dabbler, you'll still love a lot of the essays in this highly readable compendium of appreciations of some of the subgenre's superstars and unsung heroes. Contributors range from famous novelist Rick Moody (who waxes eloquent on Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (celebrating Todd Rundgren's Utopia) to singer-songwriter Peter Case (making the case for the Incredible String Band). These highly personal pieces are wonderful as musical exegesis and personal memoir, not to mention just plain fun, whether the authors have put their prog days behind them as guilty pleasures or continue to celebrate the supremacy of oddball time signatures.
Sample passage #1 Essayist Tom Junod on loving Yes: "I wanted my parents to like Prog; to recognize that Rick Wakeman was a better keyboard player than Roger Whitaker; to know that the music their son listened to behind his closed door contained literary references and 'classical motifs.' But all my parents knew, when they saw the Roger Dean posters on my wall and heard the sonic overkill of Relayer, was that I was on drugs."
Sample passage #2 Jeff Gordinier on Styx's transitional period between art-rock and sap: "'Babe' suggested that Styx's arranged marriage of Prog and Pop had the potential to open up a whole new target market, the one generally referred to as 'women.'"
Sample passage #3 Joe Meno on being confused by Rush: ""How could there be a Hard Rock song that did not--in any way as far as I could tell--allude to sex? Did Rush misunderstand the most basic premise of rock and roll?"
by Clive Davis, with Anthony DeCurtis
If you're looking for humility, you've come to the wrong place. But the longtime label chief's legacy has intersected with so many of the greats (Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan) and the ephemerals (Taylor Dayne, Milli Vanilli) that you'd be hard-pressed to be a student of pop history and not want to hear Davis's account of about a thousand artists' rises…and, in many cases, of course, their falls, which usually come about when they fail to heed the mogul's advice about recording outside material. You don't care about Johnny Winter's contract negotiations? Jump ahead to the chapter on Puffy's business prowess. Tales of Whitney's sad downfall not your thing? Use the index to jump back to the moment when Davis suggests to folkie Bruce Springsteen that he could maybe, you know, move around a little onstage.
Sample passage "We were all taken aback when Kelly [Clarkson] and [manager Jeff] Kwatinetz launched what amounted to a media campaign pitting her against the label and, more specifically, me. She and Kwatinetz spoke to the press, insinuating that I did not want Kelly to write her own songs because she was a woman…The rock press, of course, ate all this up. It became a David and Goliath battle between an all-powerful music mogul and a solitary young woman fighting bravely for the right to self-expression…Kelly explained to a reporter that she told me, 'I get you don't like the album. You're 80--you're not supposed to like my album.' And there I was, a mere 74 at the time!"
by Neil Young
There might never have been a memoir with as severe a case of literary ADD as Young's autobiography, which sounds like it's being dictated in real time as a time-jumping stream of consciousness. This can be initially confounding, but ultimately fun, because Young's recollections are like the weather: If you don't like 1988, stick around, because it'll be 1971 or 2005 in a minute. The countless passages about his love of vintage automobiles and toy trains will have most readers doing some skimming. But if you want to know about, say, the inner machinations of Buffalo Springfield (both Mach 1 and the short-lived reunion), you'll have reason to be riveted. And even though he can come off as callous about some of his personal and professional relationships, there's a sweetness and disingenuousness to his prose, particularly in a few passages where he wonders if he still has time to amend for the emotional oversights of earlier decades. His wandering mind might be a tough place to live, but it's sure a fun place to visit.
Sample passage "People have tried to sound like me to the point that my dad thought 'A Horse With No Name' was mine! (Hey, wait a minute? Was that me? Okay. Fine. I am back now. That was close!)"
by Cyndi Lauper, with Jancee Dunn
The New York Times called Cyndi's autobiography "boisterous, erratic, sometimes goofy, and--very much like its author's music, in all this--not quite as dumb as it may seem." She still speaks, on paper as well as in real life, in the voice of the outer boroughs, but she takes her responsibility as a political progressive seriously enough to have had a lot of angst about whether or not to record "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," because she was worried about whether it was "good for women." (Obviously, ultimately, she came down on the side of yes.) The timing of the book coincides with a comeback, of sorts, not for her recording career but with the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, which features some boys who want to be like girls who want to have fun.
Sample passage "The few friends I had…declared themselves gay, and when they came out, I thought, 'Ooh, I'm gay because they're gay.' So I tried. One of my close friends said she was in love with me. Well, I didn't want to lose my friend, so we held hands, and then we would kiss, but it wasn't how I was feeling. I even read The Fox by D.H. Lawrence, but no matter how I tried, I just wasn't feeling what she felt…I had to come out as a heterosexual."
by Pete Townshend
Of all the beach reads recommended here, the Who mastermind's is the closest to being a downer--or, as the Guardian called it, "a strangely joyless affair"--just because of its self-seriousness and how the author always found reason for angst, even over what should have been his giddiest triumphs. If Louder Than Hell has plenty of groupie stories, this is the book if you want tales of a rock star turning down meaningless sexual conquests (some of them, anyway) because he can't help wondering what the purpose of it all is. Rolling Stone said this book "could be the most conflicted rock memoir of all time." But would you expect any less of the guy who had the deaf, dumb, and blind kid turn into a fatally tortured guru?
Sample passage "Mick [Jagger] is the only man I've ever seriously wanted to [have sex with]."