text:
- Home
- Calendar
- Plan Your Visit
- Group Outings
- Racing & Wagering
- Trackside OTB
Paddy O'Prado Favored in Grade I Secretariat Stakes
Donegal Racing's Paddy O'Prado, the leading turf favoring sophomore in North America, has been installed as the heavy even money favorite for Saturday's Grade I $400,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park while Arlington Classic and American Derby hero Estrorace LLC's Workin for Hops is listed as the 5-2 second choice in his bid to sweep Arlington's Mid-America Triple.
The Secretariat Stakes, the third leg of the Triple which began with the $100,000 Arlington Classic on May 22 and continued with the Grade II $200,000 American Derby on July 17, is a mile and a quarter turf test for international-caliber 3-year-olds and is one of three Grade I stakes races on the card that comprises Arlington's International Festival of Racing. The others are the $1 million Arlington Million for older turf stars and its sister race, the $750,000 Beverly D., for grass distaffers.
A son of El Prado, Paddy O'Prado comes into the Secretariat off back-to-back turf tallies, taking the Grade II Colonial Turf Cup at a mile and three-sixteenths by three lengths at Colonial Downs on June 19 and returning there four weeks later to annex the Grade II Virginia Derby by 1½ lengths at the mile and a quarter distance of the Secretariat.
Never worse than third in six starts on turf, the Dale Romans trainee has drawn the rail in the seven-horse field and he will one again team with Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.
Workin for Hops, a Mike Stidham-trained son of City Zip, was a 2 ¼-length victor in both the Arlington Classic and the American Derby. Sandwiched between those local triumphs, Workin for Hops shipped to Virginia and finished second to Paddy O'Prado in the Colonial Turf Cup. Francisco Torres, a last-minute substitute for Robby Albarado when Workin for Hops won the American Derby, retains the mount for the Secretariat and the pair will leave from post 7.
The only European-based runner in this year's Secretariat is Mark Hawtin's Wigmore Hall. The Irish-bred son of champion High Chaparral makes his North American debut after scoring victories in his previous two starts in England. The Michael Bell-trained gelding won his most recent effort at Newmarket by 1 ¼ lengths after previously tallying a nose victory over the Knavesmire when taking the $226,000 John Smiths Cup at York. Jamie Spencer makes the trans-Atlantic journey to guide Wigmore Hall, who has been pegged as the 5-1 third choice, from post 4 in the Secretariat.
Lothenbach Stable's Mister Marti Gras looks to rebound from his runner-up finish in the American Derby. The locally based son of Belong to Me won the $214,000 Oliver Stakes at Indiana Downs in his previous start June 30 after finishing fourth in the Arlington Classic over this course. Trained by Chris Block, Mister Marti Gras drew post 2 and will be ridden by Eduardo Perez. He is listed at 10-1 in the morning line.
Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's Dean's Kitten finished third in the American Derby but was disqualified and placed fourth for interference in the stretch. The son of 2004 Secretariat winner Kitten's Joy ran second behind Paddy O'Prado in the Grade III Palm Beach Stakes this winter at Gulfstream Park and later won the Grade II Lanes End Stakes over Polytrack at Keeneland. The Mike Maker-trained colt, who will be ridden by Eclipse Award winning jockey Julien Leparoux and is listed at 8-1 in the morning line, will start from post 5.
Completing the field for the Secretariat are James Hackman & Glenn Thompson's Two Notch Road (Michael Baze, post 6, 12-1), fourth in the Virginia Derby and fourth in the $145,000 Jersey Derby in his last two starts; and Millard R. Seldin Revocable Trust & the Estate of Hoss Inman's Cherokee Lord (Julio Felix, post 3, 30-1), third in the Oliver Stakes and second in an allowance race over this course in his two most recent efforts.


text:
Bernard Stokesberry
Found 10 Records, 1 Photos and 10,079 Family Trees
Born on 30 Jul 1922 to Lucian Harrison Stokesberry and Wilhelmina Tehennappee. He passed away on 12 Apr 1996 in Gig Harbor, Washington, USA.
Family Members
Ready to discover your family story?
Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.
Potential photos and documents for Bernard StokesberryView All 1 Images
Top record matches for Bernard Stokesberry
Surname meaning for "Stokesberry"
Origin unidentified. Possibly an English habitational name from a lost or unidentified place.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Surgimade Instruments Co. is one of the most reputed and rapidly growing surgical instruments manufacturer & supplier in Pakistan. Our main focus areas are surgical instruments and implants and of late we have also been diversifying in the design and manufacture of surgical equipments. While our dealer network spans almost all of Middle East, Europe and Africa. Surgimade Instruments Co. is a leading manufacturer of quality surgical equipment for high surgical requirements. Our offering includes surgical, dental that are designed as per the international quality standards & medical parameters defined by WHO. We aspire to become a Global Health care' brand identity synonymous with nurturing health care, eternal values, strong ethics and global quality of highest standards in surgical equipment. Surgimade Instruments Co. is known synonymous with high quality, efficient service and close correspondence with its customers.
Company websites
www Website1


text: Well, a couple things. I have heard from numerous sources what Farragut/STC wants a day to rent their sets. It is not private information. It is out there already and there is nothing private about that. Also, Farragut/STC got a multimillionaire to donate the money to build those sets and rent the facility. No different than Ajax, other than Ajax got small donations from lots of people and John Hughes foot much of the bill. I think there are always people donating to get these sets and shows done. That isn't a differentiator John. I don't begrudge Farragut/STC wanting to make back some of their money. (assuming that it does not violate CBS IP to do so). But I do applaud Ajax and Phase II, both of which just ask for actual expenses (like electricity) to use their sets. Alec


text:
With the provisions of Georgia's new immigration law slated to take effect over the next two years and proposed federal laws debated in Washington, immigrants in Georgia are uncertain what the future may hold for them. And the state Department of Labor's Walton County office and the Walton County Employer Committee are trying to answer some area employers' questions about how new laws will affect the day-to-day administration of their businesses.
A seminar on new state laws and proposed federal laws is scheduled Tuesday, said Josh Bowen, chairman of the employer committee. Each local office of the labor department administers an employer committee of local business representatives who act as liaisons between the business community and the department.
An immigration and business attorney will be on hand to field questions from local employers.
"There's been no real clear-cut process set out for how employers are supposed to comply with the new laws," Bowen said.
"We're not INS experts, but we hope these attorneys will explain the proper process for verifying documents and the ways to do things legally. This is a major topic, it's on the news every single night."
The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, which will take effect July 1, 2007, will require state contractors to verify the documents presented by their employees and take away employment-based tax incentives for private employers who don't have tax ID numbers for workers.
Some proposed federal laws would require all employers to verify their employees' documents and provide stiff penalties if they do not.
Bowen said most local employers he has spoken with are more concerned about penalties for not properly documenting workers than they are with the possibility of losing a large part of the workforce because those workers don't have documentation. Some employers in the construction industry are concerned about a loss of workers, Bowen admitted, but he does not expect to see many contractors at the seminar Tuesday.
Immigration seminar
The seminar for employers will be held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Great Oaks seniors' home on Georgia Highway 138 in Monroe.
For more information, call Angela Williams at the Walton County labor department office at (770) 207-4224. The cost of the seminar is $35.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


text:
Good News Monday: Tara Forms The 'YouTube Swaggers'
It's Good News Monday. What's your Good News? Mine is watching Tara try all kind of New things. Her latest venture….YouTube. She's formed a group called the YouTube Swaggers, along with her cousin Brynn. This is their first video, check it out.
So What's your Good News? Let us know (607) 720-9801


text:
Smoking hot mommy with no bra strips down to her thong
Steamy hot secretary fingers her cum hungry pussy at her desk
Stunning cougar shows her juicy round ass in a lace thong
Horny European hottie strips down and blows a lucky cock
Classy mature cougar wears a mouthwatering tight dress
Plump ass cougar flight attendant gets naughty with her creamy twat
Nice curvy white girl strips down and has her pussy licked and dicked
Hot mommy with a toned body teases with her barely there thong
Sexy housewife spreads her soft furry cunt to give herself a full
Cute brunette shows off her tight pussy then gets it fucked and gets
Shy european milf in black panties getting turned on by the hunter
Hot British mommy with big soft boobs has a juicy hairy pussy
Smoking hot curvy teen babe Keisha Grey trades her laundry basket
Gorgeous naughty MILF wears a black thong and corset
Brand new mommy wears tiny little shorts as she gets horny
Cute tall European eighteen year old babe gets a nice massage before
Sexy cougar with big nipples wears see through lingerie
Hot and horny secretary fucks her pink twat with a vibrator
Insanely hot secretary strips down to her naughty lingerie
Hot secretary gets naughty at work and does a striptease
Raven haired mommy teases in her tiny black thong
Cute blond teen strips off her dress and deepthroats a hard cock
This naughty secretary gives you a peek up her skirt
Super sexy latina babe Carmen Caliente gets her pretty mouth fucked
Sophia Smith loves the taste of her orgasm on her dildo
Hot blonde mommy with large puffy nipples pleases her wet pussy
Gorgeous housewife wears a satin thong and lacy bra
The hottest secretary you will ever see spreads open her juicy twat
Pale petite long haired blonde having her own bikini car wash before
Teacher in glasses getting frisky in her bra and stockings
Beautiful European teen gets her shaved pussy fucked after a sexy
Blonde european teen gets toyed and loves sucking his cock
Hot euro teen babe Janette has a play date with her boyfriend
Fine ass European seduces her golf instructor and moans as she gets
Sensual and seductive mommy needs her naughty time in sexy lingerie
Two hot ass european chicks having awesome sex
Sexy European exchange student has a meeting with the principal
Naughty nurse with giant boobs strips down to her lingerie
Gorgeous granny wears see through panties and sexy lingerie
Beautiful brunette teen with glasses shows off her stockings and gets
Are European Girls Naturally More Erotic Than Americans?
Bigtit mommy strips down to her bra and panties
Sweet brunette teen gets on her knees and wraps her lips around a big
Horny blonde cougar with big puffy nipples spreads her shaved twat
European babe has her niples piereced for extra stimulation
Tight blonde European teen gets a load shot on her face
Hot tall European brunette in sexy skirt comes in for a massage
Super hot teen babe Natalie Lust gives us a sexy interview expressing
Perfect petite blond teen places her soft lips on a hard cock
Raven haired secretary with a plump round ass fondles her throbbing
Watch the hottest and horniest european babes on the web get nailed
Stunning blonde cougar is ready for a sexy evening out
Once again, its Mller time. As a top European model turned Playmate,
Naughty secretary with a big juicy ass shows you what is under her
Blonde European teen gets on her knees and sucks the cum out of a
Anilos cougar cannot resist the urge to make her creamy pussy cum
Fine ass European schoolgirl loves riding her teachers dick
Two Horny European Blondes Foot Worship In Heels
Tight big ass european babe masterabates then gets drilled hard in
Hot european blond curvy body huge round white ass perky tits takes
Mouthwatering cougar shows off her body in her first photo shoot ever
Stunning blonde milf shows her big titties in a mouthwatering
Perky tit housewife with a big round ass gives a close up view of her
Sultry mature mom shows her all natural boobs in a bra
European secretary fucks her boss on the couch
Gorgeous Tina Kay plays with her rock hard nipples and big perky
Innocent looking redhead teen gets naughty by sucking some dick and
Naughty mom next door lifts her dress to give a glimpse of her
Naughty mommy in stockings spreads open her sweet creamy pussy
Insatiable mature milf sucks and fucks her mans throbbing hard cock
Ultra hot and naughty secretary strips down to her lingerie
Ultra sexy secretary flaunts her curvaceous body
Punk rock blond teen with huge boobs licks a hard cock
The most beautiful European models in lesbian
Hot ass blonde babe with a huge booty gets oiled up and shakes it and
Horny big titted blond teen rides a hard dick and takes a thick
Sexy curvy Latina gets worked out and deepthroats a hard dick
Sexy brunette Betty plays around with two dicks sucking and riding
Seductive flight attendant shows whats under her uniform
Classy MILF strips off her skin tight lace dress
Mature secretary shows her big round ass in some hot lingerie
Beautiful mom wears thin panties and thigh high stockings
Slutty european milf nurse gives a blowjob
Super sexy small Adriana Lynn is still horny after threesome so shes
Very cute Pressley Carter goes out for a smoothie before getting
Super sexy euro teen babe Kail has a play date with her boyfriend
Beautiful teen in glasses and pantyhose deepthroats a hard cock
Sexy blonde teen with a giant booty gets fucked hard and facialized
Tall brunette teen in black spandex strips down blows her man and a
Sexy tight teen gets talked into stripping down and jerking a hard
Little brunette strips down and strats sucking dick with her pierced
Smoking hot very petite teen babe Marina Angel loves to get fucked
Beautiful mom Rita rubs her horny wet pussy until she cums
Gorgeous wife home alone plays with her wet trimmed pussy
Hot euro teen babe Ada has a play date with her boyfriend who ends
Hot european sluts Gerta and Neona get there hands on some cock and
Ultra sexy housewife Tammie Lee spreads her pierced shaved pussy
Mature mom Laura Dark digs her fingers deep into her juicy twat


text:
In 2009, CFP Board assembled a Business Model Working Group to discuss the application of CFP Board's Standards of Professional Conduct to specific situations and business models. This Working Group, comprised of representatives of nearly two dozen financial service firms that employ or contract with CFP® professionals, identified specific scenarios where additional guidance from CFP Board would be helpful. Following the Working Group's discussions, CFP Board has developed the following multimedia presentations to assist CFP® professionals in understanding and complying with CFP Board's Standards.
Many CFP® professionals provide services using a team approach. The degree to which CFP® professionals interact with clients varies. Scenario TE1 illustrates a situation where a CFP® professional provides financial planning support to a non-certificant as part of a team.
Enhanced functions, including an "Outline" tab with slide titles and a "Notes" tab with a transcript for each slide, can be toggled on or off by clicking the Change View icon . Step through the slides by using the Back and Next arrows, or by selecting a slide title from the "Outline" tab.
© 2012 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1425 K Street NW #800, Washington, DC 20005
phone: 800-487-1497 (Toll-Free) / 202-379-2200 | fax: 202-379-2299 | firstname.lastname@example.com
We welcome your feedback and invite you to complete a brief 5-question survey to help us improve your experience on CFP.net.
It's easy to participate and will take less than 2 minutes:
Click the "Yes" button below to continue your visit on CFP.net as intended. When finished, simply retrieve and complete the questionnaire that will appear in a new browser window.
Quick Links
Find a CFP® Professional
Verify Certification
Get Certified
Create an Account | Log In
Apply for the CFP® Exam
Center for Financial Planning
Career Center
Find CE Programs
Brochures & Publications


text:
The article is called "Swimming Upstream in YM" and you can check it out by clicking right here.
- Tim B.
Article at YouthMinistry.com!
I had an article published on YouthMinistry.com and I'd love for you to check it out and leave me a comment with your thoughts!
The article is called "Swimming Upstream in YM" and you can check it out by clicking right here.
- Tim B.
Holiday Drama!
I wrote this article for Brian over at X2J. Enjoy!
Ah, the holidays are here at last! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, one right after the other in a 30ish-day blur of food, family, and festivities. I love all of the traditions that go along with the holidays – Thanksgiving dinner, shopping, decking the halls, the church play, the Christmas fight…
Wait, what? The Christmas FIGHT? How did that one slip in there???
Hmm… I think if you're family is anything like mine, you might not be so surprised by that particular "tradition". The holidays can be a time of great joy AND a time of all-out-no-holds-barred-you-better-watch-out-or-I'll-make-you-cry DRAMA. I don't know exactly what it is (maybe the combination of busyness, stress, financial strain, cold-and-flu season, turkey overdosing, etc.) but the holidays seem to bring out the best and, often, the worst in us.
Whether it's your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, your crazy Aunt Marge, or YOU, someone in your family may drop the drama bomb this year and put you smack dab in the middle of a warzone. What do you do when the d-bomb drops and you're caught in the middle? Does the Bible say ANYTHING about family drama and how to deal with it?
Definitely! Here are just a few of the things the Bible says that you need to remember when facing the drama during the holidays:
#1. Do your part.
Ephesians 6:1-3 says "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother'—which is the first commandment with a promise-- 'so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.'" I know this isn't the most popular part of Scripture among teenagers – I mean seriously, honor AND obey??? Nonetheless, that's what God's Word says you have to do as a son or a daughter. Honoring and obeying your parents means you do what they ask you to do as long as it doesn't go against God's Word. It's important to do this with a good attitude and a right heart! If the idea of submitting to your parents makes you want to drop the drama bomb right here and now, pause for a second and think about this: honoring and obeying your parents is more about honoring and obeying God than anything else. Disobedience and dishonor to mom and dad = disobedience and dishonor to God. DO YOUR PART during the holidays by exemplifying this attitude of honor and obedience at home and you just might be surprised at the results!
#2. Remember to pray.
Seriously. Pray for your family and the drama that's going down. And I don't mean like this: "Dear Santa – I mean God! – I want an Xbox for Christmas, and so much candy in my stocking that it could kill me if I ate it all at once. Oh, and also, could you get my mom of my back – she's driving me NUTS! Amen." Lame! No, I'm talking about the kind of prayer James is talking about when he says "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16)." Do you believe God can change your family and diffuse the drama? HOLD ON. Think about it for a second. God – who made the universe – who spoke entire galaxies in to being with just His WORD; can that God change your family and your circumstances? You better believe He can! Prayer can DEFINITELY be a catalyst for change – at the very least it will change YOUR heart, mind, and attitude. And just like honor and obedience, you may be surprised at what else it can accomplish.
#3. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
As much as it pains me to say, sometimes when it comes to family drama, the best advice I can give you is "get through it." As a young person, a lot of times your circumstances are out of your control. You may not have dropped the D-bomb, but you're still going to be caught in the crossfire. When you find yourself in the middle of a fight you didn't start or an argument that you're not a part of, remember to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." It IS possible in the midst of all the chaos around you to find strength, peace, and even rest, and that place is in the arms of Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on Him and know that even with all the drama, everything is going to be okay.
I wish I could say that this is a three-step plan for you to bypass holiday drama altogether, but that wouldn't be the truth. The truth is that we live in a broken world and we're all broken people, and sometimes the craziness of the holidays brings out that brokenness even more than usual. BUT the beautiful thing about this time of year is that light and healing came in to a dark and wounded world, and Jesus came to rescue us! Remember that truth, and if you're facing drama, remember these simple Biblical principles, and you may see God do something amazing in you and your family this year.
Happy holidays, and merry Christmas!
- Tim B.
YouthMinistry.com Articles
Before YM Stuff existed, I wrote several articles for YouthMinistry.com - a great resource for anyone who serves in YM in any capacity! Here's a list of the articles - click on the titles to check them out!
"You Can't Force It"
"Real Christmas"
"Leader Training: Making Contact"
"Just Dance"
"Getting Through It"
"A Better Way"
"Confessions of a Britney Basher"
"Jesus: Master or Mascot"
"Coming Back"
- Tim B.


text:
Markel Corporation (MKL - Free Report) generated operating earnings of $4.99 per share in the third quarter of 2012, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.62 by 8%. However, earnings lagged the prior-year earnings of $5.48 per share.
Reported net income for the third quarter of 2012 stood at $5.32 per share, marginally below the prior-year net income of $5.48 a share.
The year-over-year earnings comparison was adversely affected by significant unfavorable prior-year loss reserve development related to asbestos and environmental exposures. However, substantial revenue growth and improved underwriting results partially offset the negatives.
Operating revenues amounted to $595 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $608 million. Revenues surpassed the year-ago figure of $562 million. However, including net realized investment gains/losses and other revenues, Markel reported total revenues of $766 million, significantly surpassing the year-ago revenues of $676 million.
Markel's combined ratio for the reported quarter came in at 101%, slightly deteriorating from 100% in the third quarter of 2011. However, the combined ratio for the reported quarter includes 6 basis points (bps) for unfavorable prior-year loss reserve development on the asbestos and environmental reserves and 1 bps for underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses related to changes in accounting method. Additionally, the prior-year combined ratio includes 7 bps related to underwriting losses caused by catastrophes.
Balance Sheet and Capital Structure
Markel's cash and cash equivalents stood at $835 million as of September 30, 2012, improving from $775 million as of December 31, 2011. Cash flow from operation in the first nine months of 2012 amounted to $240 million, declining from $261 million in the prior-year period.
Total assets as of September 30, 2012 stood at $12.4 billion, improving from $11.5 million as of December 31, 2011. Long-term debt at the end of the reported quarter amounted to $1.51 billion, while shareholders equity was $3.8 billion. Additionally, book value per share was $395.48 as of September 30, 2012, surging 12% from $352.10 at 2011-end.
Zacks Rank
Markel currently carries a Zacks #2 Rank (short-term Buy), which is supported by our long-term 'Outperform' recommendation. Peer The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV - Free Report) also carries a short-term Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) and a long-term 'Outperform' recommendation.
In-Depth Zacks Research for the Tickers Above
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) - free report >>


text:
1. Download Cityville Cash tool v1.1.
2. Open Tool and click on Generate button and wait few seconds.
3. Congatulations! The money have been added to your account.
1. You may Have to fill out a short FREE Survey this is just to prove your human and not a bot and to protect the amount of file downloads Available.
2. Once downloaded save file to desktop then open it.
3. Enter your the amount of items you want to be loaded onto your account
4. Then Click the generate button
5. Log back into your account after 1-2 minutes
Hope you Enjoy using the Cityville Cash tool v1.1 & Enjoy!


text:
Power Supply Design Considerations for Modern FPGAs
Post a comment
Today's FPGAs tend to operate at lower voltages and higher currents than their predecessors. Consequently, power supply requirements may be more demanding, requiring special attention to features deemed less important in past generations. Failure to consider the output voltage, sequencing, power on, and soft-start requirements, can result in unreliable power up or potential damage to the FPGA.
Output Voltage Requirements
The first criteria to consider when designing a power supplies for FPGAs are the voltage requirements for the different supply rails. Most FPGAs have specifications for the CORE and IO voltage rails, and many require additional auxiliary rails that may power internal clocks, phase lock loops or transceivers. Table 1 provides the voltage levels and tolerances for several popular FPGAs.
Table 1. Voltage Requirements for Common Modern FPGAs (click on image to enlarge).
Since FPGAs generally specify several permissible voltage levels for the IO, the voltage selected is dictated by the external digital circuitry. To provide flexibility, the FPGA will generally provide multiple IO banks that can be powered separately allowing the FPGA to interface with various logic families. For simplicity, the solutions illustrated in this article will assume all IO banks are powered off of a single power supply rail.
The core voltage supplies the internal logic configuration blocks of the FPGA and is where many of the internal digital path processes occur. As such, the current demanded by the core will vary greatly depending on the percent utilization of the FPGA. Most FPGA vendors provide design tools that estimate core current requirements based on the internal blocks utilized.
Over time the voltages used to power the core have been steadily dropping. Modern cores like the Stratix III can operate off of voltages as low as 0.9V. Lower core voltages are enabled by finer geometry silicon processes, and are valuable in keeping the power dissipated in the FPGA to a reasonable level. With process technologies designed to operate at lower voltage levels, keeping within the core voltage tolerance requirements has become more challenging for the power supply designer.


text:
Clarke conjures up some early magic in Morocco
Darren Clarke went on a birdie chase as he made his European Tour debut in Morocco yesterday.
The Dungannon man recorded seven birdies and four bogeys for a 69 at the Hassan Trophy.
Ireland's Peter Lawrie carded a six-under round of 66 to lie just one shot behind early pacesetter Nick Dougherty.
There were contrasting fortunes for another two Ulstermen. Ballyclare player Gareth Maybin opened with a 71 but Michael Hoey crashed to a disappointing 80 to finish seven over par.
Also off the pace are Shane Lowry (74), Damien McGrane (75) and Paul McGinley (76).
Lawrie and Clarke were playing their opening rounds on the shorter Blue course at Royal Dar Es Salam in Rabat.
Meanwhile, given a decent lie-in after returning from Wednesday's flying visit to the White House at half past midnight, Padraig Harrington opened the Transitions Championship in Fort Lauderdale with a solid two-under-par 69 yesterday afternoon.
Harrington, who presented President Barack Obama with a set of left-handed Wilson clubs and a golf bag with the Seal of Office emblazoned on it, wielded his own irons with aplomb on the challenging 7,340-yard Copperhead Course, despite playing just one practice round.
After getting up-and-down capably for par on the first two holes, Harrington hit the next nine greens in regulation, eventually sinking a sensational 37-foot putt for eagle three at 11.
He followed that up by landing a birdie from the fringe rough at 12 with a deft flick of his 9-iron. Though his putter let him down at 13 and 17, where he missed from inside six feet for par, Harrington holed out from a greenside bunker at the last to finish four behind clubhouse leader Garrett Willis who shot 65.
It wasn't such a good day for Ian Poulter, however, who is in a fight to survive the halfway cut in his last Tour event before next month's Masters. The World Match Play champion managed only a two-over-par 73.
That was eight shots adrift of Willis, who led by two from fellow Americans Jeff Maggert, Jim Furyk, Jonathan Byrd and also defending champion Retief Goosen.
Poulter, who matched the best round of the week with a closing 64 at the WGC-CA Championship in Miami on Sunday, dropped a stroke on his opening hole and followed birdies at the 11th and 17th with a bogey each time.
Belfast Telegraph


text:
No red-carpet, no fanfare, just the winners announced in a conference-style format.
At the end of the day, the focused was less on the celebrities, and more on the product. No glitter or glamor!
Hhhhmmmmm...there's something golden about that!
Now remember, the voters of the Golden Globes are international journalists, NOT critics or academy members. Sometimes, the votes are deemed "popular votes," but other times, they're actually great weather vanes for the Oscars!
But need I remind you that the Golden Globes voters gave Pia Zadorra a Best Actress award once upon a time!
Enough said...
Here's the complete list of the winners of the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards:
Best Picture, Drama: "Atonement"
Best Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Best Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Sweeney Todd"
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose"
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd"
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.
Best Animated Film: "Ratatouille"
Best Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement"
Best Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild"
Best Series, Drama: "Mad Men," AMC
Best Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, "Damages"
Best Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Best Series, Musical or Comedy: "Extras," HBO
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: David Duchovny, "Californication"
Best Miniseries or Movie: "Longford," HBO
Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Queen Latifah, "Life Support"
Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Jim Broadbent, "Longford"
Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Samantha Morton, "Longford"
Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
[ 28 comments ] ( 571 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 1224 )
"The Bucket List" kicks off the box-office weekend gaining $19.5 million buckaroos!
I'm not a big fan of this film! With a strong pedigree of Nicholson, Freeman, and director Rob Reiner, I was expecting nothing but the best! But what we got is a soapy-sudser with a predictable, sentimental plot!
Oh, well.
Here's the complete list of the top 10 box-office films for week of Jan. 11th:
1. "The Bucket List," $19.5 million.
2. "First Sunday," $19 million.
3. "Juno," $14 million
4. "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets," $11.5 million
5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks," $9.1 million
6. "I Am Legend," $8.1 million
7. "One Missed Call," $6.1 million
8. "P.S. I Love You," $5 million
9. "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie," $4.4 million
10. "Atonement," $4.3 million
[ 26 comments ] ( 1351 views ) | permalink | ( 3 / 1209 )
[ add comment ] ( 16 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 1233 )
According to Handbag, director Tim Burton has admitted that Sacha Baron used padding in his trousers when filming the musical "Sweeney Todd."
"Borat" and "Ali G" star Sacha Baron Cohen's confidence took a knock yesterday when "Sweeney Todd" director Tim Burton let the cat out of the bag about his impressive performance in the upcoming musical by admitting Cohen had used padding to achieve a prodigious trouser bulge.
"I thought he was just happy to do a musical!" Burton explained. "I didn't ask [how he did it]. But I was happy when I saw it."
And let me tell ya, Cohen's big bulge is the most frightening thing about the movie!
[ 32 comments ] ( 1463 views ) | permalink | ( 3 / 957 )
Who will get this golden trophy?
Well, we just have to find out somehow, because the WGA has recently called off the Feb. 9 awards show in Los Angeles unless it has ended its strike by then.
But before canceling the awards, the WGA announced the nominations!
So who are the best and brightest writers working in the film industry right now? Read More...
[ 29 comments ] ( 1296 views ) | permalink | ( 3 / 922 )


text:
|Numéro de publication
|Type de publication
|Numéro de demande
|Date de publication
|9 févr. 2010
|Date de dépôt
|8 mars 2007
|Date de priorité
|8 mars 2007
|État de paiement des frais
|Autre référence de publication
|Numéro de publication
|Simon Barakat, Kambiz Iranpour, Daniel H. Golparian
|Cessionnaire d'origine
|Westerngeco L.L.C.
|Exporter la citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Citations de brevets (18), Citations hors brevets (7), Référencé par (17), Classifications (7), Événements juridiques (4)
|Liens externes: USPTO, Cession USPTO, Espacenet
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of seismic data acquisition systems and methods of using same. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for seismic data acquisition in which the seismic sampling is decoupled from data transmission using asynchronous digital signal processors for data sampling, and interpolation for synchronizing the sampling.
2. Related Art
Land seismic acquisition aims to capture the acoustic and elastic energy that has propagated through the subsurface. This energy may be generated by one or more surface sources such as vibratory sources (vibrators). The vibrators produce a pressure signal that propagates through the earth into the various subsurface layers. Here elastic waves are formed through interaction with the geologic structure in the subsurface layers. Elastic waves are characterized by a change in local stress in the subsurface layers and a particle displacement, which is essentially in the same plane as the wavefront. Acoustic and elastic waves are also known as pressure and shear waves. Acoustic and elastic waves are collectively referred to as the seismic wavefield.
The structure in the subsurface may be characterized by physical parameters such as density, compressibility, and porosity. A change in the value of these parameters is referred to as an acoustic or elastic contrast and may be indicative of a change in subsurface layers, which may contain hydrocarbons. When an acoustic or elastic wave encounters an acoustic or elastic contrast, some part of the waves will be reflected back to the surface and another part of the wave will be transmitted into deeper parts of the subsurface. The elastic waves that reach the land surface may be measured by motion sensors (measuring displacement, velocity, or acceleration, such as geophones, accelerometers, and the like) located on the land. The measurement of elastic waves at the land surface may be used to create a detailed image of the subsurface including a quantitative evaluation of the physical properties such as density, compressibility, porosity, etc. This is achieved by appropriate processing of the seismic data.
Seismic sensor units typically also contain the electronics needed to digitize and record the seismic data. In one known embodiment, each sensor unit is connected to a land seismic cable, which is connected via cables to a recording instrument on a surface vehicle or other surface facility such as a platform. The land seismic cable provides electric power and the means for transferring the recorded and digitized seismic signals to the recording instrument. In other embodiments, there have been efforts to reduce the use of cables in performing land seismic, with movement toward wireless land seismic systems and methods.
Seismic sampling in a typical seismic sensor network (whether wired or wireless) may comprise up to tens of thousands or more seismic sensors measuring the seismic vibrations for oil and gas exploration. Each sensor with an analogue output has its output converted to a digital signal by an analog to digital converter (ADC) that is in turn connected to a digital signal processing (DSP) unit. Every sampling unit has its own clock frequency that drifts over time relative to the data transmission line clock that may assumed to be the master clock. The digital data is typically transmitted to a centralized recording unit. The individual sampling ADC/DSP units are traditionally phase-synchronized to the data transmission line clock by an electronic phase-locked loop (PLL).
While these systems and methods have enjoyed some success, there remains room for improvement. It is of utmost important in seismic acquisition to phase synchronize the sampling of all the sampling units. However, presently known systems and methods are more expensive and less flexible due to the above-mentioned individual sampling ADC/DSP units being phase-synchronized to the data transmission line clock by an electronic phase-locked loop. There is a need in the seismic data acquisition arts for systems and methods wherein the transmission of data is decoupled from sampling of the data, and that eliminate the costly and inflexible electronic phase locking loop, while still ensuring that the output sampling frequency of each signal processing unit is phase synchronized with the data transmission line clock. The present invention is devoted to addressing one or more of these needs.
In accordance with the present invention, systems and methods for seismic data acquisition are described which reduce or overcome short-comings of previously known systems and methods wherein the transmission of data is coupled to sampling of the data. Systems and methods of seismic data acquisition in accordance with the invention eliminate the costly and inflexible electronic phase locking loop. In the inventive systems and methods, the drift of each clock associated with a seismic sensor is periodically measured and/or calculated relative to the data transmission line clock (which may be the master clock), and interpolation techniques are used to adjust for the sensor clock drift. In this way the output sampling frequency of each signal processing unit is phase synchronized with the data transmission line clock without the use of an electronic phase locked loop circuit. Systems and methods of the invention allow more efficient seismic data acquisition, for example 2-D, 3-D and 4-D land seismic data acquisition, such as during exploration for underground hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs, or monitoring existing reservoirs. Electromagnetic signals may be used to transfer data to and/or from the sensor units, to transmit power, and/or to receive instructions to operate the sensor units.
A first aspect of the invention is seismic data acquisition system comprising:
wherein each sensor module receives periodically from the sub-system an amount of the drift of its clock relative to the data transmission line high precision clock.
Alternatively, in certain system embodiments of the invention, rather than each sensor module periodically receiving an amount of drift from the data transmission sub-system, each DSP may periodically receive information from outside the system (for example via GPS) to calculate its clock drift. In yet other system embodiments, both techniques may be employed.
Systems of the invention may comprise each DSP in the sensor system upsampling data at a particular fixed sampling rate relative to the high precision clock. The data is upsampled using a linear or nonlinear interpolation technique, based on the amount of drift of each sensor module clock relative to the data transmission line high precision clock, to increase its effective sampling rate. The data may then be decimated (downsampled to a fixed sampling frequency) relative to the high precision clock. The period between intermittent adjustments of the sampling frequency to the high frequency clock may be determined based on the nominal drift of the sensor module clocks, for example 50 parts per million (ppm), and the level of noise allowed in the system.
Optionally, the data transmission sub-system allows transmission of data to one or more base stations, which in turn transmit at least some of the data they receive to the recording station, which may be advantageous in wireless systems and methods of the invention. Wireless versions of systems of the invention may be characterized as comprising a wireless data network, wherein the wireless data network comprises the seismic sensors transmitting at least a portion of the data to one or more base stations via first wireless links which in turn transmit at least some data they receive to the recording station via second wireless links (for a completely wireless system), or through cables, wires, or optical fibers in other embodiments (partially wireless). Also as further explained herein, the recording station need not be on land, and need not be immobile. For example, the recording station may be selected from a stationary land vehicle, a moving land vehicle, a stationary marine vessel, a moving marine vessel, and a moving airborne vessel, such as a helicopter, dirigible, or airplane.
Base stations, if used in wireless or partially wireless systems, may be located strategically to cover predefined groups of sensor modules. In these embodiments, each group of sensor modules may relay data wirelessly via a mesh topology and/or in a hop to hop fashion (also referred to herein as multi-hopping). Star topologies and other topologies may also be used, but mesh topology will produce the greatest redundancy. Between each base station and the data recording station (for example recording truck), seismic data may be transferred directly from base station to recording station. Sensor modules may be spaced relatively close together in systems of the invention, for example a distance ranging from 1 meter up to about 10 meters. Because of the relatively short distance between sensor modules, multi-hopping may circumvent the potential wireless communication (RF, microwave, infra-red) problems in uneven terrain, or terrain including man-made obstacles. It is known that for transmitting data wirelessly between points A and B separated by a large distance, relaying between multiple spots between A and B will consume less energy compared to direct wireless communication between points A and B.
Systems within the invention include those comprising a first wireless link that wirelessly transmits seismic data sampled from a seismic sensor to a base station (which may be a mobile or non-mobile communication device), the base station having a second wireless link that receives the seismic data from the sensor modules and wirelessly transmits the seismic data to the land seismic data recording station, the one or more vibrators having a third wireless link that receives commands from the land seismic data recording station and wirelessly transmits vibrator data (such as status information) to the land seismic data recording station. As used herein the term "mobile", when used to describe a device, includes hand-held devices and devices that may be worn on the body of a person, for example on a belt, in a pocket, in a purse, and the like. It is not meant to include objects that may in fact be moved, but only with great effort, such as a building or shed, or with less effort a desk top computer.
In certain system embodiments the first wireless link may be selected from any wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication protocol. The second and third wireless links may be individually selected from any wireless communication protocol that supports point to multi-point (PMP) broadband wireless access. These protocols may include, but are not limited to IEEE standard 802.16 (sometimes referred to as the WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standard), IEEE standard 802.20, and the like. The second and third wireless links may use the same or different protocols.
Certain land seismic data acquisition systems of the invention may utilize wireless links and equipment allowing broadcasting of messages (audio, video, alphanumeric, digital, analog, and combinations thereof) between sensor modules, vibrators, base stations, and the recording station, or simply between the sensor modules. The messages may be time tagged and used for distance measure and clock calibration. The communication network may also be used for transmission of status information and/or quality control (QC).
A second aspect of the invention comprises methods of acquiring seismic data during a seismic survey, including time-lapse (4-D) seismic data acquisition, one method comprising:
Other methods of the invention include passive listening surveys (where no vibratory source is used) and electromagnetic (EM) surveys, where one or more of the sensor units comprises one or more EM sensors.
As used herein, "survey" refers to a single continuous period of seismic data acquisition (which may occur simultaneously, sequentially, or with some degree of time overlap), over a defined survey area; multiple surveys means a survey repeated over the same or a same portion of a survey area but separated in time (time-lapse, sometimes referred to herein as 4-D seismic). In the context of the present invention a single seismic survey may also refer to a defined period of seismic data acquisition in which no controlled seismic sources are active (which also may be referred to alternatively as passive seismic listening or micro seismic measurements).
Systems and methods of using systems of the invention allow more efficient data acquisition (including time-lapse) than previously known systems and methods. These and other features will become more apparent upon review of the brief description of the drawings, the detailed description of the invention, and the claims that follow.
The manner in which the objectives of the invention and other desirable characteristics may be obtained is explained in the following description and attached drawings in which:
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings are not to scale and illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible.
As noted in the literature and on the Internet (see for example, the website of Prof. Bengt Oelmann, Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden, http://apachepersonal.miun.se/˜benoel/asynch.htm, accessed Dec. 10, 2006) digital designs can be divided into synchronous and asynchronous circuits. The common timing reference called clock signal defines the synchronous designs. Consequently, asynchronous designs are those without a common timing reference. In the early days of digital design, design methodologies were not established and combinations of synchronous and asynchronous techniques were used. From the 1960s to the present, the usage and the development of synchronous circuits and methods achieved almost total dominance. When computers were first constructed, a few of them were fully asynchronous. Two examples are ORDVAC from the University of Illinois (1951-52) and later, MU5 from their University of Manchester (1969-74). But asynchronous techniques have later found their applications in places where synchronous techniques are not feasible. A typical example is high-speed communication over long distances, such in computer bus systems. UNIBUS in PDP-11 (1969) and VMEBUS (1980) are examples of such asynchronous buses.
The growing complexity of ICs makes clock distribution in synchronous designs more costly to design in terms of power consumption, area, and design effort. The clock distribution problem has made asynchronous design techniques a viable alternative. Some of the research carried out in the field of asynchronous design searches for ways to utilize these advantages for solving real-world problems. Most of the work in this area is carried out at universities, but there is also some research in industry. For example, Sun MicroSystems Labs proposed a new processor architecture known under the trade designation "Counterflow Pipeline Processor", and Philips Research Labs has focused on designing low-power ICs using automatic synthesis of asynchronous circuits. In recent years a mixed synchronous/asynchronous approach, commonly referred to as Globally Asynchronous-Locally Synchronous (GALS), has been advocated (according to Oelmann). The basic idea is to have a local clock for each module on the chip and to have asynchronous communication between the synchronous modules. When considering other complex digital systems based on multiple ICs and PCBs, this seems to be a natural development for very complex ICs.
The systems and methods of the present invention offer one or more of the possible advantages discussed by Oelmann, and, as noted by at least this reference, asynchronous design methods differ significantly from the methods that are currently used. Some of the possible advantageous of asynchronous systems are the following:
Average case performance: In synchronous systems, the slowest combinational path defines the maximum clock frequency. This leads to worst-case performance for all operations independently on the data. Asynchronous data-paths are designed to indicate when computation is completed. The computation time for many operations is very data dependent and this property can be exploited in cases where the worst-case delay is much larger than the average delay.
No or reduced clock skew problems: In a synchronous system, the differences in arrival time of the clock signal to different parts of the system must be controlled. Clock skew affects speed performance and may also cause malfunctioning due to race conditions. The cost of maintaining low clock skew becomes higher when the complexity of the IC increases. Asynchronous circuits do not have a global clock signal and clock skew is therefore not a problem.
Low power consumption: Only active parts of a CMOS design dissipates power in CMOS. In a synchronous system, the clock signal is still active in the idle parts. The event-driven nature of asynchronous designs leads to the fact that only the parts of the design that actually take part in the computation are dissipating power.
Low noise: Simultaneous switching in CMOS leads to high current transitions in the power lines. In a synchronous system, the charge and discharge of the clock net is a large contributor to the current transitions. Most of the switching in the gates occurs shortly after the active clock edge. This makes the total current concentrated to the time of the active clock edge. The fast current transitions cause fluctuations on the power supply lines that may cause lowered speed performance or malfunctioning of the digital logic. In a mixed analog/digital system, the digital noise may affect sensitive analog circuits. Asynchronous circuits are not synchronized and the current is more uniformly distributed in time.
Modularity: In asynchronous modules, both timing and functionality may be located inside the module. From the user's point of view, only the sequence of operations is important when using the module. Incremental upgrading of the performance of the asynchronous system only requires the replacement of the module that is limiting the performance, without having to change or retime the system in any other way.
Scalability: In general, a digital system consists of different parts implemented in different technologies and these may be communicating over different types of media. Different types of design techniques are then used for different types of implementation technologies. A typical scenario is as follows: Inside the IC, a high-speed global clock signal is used that is generated from a phase-locked loop (PLL), which is synchronized to a slower external clock signal. Communication between the ICs on the same PCB is synchronized to the slower clock. Board-to-board communication is handled by an asynchronous standard bus system (such as VMEBUS). Crossing the boarders of implementation technologies makes it necessary to introduce new design techniques. By using asynchronous circuits from the beginning, it is possible to keep the same design technique throughout the system design.
As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,882, "synchronous" systems apply a fixed time step signal (i.e., a clock signal) to the functional units to ensure synchronized execution. Thus, in synchronous systems, all the functional units require a clock signal. However, not all functional units need be in operation for a given instruction type. Since the functional units can be activated even when unnecessary for a given instruction execution, synchronous systems can be inefficient.
The use of a fixed time clock signal (i.e., a clock cycle) in synchronous systems also restricts the design of the functional units. Each functional unit must be designed to perform its worst case operation within the clock cycle even though the worst case operation may be rare. Worst case operational design reduces performance of synchronous systems, especially where the typical case operation executes much faster than that of the worst case criteria. Accordingly, synchronous systems attempt to reduce the clock cycle to minimize the performance penalties caused by worst case operation criteria. Reducing the clock cycle below worst case criteria requires increasingly complex control systems or increasingly complex functional units. These more complex synchronous systems reduce efficiency in terms of area and power consumption to meet a given performance criteria such as reduced clock cycles.
In asynchronous seismic data acquisition systems and methods of the invention, performance penalties only occur in an actual (rare) worst case operation, and the inventive systems and methods may be tailored for typical case performance, which can result in decreased complexity for processor implementations that achieve the performance requirements. Further, because asynchronous systems only activate functional units when required for the given instruction type, efficiency is increased. Thus, the asynchronous seismic data acquisition systems and methods of the invention may provide increased efficiency in terms of integration and power consumption.
A first aspect of the invention is seismic data acquisition system comprising:
wherein each sensor module clock has a clock frequency that drifts over time relative to a data transmission line high precision clock frequency, and each sensor module receives periodically from the sub-system an amount of the drift of its clock relative to the data transmission line high precision clock.
Alternatively, in certain system embodiments of the invention, rather than each sensor module periodically receiving an amount of drift from the data transmission sub-system, each DSP may periodically receive information from outside the system (for example via GPS) to calculate its clock drift. In yet other system embodiments, both techniques may be employed.
Systems of the invention may comprise each DSP in the sensor system upsampling data to a particular fixed sampling rate relative to the high precision clock, and based on this drift using linear or nonlinear interpolation to increase its effective sampling rate. The data may then be downsampled to a fixed sampling frequency relative to the high precision clock. The period between intermittent adjustments of the sampling frequency to the high frequency clock may be determined based on the nominal drift of the sensor module clocks, for example 50 parts per million (ppm), and the level of noise allowed in the system.
Decimation is the process of filtering and downsampling a signal to decrease its effective sampling rate. The filtering is employed to prevent aliasing that might otherwise result from downsampling. The operation of downsampling by factor MεN describes the process of keeping every Mth sample and discarding the rest. This is denoted by "↓M" in block diagrams. Interpolation is the process of upsampling and filtering a signal to increase its effective sampling rate. The operation of upsampling by factor LεN describes the insertion of L−1 zeros between every sample of the input signal. This is denoted by "↑L" in block diagrams.
Systems and methods of the invention may operate as follows: we can assume that in the DSP at one stage we have a sampling frequency of X+δ Hz, where "X" is the nominal sampling frequency and "δ" is the DSP clock's deviation from the data transmission line clock or the master clock. In certain embodiments of the invention δ is calculated and provided periodically to the DSP, for example by the recording station. The sampling frequency, X, is then interpolated to MX, where "M" is an integer. An example may clarify this procedure. In one example at one particular decimation stage in a DSP we assume a sampling frequency of 20 kHz+δ relative to the master clock's sampling frequency. δ is small here. In this particular example we apply a linear interpolation of "approximately" 16 times (i.e., M=16) to 320 kHz. The signal is then downsampled, this time "exactly" 16 times, back to 20 kHz by a downsampling filter and prior to further filtering and downsampling at later decimation stages. The upsampling factor used in interpolation, linear or nonlinear, is largely determined by the level of noise allowed at the output.
Suitable interpolation techniques include any method of constructing new data points from a discreet set of known data points. There are many different interpolation methods, such as linear, polynomial, spline, and the like. Some of the concerns to take into account when choosing an appropriate interpolation algorithm are how accurate is the method, how expensive is it, how smooth is the interpolant, and how many data points are needed. Linear interpolation is generally easier to implement that other interpolation methods, but may not have the desired accuracy. Error is proportional to the square of the distance between the data points. Another disadvantage is that the interpolant is not differentiable at the point of interest. Polynomial interpolation is a generalization of linear interpolation. In linear interpolation, the interpolant is a linear function. In polynomial interpolation the linear interpolant is replaced by a polynomial of higher degree. The interpolation error is proportional to the distance between the data points to the power n, where n is the number of known data points. Furthermore, the interpolant is a polynomial and thus infinitely differentiable. However, polynomial interpolation also has some disadvantages. Calculating the interpolating polynomial may be relatively computationally expensive. Furthermore, polynomial interpolation may not be exact at the end points. These disadvantages can be avoided by using spline interpolation. Spline interpolation uses low-degree polynomials in each of the intervals, and chooses the polynomial pieces such that they fit smoothly together. The resulting function is called a spline. Other forms of interpolation may be used in the systems and methods of the invention by picking a different class of interpolants. Some examples include, rational interpolation, which is interpolation by rational functions, and trigonometric interpolation, which is interpolation by trigonometric polynomials. The discrete Fourier transform is a special case of trigonometric interpolation. Another possibility is to use wavelets. Multivariate interpolation is the interpolation of functions of more than one variable, and such methods include bilateral interpolation and bicubic interpolation is two dimensions, and trilateral interpolation in three dimensions.
Systems and methods of the invention may be used in land- and marine-seismic surveying, and may employ wired (copper wires or optical fiber connections) or wireless transmission of data and commands. In any case, the sampling is decoupled form the data transmission. Each DSP/ADC unit has its own clock that is not phase-locked by an electronic device (electronic PLL) to the data transmission line. Stated differently, the systems and methods of the invention, by decoupling the transmission of data from sampling, and avoidance of the need for an electronic PLL, allows the systems and methods of the invention to be less expensive, more robust and flexible for seismic data acquisition systems.
Digital signal processors useful in the invention may be either fixed or floating-point DSPs, and are available from a number of suppliers, including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Lucent Technologies, Infineon, and Philips. Programming of fixed or floating-point DSPs may be accomplished using a number of techniques, ranging from programming directly using assembly language, which may be difficult, to programming a higher order code, such as C language, or an object-oriented language such as C++ language, and then using a suitable compiler.
Systems and methods of the invention may be "completely wireless", wherein all wires, cables, and fibers for communication between vibrators, seismic sensors, base stations, and the recording station are substantially eliminated. This does not rule out the use of wires, cables, or fibers (such as optical fibers) for example in the recording station equipment and vibrators, for example for power, and the use of tie-down cables it necessary in windy conditions. In marine systems, this does not rule out towing cables distance cables, and the like, required to deploy the seismic sources and sensors, deflectors, and the like.
Wireless systems and methods may offer improvements over systems and methods that use wire or optical fiber for communications in terms of one or more of robustness, scalability, cost, and power-efficiency. Systems and methods of the invention allow more efficient seismic data acquisition, for example 3-D and 4-D land seismic data acquisition, such as during exploration for underground hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs, or monitoring existing reservoirs. Electromagnetic signals may be used to transfer data to and/or from the sensor units, to transmit power, and/or to receive instructions to operate the sensor units.
A simplified schematic view of a land seismic data acquisition system of the invention is illustrated in
The system illustrated in
First wireless links 9 may be characterized as Wireless Personal-Area Networks (WPAN). A "WPAN" is a personal area network (PAN) using wireless connections. WPAN is currently used for communication among devices such as telephones, computers and their accessories, as well as personal digital assistants, within a short range. The reach of a PAN is typically within about 10 meters. These protocols may include, but are not limited to Bluetooth (registered certification mark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc., Bellevue Wash.), ZigBee (registered certification mark of ZigBee Alliance Corporation, San Ramon, Calif.), Ultra-wideband (UWB), IrDA (a service mark of Infrared Data Association Corporation, Walnut Creek, Calif., HomeRF (registered trademark of HomeRF Working Group Unincorporated Association Calif., San Francisco, Calif.), and the like. Bluetooth is the most widely used technology for the WPAN communication. Each technology is optimized for specific usage, applications, or domains. Although in some respects, certain technologies might be viewed as competing in the WPAN space, they are often complementary to each other.
The IEEE 802.15 Working Groups is the organization to define the WPAN technologies. In addition to the 802.15.1 based on the Bluetooth technology, IEEE proposed two additional categories of WPAN in 802.15: the low rate 802.15.4 (TG4, also known as ZigBee) and the high rate 802.15.3 (TG3, also known as Ultra-wideband or UWB). The TG4 ZigBee provides data speeds of 20 Kbps or 250 Kbps, for home control type of low power and low cost solutions. The TG3 UWB supports data speeds ranging from 20 Mbps to 1 Gbps, for multi-media applications. In the Table 1, the main characters of the WPAN technologies as specified in the IEEE 802.15 are delineated.
Wireless Personal Area Network Characteristics*
ZigBee (IEEE
Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1)
Computer and accessory
Multimedia content
Home control
Building automation
Computer to compute
High-resolution radar,
Industrial automation
Computer with other digital
Home security
Medical monitoring
Wireless sensor
Radio locations systems
Frequency Band:
2.4-2.48 GHz
3.1-10.6 GHz
868 MHz
902-928 MHz
~10 meters
~10 meters
~100 meters
Maximum Data
3 Mbps
1 Gbps
20 Kbps
transfer rate:
40 Kbps
250 Kbps
BPSK (868/928 MHz)
OPSK (2.4 GHz)
*From networkdictionary.com, accessed at: http://www.networkdictionary.com/wireless/WPAN.php?PHPSESSID=354101c49bc9d97659791acaecddca 16, on Nov. 8, 2006
In wired communication systems, mesh network topology is one of the key network architectures in which devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes such as routers and switches. (See definition of mesh topology in the networkdictionary.com) In a wired communication system using mesh topology, if any cable or node fails, there are many other ways for two nodes to communicate. While ease of troubleshooting and increased reliability are definite pluses, wired mesh networks are expensive to install because they use a lot of cabling. Often, a mesh topology will be used in a wired communication system in conjunction with other topologies (such as Star, Ring and Bus) to form a hybrid topology. Some WAN architecture, such as the Internet, employ mesh routing. Therefore the Internet allows sites to communicate even during a war.
There are two types of mesh topologies: full mesh (as depicted in
In wireless systems and methods of the invention, due to the wireless nature of the communications using a wireless data network architecture, redundancy, robustness, and flexibility, are all increased, while cost as reduced. As illustrated in the full mesh topology of
The second and third wireless links (i.e., links 16 and 18, respectively, as illustrated in
The IEEE 802.16 WiMax standard was published in March 2002 and provided updated information on the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) technology. The extension given in the March 2002 publication extended the line-of-sight fixed wireless MAN standard, focused solely on a spectrum from 10 GHz to 60+ GHz. This extension provides for non-line of sight access in low frequency bands like 2-11 GHz. These bands are sometimes unlicensed. This also boosts the maximum distance from 31 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) and supports PMP (point to multipoint) and mesh technologies. The IEEE approved the 802.16 standards in June 2004. WiMax may be used for wireless networking like the popular WiFi. WiMax, a second-generation protocol, allows higher data rates over longer distances, efficient use of bandwidth, and avoids interference almost to a minimum. WiMax can be termed partially a successor to the Wi-Fi protocol, which is measured in feet, and works over shorter distances.
As used in the context of seismic data acquisition in systems of the invention, the seismic sensors and base stations may be compared to a metropolitan area networking (MAN), as given in the 802.16 standard, sometimes referred to as fixed wireless. In fixed wireless, a backbone of base stations is connected to a public network. As with a MAN, each of base station 10 supports many "fixed subscriber stations" (sensor units 8), which are akin to either public WiFi hot spots or fire walled enterprise networks. Base stations 10 use a media access control (MAC) layer, and allocate uplink and downlink bandwidth to "subscribers" (sensor units 8) as per their individual needs. This is basically on a real-time need basis. The MAC layer is a common interface that makes networks interoperable. In the future, one can look forward to 802.11 hotspots, hosted by 802.16 MANs. These would serve as wireless local area networks (LANs) and would serve the end users directly too.
WiMax has two main topologies, either of which may be used in systems and methods of the present invention, namely Point to Point for backhaul and Point to Multi Point Base station for Subscriber station. In each of these situations, multiple input multiple output antennas may be used. The protocol structure of IEEE 802.16 Broadband wireless MAN standard is illustrated in
Use of WiMax protocol provides systems and methods of the invention and their end users many user applications and interfaces, for example Ethernet, TDM, ATM, IP, and VLAN. The IEEE 802.16 standard is versatile enough to accommodate time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division duplexing (FDD) deployments and also allows for both full and half-duplex terminals.
IEEE 802.16 supports three physical layers. The mandatory physical mode is 256-point FFT OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). The other modes are Single carrier (SC) and 2048 OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access) modes. The corresponding European standard—the ETSI Hiperman standard defines a single PHY mode identical to the 256 OFDM modes in the 802.16d standard.
The MAC was developed for a point-to-multipoint wireless access environment and can accommodate protocols like ATM, Ethernet and IP (Internet Protocol). The MAC frame structure dynamic uplink and downlink profiles of terminals as per the link conditions. This entails a trade-off between capacity and real-time robustness. The MAC uses a protocol data unit of variable length, which increases the standards efficiency. Multiple MAC protocol data unit may be sent as a single physical stream to save overload. Also, multiple Service data units (SDU) may be sent together to save on MAC header overhead. By fragmenting, large volumes of data (SDUs) may be transmitted across frame boundaries and may guarantee a QoS (Quality of Service) of competing services. The MAC uses a self-correcting bandwidth request scheme to avoid overhead and acknowledgement delays. In systems and methods of the invention, this feature may also allows better QoS handling than previously known systems and methods. The terminals have a variety of options to request for bandwidth depending on the QoS and other parameters. The signal requirement can be polled or a request can be piggybacked.
In systems and methods of the invention, the 802.16 MAC protocol may perform Periodic and Aperiodic activities. Fast activities (periodic) like scheduling, packing, fragmentation and ARQ may be hard-pressed for time and may have hard tight deadlines. They must be performed within a single frame. The slow activities, on the other hand, may execute as per pre-fixed timers, but are not associated with any timers. They also do not have specific time frame or deadline.
Table 2 compares similarities and differences in the first wireless and second and third wireless links useable in systems and methods of the invention (borrowed from Javvin.com).
Comparable Properties of First and Second Wireless Links
2-11 GHz
2.4 GHz
~31 miles (50 km)
~100 metres
~10 metres
Data Transfer
70 mbps
11-55 mbps
20-55 mbps
1000 s
The 802.11 is based on a distributed architecture, whereas, WiMax is based on a centrally controlled architecture. In this the scheduler residing in the Base station (BS) has control of the wireless media access. WiMax can support multiple connections conforming to a set of QoS parameters and provides the packet classifier ability to map the connections to many user applications and interfaces.
Certain embodiments of systems and methods of the invention may use a wireless data network based on a newer protocol, IEEE 802.20. This standard, like the 802.16 standard, is aimed at wireless high-speed connectivity to mobile consumer devices like cellular phones, PDAs and laptop computers. The IEEE 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Working Group is developing an air-interface standard for mobile BWA systems that operate in licensed bands below 3.5 GHz. It is targeting peak data rates of over 1 Mb/s per user at vehicular speeds to 250 km/hour. This maybe useful for systems of the invention using, for example, a moving data recoding stations, for example a moving truck, an airplane or helicopter, rather than a stationary recording station. Systems and methods using this standard will operate in the 500 MHz-3.5 GHz range. Currently, this protocol is offered by QUALCOMM Flarion Technologies, Bedminster, N.J., and ArrayComm, San Jose, Calif.
Systems and methods of the invention may include provision of multi-antenna signal processing (MAS) software architectures for implementation of the second and/or third wireless links employing WiMAX. The WiMAX profiles support both adaptive antenna system (AAS) and multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) architectures in baseline form. MAS implementation, such as though use of the product known under the trade designation "A-MAS" from ArrayComm, may enhance baseline MIMO through the addition of essential interference mitigation. Generic MIMO systems provide link robustness and enhance point-to-point data rates by transmitting signals multiple times and/or transmitting multiple signals. Without active interference mitigation, these additional transmissions incur the cost of decreased signal-to-interference ratios for co-channel users in other cells. In the single-cell environments typified by wireless LANs, where MIMO techniques have seen their first commercial success, this increased interference has no adverse effects. In a networked system such as WiMAX where multiple cells share the same spectral resources, the increased interference degrades network capacity and overall service quality, even though it may improve links for some users. It also prevents the use of MIMO techniques for enhancing data rates outside the cell center. By combining AAS techniques with MIMO in our A-MAS solution, MIMO's benefits can be realized throughout the cells in the network, simplifying network planning and providing performance improvements operators can rely on. A-MAS software may run as a synthesizable core or as an embedded DSP code within common ASIC architectures, integrating into client device physical layers through modular interfaces. The approach taken by software products such a that known as A-MAS takes precise control of the space dimension and puts radio energy (or receive sensitivity) only where it's really required. The software drives an array of two or more antennas on either the client device, the base station, or both, leveraging the principle of coherent combinations of radio waves to create a focus of transmit energy (or receive sensitivity) on the intended recipient (sender) and the absence of energy (sensitivity) on sources of co-channel interference. As applied in the context of inventive methods and systems, A-MAS-enabled base stations and sensor units may take advantage of all the possible gains from using multiple antennas: link budget improvements from diversity and combining gains, along with client data rate and overall network capacity benefits from active interference mitigation and spatial mutliplexing.
Systems and methods of the present invention solve or reduce problems associated with cable-based land seismic systems, or previously known sensor unit-based systems for acquisition of time-lapse land seismic data, namely cost, power and data transfer.
Land sensor units useable in the invention may include, in addition to measurement sensors, a high-precision clock, low-power electronics, long-term battery and memory components, and an autonomous power generating unit which provides power to charge the batteries in the sensor units without being reliant on power charge from external means.
The sensor units may remain on the land between seismic surveys or be removed therefrom. During idle periods, an autonomous power generation component, if present, will generate enough power to recharge the autonomous power source, which may be one or more rechargeable batteries, one or more capacitors, and the like. Batteries and capacitors may be based on any chemistry as long as they are self-sufficient for the duration intended, which may be months to years. Batteries or battery cells such as those known under the trade designation "Li-ion VL45E", available from SAFT, Bagnolet, France, may be used. Another alternative is to use capacitors as storage devices for power. Capacitors are smaller and have higher storage capacity, such as discussed in the publication "Researchers fired up over new battery", MIT News Office, Feb. 8, 2006, accessed Nov. 7, 2006 at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/batteries-0208.html, incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, sensor units of the invention may be placed in "sleep" mode for energy conservation during periods of no operation.
"Autonomous power generation" components are to be distinguished from "autonomous power sources." As used herein, the phrase "autonomous power generation" is an optional, but highly desirable feature for sensor units of the invention, and refer to one or more components allowing the autonomous power source or sources to be regenerated, recharged, or replenished, either fully or partially, in order that the seismic sensor unit may remain on the land between seismic surveys. While in theory this may be possible through power brought to the seismic sensor unit by means of a vehicle, this is a slow and cumbersome process. Instead, the sensor units of the present invention may include a means of extracting power from their local environment, sometimes referred to as energy harvesting. Examples of suitable autonomous power generation components include those which may use wind energy, solar energy, and the like, which may be transformed into electrical energy by known means of energy conversion. The autonomous power sources (batteries, for example) may be recharged during periods between seismic surveys which could be anywhere between a few months and one to two years.
Sensors useable in the invention for land-based seismic may be individual sensors or a package of two or more sensors. One suitable sensor package is that known under the trade designation "4C Sensor" available from WesternGeco LLC, comprised of three geophones or accelerometers.
Sensor units useable in the invention may also comprise an electronics module having ultra-low power requirements, and may include a high-precision clock, an analog-to-digital converter, power management software and hardware, and a control module for data input/output.
The total power consumption of the digitizing electronics within a sensor unit may be expected to not exceed 50 mWatt. In addition, by using low-power memory (for example flash EPROM), the total power consumption of the complete inventive sensor units is not expected to exceed 150 mW at any time. This is at least a factor of 10 less than with current technology used in land sensor units. The battery capacity that is needed to provide power to an inventive sensor unit for a typical seismic survey period of six weeks is only 150 Wh. Rechargeable Li-Ion batteries may provide approximately 350 Wh/l and 150 Wh/kg, hence the total battery volume and weight is expected approximately 0.4 liter and 0.6 kg.
Data that is recorded by the land sensor units may be transferred to the base stations, an din turn to the recording station. In other embodiments it may be desirable to remove and transport one or more memory modules from a particular sensor unit. For example, one might equip a sensor unit with N memory modules for N surveys. In these embodiments, for example, for each survey one memory module is taken out. Both methods of data transfer may be used. In certain embodiments data transfer may be achieved through multiple channels and/or by multiple methods in order to increase the speed and/or amount of the data transmission.
Methods of using systems of the invention may include measurement, calculation and other sub-systems useful in implementing methods of the invention. Calculation units may include software and hardware allowing the implementation of one or more equations, algorithms and operations as required, as well as access databases, data warehouses and the like, via wire or wireless transmission.
The initial position to within few meters of accuracy of one or more sensor units of the invention may be determined for instance by using GPS.
The performance of a marine seismic acquisition survey typically involves one or more vessels towing at least one seismic streamer through a body of water believed or known to overlie one or more hydrocarbon-bearing formations. WestemGeco L.L.C., Houston, Tex., currently conducts high-resolution Q-Marine™ surveys, in some instances covering many square kilometers. A survey vessel known as a Q-Technology™ vessel may conduct seismic surveys towing multiple, 1000-12000-meter cables with a separation of 25-200 meters, using the WestemGeco proprietary calibrated Q-Marine™ source. "Q" is the WesternGeco proprietary suite of advanced seismic technologies for enhanced reservoir location, description, and management. For additional information on Q-Marine™, a fully calibrated, point-receiver marine seismic acquisition and processing system, as well as Q-Land™ and Q-Seabed™, see http://www.westerngeco.com/q-technology. The seismic vessel and streamers progress forward at about 5 knots and the system is able to cover large areas of open ocean relatively efficiently. Thus, the traditional towed streamer seismic acquisition system is well-suited to explore the geological structures of previously unexplored or unexploited areas.
It is within the invention to interface systems of the invention with other data acquisition systems and methods, for example other land seismic data acquisition systems, such as cable-based systems, and systems using previously known land seismic systems. As one non-limiting example, where a reliable land cable has been operating successfully, one might use that land cable and its sensors, and position sensor units in a grid on one or both sides of the cable.
In certain embodiments, regardless of the environment or survey area, a higher density of land sensor units throughout the spread may improve overall operational efficiency by decreasing the distances between the sensor units and the associated degradation of wireless signals. The shape of the sensor units or grids of sensor units is not in itself relevant.
Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. In the claims, no clauses are intended to be in the means-plus-function format allowed by 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6 unless "means for" is explicitly recited together with an associated function. "Means for" clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
|Brevet cité
|Date de dépôt
|Date de publication
|11 mai 1998
|14 déc. 1999
|Geo-X Systems, Inc.
|Seismic data acquisition system
|30 sept. 1997
|28 mars 2000
|Lg Semicon Co., Ltd.
|User programmable circuit and method for data processing apparatus using a self-timed asynchronous control structure
|23 déc. 1997
|11 avr. 2000
|Lg Semicon Co., Ltd.
|Apparatus and method for reducing power consumption in a self-timed system
|18 sept. 1997
|25 avr. 2000
|Lg Semicon Co., Ltd.
|Apparatus and method for system control using a self-timed asynchronous control structure
|8 sept. 1998
|14 nov. 2000
|Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.
|Low power implementation of an asynchronous stock having a constant response time
|4 juin 2002
|19 déc. 2002
|Geo-X Systems, Ltd.
|Seismic data acquisition system
|14 mars 2002
|18 sept. 2003
|Gary Scott
|Multi-interval seismic line cable system for distributed electronics
|1 sept. 2003
|3 juin 2004
|Geo-X Systems, Ltd.
|Synchronization of seismic data acquisition systems
|25 oct. 2003
|3 mars 2005
|Geo-X Systems, Ltd.
|Synchronization and positioning of seismic data acquisition systems
|28 avr. 2005
|15 déc. 2005
|Ascend Geo, Llc
|Seismic-data acquisition methods and apparatus
|28 avr. 2005
|12 janv. 2006
|Ascend Geo, Llc
|Methods and systems for acquiring and processing seismic data
|6 sept. 2005
|26 janv. 2006
|Geo-X Systems, Ltd.
|Seismic data acquisition system
|10 avr. 2006
|31 aoűt 2006
|Precision Drilling Technology Services Group, Inc.
|Compensated ensemble crystal oscillator for use in a well borehole system
|8 mars 2006
|14 sept. 2006
|Geo-X Systems, Ltd.
|Vertical seismic profiling method utilizing seismic communication and synchronization
|22 mars 2005
|28 sept. 2006
|Yoon Chang-June C
|Energy-efficient network protocol and node device for sensor networks
|11 avr. 2005
|12 oct. 2006
|Octavian Florescu
|PLL lock management system
|3 juil. 2006
|9 nov. 2006
|Cisco Technology, Inc.
|Method and System for Efficient Utilization of Transmission Resources in a Wireless Network
|8 nov. 2005
|1 févr. 2007
|Apparatus and method for compensating the drift of a local clock used as sampling frequency
|Brevet citant
|Date de dépôt
|Date de publication
|10 mars 2005
|17 avr. 2012
|D&M Holdings, Inc.
|Adaptive interpolation in upsampled audio signal based on frequency of polarity reversals
|26 nov. 2009
|15 oct. 2013
|Westerngeco L.L.C.
|Systems and methods for seismic data acquisition employing asynchronous, decoupled data sampling and transmission
|31 déc. 2009
|24 déc. 2013
|Wireless Seismic, Inc.
|Wireless data acquisition system and method using self-initializing wireless modules
|24 déc. 2013
|22 sept. 2015
|Wireless Seismic, Inc.
|Wireless data acquisition system and method using self-initializing wireless modules
|24 mars 2011
|22 déc. 2015
|Shell Oil Company
|Seismic clock timing correction using ocean acoustic waves
|9 déc. 2013
|4 oct. 2016
|Fairfield Industries Incorporated
|Method and system for transmission of seismic data
|18 mars 2014
|18 oct. 2016
|Fairfield Industries, Inc.
|Method and system for transmission of seismic data
|18 mars 2014
|22 nov. 2016
|Fairfield Industries, Inc.
|Method and system for transmission of seismic data
|5 mars 2013
|30 mai 2017
|Shell Oil Company
|Seismic cable handling system and method
|10 sept. 2013
|5 sept. 2017
|Westerngeco L.L.C.
|Systems and methods for seismic data acquisition employing asynchronous, decoupled data sampling and transmission
|18 aoűt 2015
|19 sept. 2017
|Seabed Geosolutions B.V.
|Simultaneous charging of a plurality of autonomous seismic nodes
|10 mars 2005
|20 nov. 2008
|Mitsugi Fukushima
|Auto Signal Output Device
|26 nov. 2009
|25 mars 2010
|Westerngeco, L.L.C.
|Systems and Methods for Seismic Data Acquisition Employing Asynchronous, Decoupled Data Sampling and Transmission
|31 déc. 2009
|30 juin 2011
|Wireless Seismic, Inc.
|Wireless data acquisition system and method using self-initializing wireless modules
|20 avr. 2011
|27 juin 2013
|Stingray Geophysical Ltd.
|Optical sensing system with redundant input and output trees
|18 mars 2014
|17 juil. 2014
|Fairfield Industries Incorporated
|Method and system for transmission of seismic data
|27 févr. 2014
|16 oct. 2014
|Cgg Services Sa
|Systems and methods for using a hybrid style airship
|Classification aux États-Unis
|367/76, 367/63
|Classification internationale
|Classification coopérative
|Classification européenne
|8 mars 2007
Owner name: WESTERNGECO, L.L.C., TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BARAKAT, SIMON;REEL/FRAME:018983/0304
Effective date: 20061013
Owner name: WESTERNGECO, L.L.C.,TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BARAKAT, SIMON;REEL/FRAME:018983/0304
Effective date: 20061013
|24 mai 2007
Owner name: WESTERNGECO, L.L.C., TEXAS
Free format text: CORRECTED ASSIGNMENT (REEL/FRAME;ASSIGNORS:BARAKAT, SIMON;IRANPOUR, KAMBIZ;GOLPARIAN, DANIEL;REEL/FRAME:019339/0885;SIGNING DATES FROM 20070518 TO 20070521
Owner name: WESTERNGECO, L.L.C.,TEXAS
Free format text: CORRECTED ASSIGNMENT (REEL/FRAME: 018983/0304);ASSIGNORS:BARAKAT, SIMON;IRANPOUR, KAMBIZ;GOLPARIAN, DANIEL;SIGNING DATES FROM 20070518 TO 20070521;REEL/FRAME:019339/0885
|13 mars 2013
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|25 sept. 2017
Free format text: MAINTENANCE FEE REMINDER MAILED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: REM.)


text:
Abraham Lincoln
Found 10 Records, 9 Photos and 846,628 Family Trees
Born in New, England on 1688 to Mordecai Lincoln and Sarah Jones. Abraham married Rebecca and had a child. Abraham married Rebecca Lincoln and had 6 children. He passed away on 1734 in Delaware, Pennsylvania, USA.
Family Members
Ready to discover your family story?
Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.
Potential photos and documents for Abraham LincolnView All 9 Images
Top record matches for Abraham Lincoln
Surname meaning for "Lincoln"
English: habitational name from the city of Lincoln, so named from an original British name Lindo- 'lake' + Latin colonia 'settlement', 'colony'. The place was an important administrative center during the Roman occupation of Britain and in the Middle Ages it was a center for the manufacture of cloth, including the famous 'Lincoln green'.


text:
MILPITAS — A 29-year-old San Jose resident, was arrested Wednesday night after allegedly leaving his two young children alone in a parked car for about 15 hours, until a resident saw movement in the vehicle and called Milpitas Police Department to investigate.
Julio Reyes was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on felony child endangerment charges.
The children were taken into protective custody and later transferred to the custody of the Department of Family and Children's Services, according to Milpitas police.
Later, their mother, also San Jose resident, appeared at the police station, after being contacted by police.
Milpitas police received a 911 call from a resident on the 200 block of North Hillview Drive at 12:42 p.m. Wednesday, reporting a suspicious vehicle parked across from her house all night, which she first thought was empty, had people in it.
Arriving officers discovered a 10-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, both of San Jose, alone inside of the maroon Ford Explorer.
Police said the children had been left alone in the vehicle since 10 p.m. Tuesday night by their father, Reyes. Investigating officers conducted surveillance on the vehicle and later had it towed, but were unable to locate the father.
At 11:22 p.m. Wednesday, Reyes called Milpitas Police Department to report his vehicle and children were missing.
"He knew that he left them in that location … he went to visit a friend," Sgt. Raj Maharaj said.
Reyes was interviewed and subsequently arrested.
Maharaj said the children appeared unkempt.
"They were disheveled; they were hungry and dehydrated. We got them McDonald's food," Maharaj said, adding the children looked like they had not bathed in a few days.
Maharaj said the case has been filed with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Anyone with any information regarding this investigation can call the Milpitas Police Department at 408-586-2400. Information can be given anonymously by calling the Crime Tip Hotline at (408) 586-2500 or visit ci.milpitas.ca.gov/government/police/crime_tip.asp.


text:
I was with my XWH for 26 years, from age 19 - so I was in the same boat as you except I didn't have young children - mine were both over 21 when this all went down.
After spending all of my adult life as 1/2 of a couple, I had no idea who I really was as an individual. So I explored that. I also dated some people who were wrong for me. I spent time alone and in IC trying to build myself back up.
Now, 10 years later, I have a pretty wonderful life and I just don't really care about the X, unless it affects my children and grandchildren. I'm way to busy enjoying MY life to worry about whether karma has come to visit him.
Sending strength and peace.
I know it doesn't make your hurt less. I know this has been traumatic for you. He will get his. It's going to take some time because he weasels out of accountability. At some point he will have left himself few options and it will hit but he's going to have to burn a few more bridge before he feels the pinch. Maybe by the time it happens you'll just chuckle about it and go on with your fabulous day.
Go do something you love or go try something new. Go out with friends or go for a walk alone. Get out there and start living your life, they way you want to live it. Do the things you want to do and do what makes you happy. When you aren't sure of what to do, pamper yourself a little. Depending on your $ situation, get a massage, or maybe a manicure. Buy yourself an ice cream cone or get a bag of thick rich cookies and eat them quietly at home. If $ is an issue, dress up, do your hair and makeup and go window shopping. Whatever you would enjoy.
Im here if you need to chat!!!
*Finding my strength*


text:
Historical works of art by Mar Gretta Cocking, a former art instructor at Black Hills State University, are currently on display in the BHSU Ruddell Gallery in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union.
The exhibit, "Later Works," features just over 20 paintings that were recently donated to BHSU by the Dorsett Health Care Facility, where Cocking spent her later years. Cocking's paintings were displayed at the Dorsett Home both during and after her 17 years at the facility.
Cocking was the third art instructor to teach at BHSU, joining the faculty in 1935. She retired in 1959 after 24 years of service that spanned two of the first three presidential administrations to govern BHSU.
The paintings will remain on display at the Ruddell Gallery through Friday, March 2. A reception for the exhibit will be held Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the gallery. The public is welcome to attend at no charge.
Ruddell Gallery hours are: Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 12 noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information contact Jim Knutson at 642-6104 or the Student Union Information Center at 642-6062.