text:
Radiant Heating That Goes Beyond
Experience superior comfort and energy savings like never before with our radiant heating solutions. We offer a premium line of products and controls you can count on. Our knowledgeable staff will help you select the right product for your project, accommodating any sized or shaped space with just about any floor covering, indoors or out. With Infloor, you can trust you're working with the best. We specialize in designing systems and floor plans that work best for you, maximizing efficiency and dialing in the comfort. Learn more about radiant heating and why it's the best choice for heating space and water. View our Product Catalog by clicking here.
Electric Cable
Infloor electric cable systems are easy to install, giving you an economical way to include radiant heating into any project or room.Learn More
Hydronic Systems
Infloor hydronic radiant heating systems are energy-efficient, durable, and built for long-lasting performance you can count on.Learn More
Infloor Snowmelt systems keep your outdoor areas free of snow and ice all winter long, giving you more peace of mind.Learn More
Solar Thermal
Increase energy-efficiency and savings by incorporating a solar thermal application into your radiant heating system.Learn More


text:
Welcome to the club
Enter code INSIDER10 at checkout to save 10% off your first full priced order.
Outdoor Wall lights serve a number of purposes. They play a major role in ensuring the safety of your property by illuminating darkened areas of the exterior. Using Outdoor Wall lights is also an easy way to express your personal style and extend your home's design scheme to the outside.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Greg Louganis back in US diving fold on own terms
Greg Louganis knows what it's like to be perfect. And he's concerned that kind of pressure will be the undoing of a lot of athletes at the London Olympics.
He's trying to make sure the stress of winning medals isn't heaped on the shoulders of American divers, who have been chasing his standard of excellence since Louganis became the sport's icon in the 1980s. The U.S. has been blanked in diving in two consecutive Olympics, and hasn't won a gold since 2000.
The man who won four Olympic gold medals and resembled a Greek god while spinning off the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform is back in the fold at his first games with USA Diving working as an athlete mentor.
"I'm hoping it's not too little, too late," Louganis said at last month's U.S. diving trials near Seattle.
He came on board last year — late in the four-year Olympic cycle — after being invited by Steve Foley, an Australian who had taken over as USA Diving's high performance director from Ron O'Brien, Louganis' former coach.
It marked a reunion between Louganis and the sport's U.S. governing body after years of separation, which he attributes to not being invited and not feeling welcome.
Louganis thinks it was made possible because he stopped coaching after briefly working with a diving club in Fullerton, Calif., last year. Not coaching meant he wasn't a threat to other coaches, who feared Louganis' reputation would lure their divers away. He thought doing both would be a conflict of interest.
"I'm not coaching dives, I'm observing and making recommendations of what I see, of what they may be able to add to enhance their training programs," he said.
More important to Louganis, and what he most enjoys, is being able to share his experiences, including successes and failures, with the current generation of U.S. divers. He will be in London during the games and afterward he'll attend a camp for young British divers.
"I make myself available to kids to be able to talk about their home life, their school, their boyfriends, girlfriends, their potential professional life after diving, agents," he said. "I have those experiences that some of the other kids might be going through that I can share; it opens the door to say I'm a safe place because I've been there."
Where he's been was about as low as a person can go. Louganis revealed much of his personal turmoil in his 1995 autobiography, "Breaking the Surface." There was emotional abuse by his father, physical and sexual abuse by a partner, depression, addiction to alcohol and painkillers, and the most shocking details of all — he was gay and HIV positive, something he chose not to disclose to the U.S. Olympic Committee before the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was later harshly criticized for.
"I've been to those dark places, but I came up on the other side," he said. "It gives an opportunity of realizing that there might be something else."
Most of today's divers weren't born when Louganis was making history as the only male diver to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in both springboard and platform diving.
"They know me from YouTube. They're impressed with that," he said, smiling. "Not that they read a whole lot, but you can read it in the record books."
The topic most of them ask about is when Louganis hit his head on the springboard while leading the preliminaries in Seoul. Barely 30 minutes later, he returned to compete and notched the highest score ever in a qualifying round. He went on to win the gold.
"That baffled a lot of people," the 52-year-old former champion said. "It's something that they're very curious about."
Among the current Olympians he's worked with are David Boudia, Nick McCrory and Troy Dumais, the only American man besides Louganis to make four Olympic diving teams.
"I love him," Louganis said of Dumais, who often quoted his mentor's advice during the U.S. trials.
"Even Greg Louganis said put your best dive last," Dumais said in switching the order of his list.
Louganis' Olympic success set the bar so high that no one has yet equaled it. But he says today's divers are better than he was.
"They're doing a higher degree of difficulty, they're getting higher scores," he said.
Synchronized diving has been added to the Olympic program since Louganis retired, creating four more events.
"That would have been a blast," he said. "I would have loved that."
Louganis describes his mentoring work as a "crash course" in trying to tweak the mindsets of U.S. divers who might be obsessed with perfection.
"It's not perfection that wins a medal. It's generally who makes the fewest mistakes," he said.
And if he can move the USOC's focus even slightly away from winning the medal count, then Louganis will feel better.
"That is not where the heads of the athlete need to be," he said. "Unless you perform, the medals aren't going to come. The thing that I'm most concerned about is the aftercare."
He cites the suicide of freestyle skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson last July and the death of former Olympic champion diver Mark Lenzi this year as examples of athletes who could have used help transitioning to the real world after retirement.
"It's a little unnerving because the USOC is so focused on the Olympians, and there's a lot of kids who don't quite make it as an Olympian and they're going through a lot of the same things," he said.
Louganis also works with the U.S. Olympians Association, a support network for former Olympic athletes. In his new roles, he feels relaxed and empowered because he's doing it his way.
"If I see something that's not quite right I'll call it out. People are going to get (angry) at me and that's OK," he said. "I got so much (grief) for coming out from USA Diving, but on the flip side of that, I've been getting notes from kids who are saying, 'You saved my life.'"
Louganis said his pull-no-punches approach seems to be working with the powers that be.
"I think they're receptive to it because I don't think they're accustomed to straight talk," he said. "It's like, 'Wow.' I know it's right in my heart, whether it's politically correct, I really don't care. Right is right."


text:
Welcome to Lawrence Animal Hospital
Lawrence Animal Hospital provides quality veterinary care for dogs, cats and exotic pets in Princeton, New Jersey and the surrounding communities. We are a modern and inviting hospital boasting superb veterinarians, and numerous caring support staff dedicated to our patients, clients, and community.
We are a full-service animal hospital emphasizing preventive care, internal medicine, soft tissue surgery, and care for sick and injured animals. Our veterinarians tailor their recommendations to each pet's age, breed, lifestyle and medical history.
Our goal is to help your pet enjoy a long and healthy life with you and your family!


text:
URBANA, Ill. — A review of University of Illinois finances shows the school has brought in more money than it has spent since 2013. But the university has put off more than a billion dollars in maintenance.
Mike Sandretto teaches accounting and chairs the Urbana campus' Academic Senate budget committee. He conducted the review.
According to The News-Gazette, Sandretto told the Senate on Monday that the three-campus university system has had net income of at least $300 million every year since 2010.
He says the university has deferred up to $1.8 billion in maintenance.
But Sandretto says the university has about $1.8 billion in cash and could comfortably spend $700 million.
He says some of that money could help with a supplemental retirement plan to make up for state pension-reform losses.
Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com


text:
If you search Youtube for ESL or ESOL, you will find plenty of examples.
English Teacher
I will give some lessons on English language teaching. Could you help me to find some authentic videos which demonstrate the real English class in your country?
If you search Youtube for ESL or ESOL, you will find plenty of examples.
In our country, we can't log on Youtube. Could you give other advice? Thank you!
Any video website will have them. Try Vimeo.
Or download software to bypass government censorship, such as Tor, Usurf or Webfreer, and then you can go on Youtube.
Thank you very much! I download Webfreer, and I can log on youtube now. Thank you again!
Hi ziawj2 - if you go to YouTube and search for 'intermediate lesson with SpeakYourMind' - you should find a video of a lesson with SpeakYourMind, a more modern approach to English language teaching. There is video from the lesson but also of the teacher explaining what she was doing at each stage. Take a look and see what you think


text:
Saudi Arabia wants Canada to jump. How high? As high as they can make us. Then they want us to bow down and kiss their ring.
There's really no other way to take their disproportionate reaction to a couple of Tweets, how they've implemented an almost total moratorium on diplomatic and trade relations (oh, but they'll keep selling us their far-from-ethical oil).
tap here to see other videos from our team.
"There is nothing to mediate. A mistake has been made and a mistake should be corrected," Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference in Riyadh the other day. "Canada knows what it needs to do. We don't accept interference in our affairs."
This is all in response to tweets, one by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and the other by her department, voicing disapproval at the Saudi imprisonment of Samar Badawi, a human rights activist and sister of the also imprisoned Raif Badawi, whose wife and children live in Canada.
The idea that there's nothing to mediate is nonsense. Are we to believe that the Saudis are so lacking in personal fortitude, so weak and worried about what PM Socks thinks about them, that it is only natural for them to be in a near irreparable frenzy over a couple of social media posts that didn't even travel all that far?
To the contrary, this is exactly the sort of thing that one typically does mediate. The diplomats pick up the phone and talk over what is in truth a very minor issue. It's not like this is the first time the Saudis have been publicly called out for their human rights failings.
Back in January 2015 then Conservative foreign affairs minister John Baird tweeted something similar: "Canada is deeply concerned by flogging of Raif Badawi – it is a violation of human dignity and freedom of expression."
Now the distinction here is that Baird simply voiced concern, he did not call for an "immediate release" of the prisoner, as the departmental one did from the other week.
Okay. So maybe don't do it that way next time around.
But on a scale of 1-10, Freeland's misstep is about 1 or 2. Meanwhile, the Saudis are trying to tell us it's an off the charts 11.
It's obvious what's going on here. They are trying to redraw the boundaries. They want to reset the barometer of offence to absurdly low levels, such that everyone will now walk on eggshells around their delicate sensibilities.
This is a manufactured crisis. It's like back in 1989 when they went into a frenzy over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. (Iran gets the credit for leading the charge, but Saudi Arabia was also front and centre.)
None of the people protesting had actually read the book. It was not genuinely, viscerally, offensive to them. Rather, they targeted it. They made a choice to go nuts over it. Why? To prove a point. To get Rushdie and his publishers and the whole West to submit.
The campaign against Canada is a deliberate and organized one. The Sun has learned that Saudi medical residents in Canada have received calls telling them that they have 30 days to leave the country. They're also told they'll be taken care of upon their return. This whole affair is something of a test case for them.
There are those out there pointing out that Trudeau has an inconsistent record on these issues, like how he shamefully failed to support the Iranian protesters. Or how his virtue-signalling has costs us key relationships, such as how needless feminism provisions scuppered trade deals. These are all good points, but at this particular moment they're sidebar issues.
Let's not let valid criticisms of Trudeau push us in the direction of the Saudis. Because that's exactly where they want us.


text:
Intestine and Multivisceral Transplant Program
If you have questions about COVID-19 and your upcoming appointment, please call your specialty clinic. If you are a Boston Children's patient or family member and you have general questions about COVID-19 please call our COVID-19 hotline at 855-281-5730 or 617-355-4200.
We are proud to serve a broad and diverse patient population that often comes to us for answers they can't find anywhere else. This top ranking is a credit and a tribute to our extraordinary and deeply committed clinicians, researchers and so many others who dedicate every day to improving and advancing the health and well-being of all children.
300 Longwood Avenue,
Boston, MA 02115
© 2005-2020 All Rights Reserved


text:
After the 5th World Water Forum held in March, 2009, we have prepared publications such as the Final Report, the Evaluation Report and the Global Water Framework which were distributed as hard copies and published on our website. We have established a "Water Library" using all these data and launched the websites www.waterchannel.org and www.sukanali.org . We will share with you audio visual records, presentations, documents and pictures of the Forum week on these websites.
Our secretariat has analyzed the audio visual records and created search criteria to enable easy access to information. Using these criteria you can easily and quickly find the information you need and you can watch these videos streaming through the video sharing system at all connection speeds.
If you have any similar records and information that you would like to share with us, it will be our pleasure to convey them to the global water community.
Sincerely yours
EUREKA was founded in 1985 by European Commission and 19 countries including Turkey. In course of time, member countries of Eureka Programm achieved up to 38 because of the expansion of the EUREKA cluster and their functionality.
EUREKA is an international R&D supporting program that supports the market-driven projects intended for development of the processes and products to be commercialized in short period. EUREKA was founded as an international collaboration Programme for research and development of products, services and advanced technologies of the European industrial and research institutions which aim to increase the competitive power on the global market, to encourage the projects and their management within countries. Clusters under EUREKA are systems constituted for enterprises working in pre-determined technological areas.
TUBITAK is in charge of the management of EUREKA Programme in Turkey. First introduction of the ACQUEAU cluster in Turkey was carried out in March 2009 at a Side Event of the 5th World Water Forum and was open to all participants of the Forum and promoted to the academicians, private sector and stakeholders from other institutions. The 5th World Water Forum Secretariat hosted the second meeting organized by TUBİTAK in March 2010. Representatives from ACQUEAU and TUBITAK came together to tell the private sector representatives the progresses that has been made within this past year and to talk over possible cooperation opportunities.
Who can apply for EUREKA Projectr?
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and big companies as a partner and research centres as service providers can apply for the EUREKA projects.
For more information:
The World Water Council and the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat jointly organized a side event at the Stockholm World Water Week 2009. Titled as "The 5th World Water Forum and Beyond", the side event aimed at sharing the main outcomes and key consensus areas of the Forum, as well as officially presenting its outcome documents, namely the Final Report, the Evaluation Report, the Global Water Framework and the Glimpses from the Synthesis Report, which is currently in progress and is due for publication before the end of the year.
The panel session was moderated by Dr. Jerome Delli-Priscoli of the World Water Council. Mr. Ger Bergkamp, Director General of the World Water Council, and Prof. Ahmet Mete Saatçi, Vice Secretary General of the 5th World Water Forum shared the achievements of the 5th Forum as well as the challenges to be overcome regarding cooperation and information sharing among institutions. Prof. Saatci said: 'We are happy to have kept our commitment to "Before and After Istanbul"', and expressed that the 5th Forum has been a milestone in the history of World Water Fora in terms of participation level, stakeholder-inclusiveness, greater political support and other firsts. He also stated that all efforts will be made to make the recordings of all thematic and regional sessions available online on the Forum website. Ms. Ayşen Nergiz and Mr. Özgür Bozçağa, members of the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat, introduced the Final Report, the Evaluation Report and the upcoming Synthesis Report. Dr. András Szöllösi-Nagy of UNESCO-IHP, and Ms. Simla Özkaya of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented the political process of the Forum and the Global Water Framework Report. Mr. Haydar Koçaker, General Director of the State Hydraulic Works of Turkey, gave a speech about the regional process of the Forum and announced that efforts are underway for the establishment of the Turkish Water Forum and the organization of Istanbul Water Forum 2011, which will be a periodic water event organized every two years in Istanbul. The thematic process of the Forum was evaluated by Dr. İpek Erzi of the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat. In her speech, Dr. Erzi also noted that the recordings of the thematic and regional sessions of the Forum were all listened to and analysed by the Forum Secretariat members in the months following the Forum Week. She added that this analysis has helped to see the big picture of the Forum and revealed a whole different perspective on the discussions, which will soon be possible to follow in the upcoming Synthesis Report. Finally, Ms. Martine Vassal, Deputy Mayor of the City of Marseille, congratulated Turkey for the success of the 5th World Water Forum and expressed their excitement to host the next World Water Forum in Marseille in 2012.
The well-attended side event ended with a discussion session during which the panellists received questions and constructive criticism from the floor.
The 5th World Water Forum Secretariat also set up a stand jointly with the World Water Council, where the outcome documents of the Forum were distributed, questions were answered and networking with other participant people and organizations took place. The Forum stand was managed by Ms. İdil Yılmaz of the Forum Secretariat.
The 5th World Water Forum Secretariat would hereby like to take chance to wish Marseille success regarding the organization of the next Forum.
Please follow the links below to view the outcome documents of the 5th World Water Forum.
Final Report
Evaluation Report
Global Water Framework
Glimpses from the Synthesis Rep


text:
On February 26, 2016, sixteen-year-old Mahmoud Shaalan was walking to his grandmother's house in Al-Bireh, the sister city of Ramallah, when he was shot and killed at the Bet El DCO checkpoint. The Israeli army said Shaalan attempted to stab a soldier at the checkpoint using a knife he had on his person. However, once again, they have not released video footage of the incident, and eyewitness accounts appear to contradict the Israeli narrative, saying Shaalan was turning to return the way he had come when he was shot.
Palestinian non-profit association Accountability for Violence Against Children (AVAC) held a press conference Wednesday in Ramallah to announce the conclusion of its own investigation into Shaalan's killing, which it launched at the request of his family. AVAC's investigation found Shaalan was "executed in cold blood," according to the official statement, and found seven wounds present on his body "caused by objects fired to cause harm or intent to kill."
Nader Jayousi Lawyer and spokeperson at AVAC
The investigation further found that the teen could not have been attacking a soldier at the time of his death because he only sustained wounds on his back. "The distance as well as the positioning of the victim proved he was not attempting an attack and did not pose any danger or threat to the lives of soldiers," the report added.
While the Palestinian Military Liaison has formally requested a copy of the security camera footage of the incident, it has of yet received no response from the Israeli army. According to Nader Jayousi, lawyer and spokesperson at AVAC, the Israeli army informed the organization that the cameras do not cover the area in which Shaalan was killed.
Map of the reconstruction of the event in Bet El DCO checkpoint
Mustafa Barghouti, General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, spoke at the conference. He told Palestine Monitor that extrajudicial killings committed by the Israeli army have become a commonplace occurrence. "Since October [of last year], we have noticed an unprecedented increase in the number of extrajudicial killings," Barghouti told Palestine Monitor. "This is a very serious phenomenon, it's not individual, it's a general policy and it has to stop."
While no charges have yet been filed regarding Shaalan's death, AVAC has prepared extensive evidence disproving the Israeli army's narrative regarding the killing, in case a criminal trial is launched. This evidence includes eyewitness testimony from the driver of a car stopped near the scene of the shooting, paramedic testimony from the Palestinian ambulance driver which was not allowed to tend to Shaalan's wounds, photo and video footage, and the autopsy report, among other documents.
Shaalan is a dual American-Palestinian citizen and his entire family holds United States citizenship. AVAC is working with the US Consulate and the family in their ongoing investigation.
Thirty-one children have been killed by the Israeli army since October 2015, according to child rights NGO Defense for Children International. While the IDF often opens investigations into extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, it is rare for soldiers to be prosecuted or convicted.
Back to Top


text:
UAZ Logo Russian auto t-shirt. T-shirt is made of 100% cotton. T-shirt is available in different sizes from S up XXL. With the idea of your improvement our T-shirts are produced to you. Here is your t-shirt. Click on the T-shirt and enlarge the image of this t-shirt.
UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia which manufactures off-road vehicles, buses and trucks. It is best known for the UAZ-469 utility vehicle, which has seen wide use as a military vehicle in the Eastern bloc and around the world. The UAZ factory started production in 1941 as part of the Soviet war effort.


text:
Chimneys Are Made to Protect You
A chimney is a structure made of masonry or metal, which surrounds and supports a flue or multiple flues that vent products of combustion from gas, oil, or solid fuel appliances or fireplaces. The flue, then, is the inner part of the chimney, the part that actually contains and vents the products of combustion. Flues can be made of clay tile, as in the case of most masonry chimneys, or of metal, as in the case of prefabricated or manufactured chimneys.
Think of a chimney and the flue within it as a structure built to protect you. That is an important function of all chimneys no matter what kind of appliance or fireplace they serve.
Again, the main purpose of a chimney is to vent the products of combustion from your home. That function is crucial because the products of combustion contain hazardous and noxious gasses. One of the hazardous gasses your chimney needs to remove from your home is carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can cause serious illness or death when it is present in sufficient amounts. It is responsible for hundreds of deaths and countless illnesses every year in homes across America. In many cases carbon monoxide in the home originates in a furnace or other burning appliance and finds its way into the house due to inadequate venting.
What causes inadequate venting? There are several possibilities. One is that the flue has become blocked. The blockage can come from debris falling into the chimney due to a deteriorating masonry chimney, or, it may be the result of nests built there by animals or birds. Carbon monoxide can also seep into the house through cracks or holes in flues and chimneys that moisture, chemical residue, or chimney fires have created.
The other important function of chimneys, especially those serving solid fuel burning appliances like wood stoves or fireplaces, is to keep excessive heat from combustible materials that surround the chimney. Heat or flames from a chimney fire can escape through cracks in the clay flue liner or through damaged or missing mortar joints of a chimney. They can then ignite surrounding combustible framing members of a house.
Chimney fires occur within the structure of the chimney itself. They happen when hot flue gasses or cinders ignite creosote accumulated on the walls of an unclean chimney flue. Creosote is a natural byproduct of burning wood. It is highly flammable and will accumulate on the inner walls of the flue under certain burning conditions.
Even without the occurrence of a chimney fire, framing members surrounding a chimney can have their molecular structure altered and become more flammable when exposed to excessive heat over long periods of time. This process is known as pyrolasis. Once wood is sufficiently pyrolized it can ignite at relatively low temperatures and becomes a significant fire hazard.
So, you see, a well structured chimney and flue are designed to offer protection to your family and home from both the dangers of noxious gasses such as Carbon Monoxide, and from the high levels of heat present in the flue gasses of solid fuel burning appliances and fireplaces. But, like all structures, they must receive regular inspections and maintenance in order to maintain their integrity and to continue doing their job.
How To Maintain a Properly Functioning Chimney
It is easy to understand from the information above why it is strongly recommended that all flues and chimneys in use should receive annual inspections and cleaning if neccessary. In fact, you may want to consider more frequent inspections for chimneys and flues that receive heavy use, especially those venting hotter flue gasses that contain creosote and soot produced by solid fuel burning (meaning wood or coal) fires.
A proper inspection of your chimney by a qualified chimney professional should include a thorough examination of the external structure to look for signs of deterioration or weakness. Exterior staining due to flue gasses seeping through the chimney structure, broken or spalled bricks, and deterioration of mortar joints are all signs that your chimney may need repair.
A proper evaluation should also include a visual inspection of the flue inside the chimney. Ideally, that internal inspection should be done with a video inspection device - a special camera lowered down the flue. Such devices allow chimney professionals to detect even small cracks in the chimney liner that may not be seen by the naked eye. According to the National Fire Protection Agency code, cracked chimney liners constitute a significant safety hazard and must be replaced.
All connections from the burning appliance to the chimney should also be thoroughly inspected.
If the inspections described above indicate the possibility of a chimney deficiency, then a more thorough inspection of the chimney and the structural members surrounding it may be required.
However, regular annual inspections by a qualified chimney professional should go a long way towards heading off serious chimney problems and the need for expensive repairs.
It is important to note, for an inspection to yield the best results, the flues to be inspected will need to be cleaned first. Otherwise, soot, creosote, or other residue might mask physical problems with the flue or flue liner.
What You Can Do Between Inspections To Keep Your Chimney Operating Properly
Make sure you have working carbon monoxide detectors in your home and check them regularly. They should be located in the sleeping areas of your home and preferably on each floor. Carbon monoxide detectors can alert you to possible problems within the venting systems of your furnace and gas hot water heater and keep you from prolonged exposure to even low levels of carbon monoxide.
When using wood burning appliances avoid banking the fires and closing the dampers in order to prolong burning. Slower, cooler burning wood fires are the primary contributor of creosote accumulation in a flue. Be certain to burn wood that has been properly aged. Burning green wood also contributes to creosote accumulation.
Whenever possible burn your wood fires hot. Hotter flue gasses prevent the condensation of creosote and pass more quickly through the chimney. They are therefore useful in preventing the accumulation of creosote in the flue. (If you are using a wood stove, be sure to have a stove thermometer in place so you can avoid overfiring your stove.)
It is a good idea to treat your firewood with a compound that will help keep creosote from accumulating in your flue. You can ask your chimney professional for his or her recommendation as there are several compounds on the market created for this purpose.
Make periodic visual inspections of the external portions of your chimney and any connections between burning appliances and your flue. Even cursory visual inspections can alert you to problems like connectors that have come loose or a chimney that is deteriorating.
By having your chimney inspected by a qualified professional on a regular basis and following the simple principles for proper operation of your burning appliances, you should enjoy years of trouble-free operation of your chimneys and flues.
Stainless steel pipe, either rigid or flexible, made for relining flues of masonry chimneys when the original clay liner has cracked or broken. May also be used to create a lining in a masonry chimney that was made without a clay liner.
Protective coverings for chimneys usually made of aluminum, galvanized or stainless steel, or copper. Most chimney caps have a mesh screening that serves the dual purpose of spark arrestor and barrier against animals. Chimney caps also prevent rain from entering the flue of the chimney.
A device installed at the top of a chimney for the purpose of sealing the flue shut when the fireplace is not in use. They are often used as replacements for throat dampers that are installed just above the firebox when a masonry chimney is built. Lyemance and Lock-Top top-sealing dampers are as much as 90% more efficient than throat dampers because they provide a silicone rubber gasket seal rather than metal to metal.


text:
The py_compile module provides a single function to generate a byte-code file from a source file.
Though not often needed, this function can be useful when installing modules for shared use, especially if some of the users may not have permission to write the byte-code cache files in the directory containing the source code.
'c' (
'o' if optimization is enabled in the
current interpreter). If dfile is specified, it is used as
the name of the source file in error messages instead of file.
See Also:


text:
Welcome to Mountainview Nature Park!
Located in Central Nyack in Rockland County NY, the 83 acre park features an estimated 2.5 miles of hiking trails winding their way through an Oak-Hickory forest.
The property was acquired in 1979 as a result of a gift from the Winston C. Perry family, who donated to the County's 50% share of the acquisition cost.
The land comprising Mountainview Nature Park is part of the Palisades ridge. The Palisades extend from Staten Island NY to Mount Ivy NY. The rocks are known as diabase. Diabase was formed around 200 million years ago by molten magma intruding into softer sedimentary rocks.
Virtual Hike
From the parking area on Strawberry Hill Lane we find ourselves at the trailhead of the orange blazed Mountain Trail. At 1.15 miles, the Mountain Trail is the longest trail found in Mountainview Nature Park. If you follow the Mountain Trail across Mountainview Avenue, you will intersect the Long Path. We will use the below trail map (taken from the Rockland County website) to help guide us.
Ready? Let's go!
Heading east on the Mountain Trail, we cross a Hackensack River tributary on a wooden bridge.
Dipping south we see (and hear) the NY State Thruway straight ahead near another Hackensack River tributary.
Turning north on the Mountain Trail we see several old stone walls of farms that existed here at one time.
Continuing north on the Mountain Trail the white-blazed trailhead of the .60 mile Goat Path appears to our right. Let's take it!
Heading southeast on the Goat Path a large American Crow size bird with a bright patch of red on its head flies over us. It's a Pileated Woodpecker! This guy is on the ground poking through fallen snags for its favorite food: carpenter ants.
Leaving the Pileated Woodpecker behind we continue southeast on the Goat Path and start to climb uphill.
Coming to the edge of the eastern border of Mountainview Nature Park with a building visible straight ahead, the Goat Path turns left climbing northwest along the edge of a hillside.
Careful! We have to really watch our footsteps here. Whew! We've arrived near the top.
At the top of the mountain Chestnut Oak and Eastern Red Cedar are abundant.
From here the Goat Path turns right heading southeast through an Oak-Hickory forest. Trees present in this forest include:
Just ahead we come to an intersection with the orange blazed Mountain Trail we left awhile ago. But for now, let's head south on the Overlook Spur section of the Goat Path.
As we walk on the Goat Path we spot a White-Tailed Deer to our left watching us.
Leaving the deer we continue southwest to the Goat Path terminus.
Let's take a breather to see the view. Directly in front of us is the Palisades Center Mall with the NY Thruway heading west towards the distant Ramapo Mountains. Ready to continue on? Let's turn back and head back to the Mountain Trail intersection.
We are now leaving the white blazed Goat Path and heading east on the Mountain Trail.
Just to the left of the Mountain Trail is the western trailhead of the blue blazed .28 mile Bear Swamp Trail loop. Let's go explore it!
The Bear Swamp Trail loops around Bear Swamp and will take us back to the Mountain Trail. Bear Swamp, which is seasonally flooded, is a hardwood swamp dominated by Red Maple, one of the more common trees found in the eastern forest. Shrubs such as Spicebush are quite abundant in the understory.
Ferns such as Cinnamon and Sensitive Fern are also abundant in Bear Swamp. While they are gone since we are in late fall, we still see the remains of Royal Fern.
Completing our loop, we find ourselves back on the Mountain Trail at the eastern entrance to the Bear Swamp trail. We can either continue heading east (which leads to Mountainview Avenue and the Long Path) or we can retrace our footsteps and head west. Since it's getting late, let's head west on the Mountain Trail.
Passing the Goat Path we are now heading west on the Mountain Trail.
As we walk we pass by numerous blow downs and old decaying logs. These old logs play an important ecological role in the forest. Decaying logs retain moisture and release nutrients into the ground that aid in new plant growth.
Heading southwest on the Mountain Trail, we pass near the northern boundary of the park near private property.
Walking southwest on the Mountain Trail we can just catch glimpses of the distant Hudson River through the remaining leaves on the trees to our left.
We've now begun our climb down the western border of the hill we climbed earlier on the Goat Path. This trail will take us back down pass the trailhead of the Goat path and back to our car.
We made it back to our car. Thank you so much for joining me today on this virtual hike of Mountainview Nature Park. I hope that it inspires you to visit and hike the park yourself in person!
Click below to see a list of plants found in Mountainview Nature Park!
Mountainview Nature Park Flora
Directions: (as taken from the NYNJ Trail Conference website)
To reach the park, take NY 303 to North Greenbush Road and follow it to Strawberry Hill Lane. Parking is available off Strawberry Hill Lane.
Special thanks to M. DiMola of Rockland County Parks Department for helping to review and update this post.
Feel free to Comment with Questions, Memories or Suggestions! Thank you and have fun exploring!
Hiking/Ecology Books!
1. The Nature of New York – An Environmental History of the Empire State – This work offers a sweeping environmental history of New York State
Click here for more information!
2. Eastern Deciduous Forest Ecology and Wildlife Conservation – This book is a useful tool for anyone who wants know or hopes to help one of North America's great natural resources!
Click here for more information!
3.60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: New York City: Including northern New Jersey, southwestern Connecticut, and western Long Island – Packed with valuable tips and humorous observations, the guide prepares both novices and veterans for the outdoors. From secluded woods and sun-struck seashores, to lowland swamps and rock-strewn mountain tops, this practical guidebook contains all the information needed to have many great hikes in and around New York City.
Click here for more information!
4. Take a Hike New York City: 80 Hikes within Two Hours of Manhattan – In Moon Take a Hike New York City, award-winning writer Skip Card shows you the best hikes in and around The Big Apple—all within two hours of the city.
Click here for more information!


text:
Tim Holtz Sizzix TICKET BOOTH Thinlits Die 662698662698
To use this awesome feature, you need to be logged in to our system!
You do not have any subscriptions to add this item to!
Thinlits create dazzling detailed shapes for more creative cardmaking and papercrafting projects. These wafer-thin chemical-etched die sets are designed to cut, emboss or stencil a single sheet of cardstock, paper, metallic foil or vellum. They are simple to use, compact and portable for cutting at home or on the go. Use them for enhanced intricacy and to add a special touch of inspiration to all your projects. This Thinlits Die Set showcases the bold and edgy style of Tim Holtz. His unique artistry can be seen throughout the dies in this set which are compatible with the BIGkick, Big Shot and Vagabond machines.
To cut, the sandwich requires use of a pair of Cutting Pads and the machine's included Platform; when using the Essentials Platform or Solo Platform & Shim, the Extended Adapter or Solo Adapter is required. Because of their intricacy, Thinlits Dies may require up to three passes to cut. If extra ejection is needed for easier separation of the die-cut from the design, place wax paper between the Thinlits Die and your material and then cut. These dies can also emboss when the machine's included Platform is combined with an Impressions Pad and Silicone Rubber sheet. The diagrams on the Platform offer easy guidelines about how to make the perfect Sizzix sandwich. To stencil, place the die over desired material and apply ink or chalk to the die indentations. This technique can be used alone or to enhance embossed designs. This set includes a handy storage envelope. For easy identification, trim off the packaging front flap, keep and slip into the envelope. All items sold separately. Includes 6 dies. Dies are approx. 3.875 x 1.5 to 2 x 1 inches
Coordinates with Ticket Booth Stamp CMS337.
You May Also Like...
swipe for more!
Tim Holtz Sizzix
Tim Holtz Sizzix ALPHANUMERIC STRETCH LOWER AND NUMBERS Thinlits Dies 665207
Since 1977, Ellison, the parent company of Sizzix, has been the global leader in empowering the individual to express their personal creativity through a premier suite of innovative products. The company is committed to celebrating style and leading creative expression for generations to come. Tim Holtz plays an integral part in the development and design of cutting-edge papercrafting products that are brought to market by Sizzix.


text:
Jay Bruce Hurt
X-rays and maybe an MRI will ultimately say how bad, but Jay Bruce of the Reds appeared to have badly injured his wrist on a sliding, diving bid to catch David Wrights fly here in the bottom of the first at CitiField. While there was no obvious indication of a bone break, Bruce clearly was in significant pain and not able to straighten the wrist out after he seemed to bend it the wrong way during the mishap. Bruces nightmarish last month then climaxed with a slow walk into the Reds dugout – he was replaced by Chris Dickerson. In other bad news for the Cincinnatis, Johnny Cueto had another painful first frame: 40 pitches, three runs, four hits, two walks, saved only when he struck out Johan Santana with the bases loaded and two out. For the Mets, Jeff Francoeur caught the ganmes first out and knocked in its first runs – and there was already at least one fan wearing a Francoeur 12 jersey in the stands (photo later).
1 Comment
Cub's pitcher Harden pitched an amazing game Friday and not in a good way. He loaded the bases several times on walks because he could'nt find the strike zone, then he apparently decided Thurston had the elusive strike zone in his back pocket. He threw the ball behind Thurston, the catcher could'nt control it so Thurston got on first base. He was not helped by an error by Soriano. Today, however, they beat the Cards. That must've been some after game "pep" talk by Piniella! And the notable factoid about that game is that is that there were two players named Hofpauir on the field. Hrabosky said they aren't related but I bet there's a connection somewhere.


text:
Tagged: Mitch Lively
Did the Grizzlies' roster just take shape?
Several moves were made today at the San Francisco Giants big league spring training: 21 players were reassigned to minor league spring training.
Several players were optioned to Fresno's preliminary roster: Ehire Adrianza, Nick Noonan, Juan Perez, Roger Kieschnick, Jake Dunning, Chris Heston, Dan Otero, and Sandy Rosario. Each of these players is on the Giants 40-man roster.
Meanwhile, Boof Bonser, Steve Edlefsen, Heath Hembree, Michael Kickham, Tyler LaTorre, Mitch Lively, Shane Loux, Ricky Oropesa, Adam Duvall, Brock Bond, and Gary Brown were each "reassigned."
Looking at the list of cuts today, most stand out as potential Grizzlies on Opening Day (April 4th). Adrianza and Noonan appear to be future Grizzlies up the middle of the infield. While Noonan has experience at second base, third base, and shortstop, Adrianza has played in 582 career games at shortstop and 1 at second base. Bond has played both second and third base in his career. The switch-hitting, on-base machine could fill wherever Noonan is not playing (or vice versa).
Perez and Kieschnick are going to be a part of a potentially loaded Grizzlies outfield to start the season. Perez has spent the last two seasons at Double-A Richmond, including a 2012 season in which he batted .302 with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases (33 attempts). Kieschnick, despite missing three months with a shoulder injury, led the Grizzlies with 15 home runs in 2012.
Other possibilities in the Grizzlies outfield include Brown, the Giants' 2nd-best prospect according to MLB.com, and Francisco Peguero. Peguero has stood out this spring, batting .424 in 13 games with the big club. He is competing with Cole Gillespie, Andres Torres, among others, for a spot in the Giants outfield.
LaTorre was assigned to minor league camp after returning from his time with Team Italy at the World Baseball Classic. LaTorre appeared in 2 games with Italy, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
Bonser, Heston, and Kickham are the frontrunners for the Grizzlies starting pitching staff. Bonser used the 2012 season to recover from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander started out of the bullpen with Fresno last July, but slowly worked his way back to a starting role. In 307 career games, Bonser has started 245 of them. Heston and Kickham are the rising prospects, who recently gained the attention of the Giants brass. Heston was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year last year while Kickham is a hard-throwing left-hander. Those can be hard to find.
Dunning, Edlefsen, Hembree, Lively, Loux, Otero, and Rosario are candidates for the Grizzlies' relief corps. Loux has plenty of starting experience in his career, but he pitched solely out of the bullpen in 2012. Rosario is the latest addition to the Giants organization. The right-hander posted a 1.04 ERA in 25 appearances with the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2012 while leading the team with 16 saves. The Grizzlies' co-leader in saves from yesteryear, Hembree, will be looking to improve himself in the early part of this season to make sure he can crack the Giants' roster soon.
Winter League Update – Nov. 27, 2012
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
The Arizona Fall League season ended on November 17th when the Peoria Javelinas beat Salt River for the 2012 AFL Championship. Hembree and the Scottsdale Scorpions finished second in the Eastern Division as the team posted a 15-16 record. Hembree, though, did not pitch in the final week of the AFL season. His last appearance came on November 10th when he threw one inning and allowed no runs or hits against the four batters he faced. The right-hander finished the fall season with 12 strikeouts and three walks over nine innings. He also held opponents to a .229 batting average against.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
Runzler's 2012 season ended like Hembree's: he did not appear in any games for Scottsdale entering the final week of the AFL season. The left-hander ended his fall season with 11 strikeouts and seven walks over eight innings. All seven of his walks occurred in his final four outings when he posted a 4:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio across three innings.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.317/.364/.585 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 10 games
Dominguez went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter in his last game with Scottsdale in 2012, keeping alive his nine-game hitting streak. He ended the season in a tie for the most home runs on the team with three. In six of his 10 games, he played left field while he served as the designated hitter in three games and played third base in one contest. Dominguez, who entered 2012 having played in 303 of his 334 career games as a third baseman, switched primarily to outfield during the 2012 regular season. He played outfield in 84 of his 92 games between Richmond and Fresno.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 3.65 ERA (10 er, 24.2 ip) in 6 starts
In his only start of the week, Bonser suffered his second loss of the season after he lasted 1 2/3 innings in a November 17th start. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out one. The outing was Bonser's shortest of the VWL season.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 7.71 ERA in 12 games
Lively was roughed up on November 13th against Cardenales de Lara. In what eventually became a 9-1 loss for the Bravos, Lively surrendered four runs without recording an out in the top of the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed back-to-back singles (including a bunt single) to start the inning before issuing a walk to load the bases. Lively then surrendered a two-run single to Jairo Perez, which forced Lively from the game. Silfredo Garcia spelled Lively, but Garcia proved just as effective when he allowed a two-run double to the first batter he faced (the runs were charged to Lively). Lively came back in his next outing on November 18th and did not allow a run over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two in the November 18th outing, his first multi-strikeout performance in the Venezuela League this season.
Yusmeiro Petit – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in 2 starts
One of the Grizzlies' most effective starters from 2012 made his VWL debut on November 16th, allowing one run and scattering eight hits over five innings. Petit would go on to suffer the hard-luck loss after the Bravos fell to Navegantes 1-0. In his second start, Petit threw five innings and suffered the loss once again. Only this time, Petit allowed six runs on six hits while striking out five and walking one on November 22nd.
Jean Machi – Navegantes de Magallanes (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 7 games
Machi made his VWL debut on November 13th, surrendering one run on two hits in a blown save. This set off a string of three straight outings – over three consecutive days – for Machi in which he blew a save opportunity. The right-hander took a couple days off, though, and returned to the mound on November 18th. He promptly struck out two of the three batters he faced in one inning of shutout baseball. In four appearances from November 18-23, Machi allowed one run over four innings to lower his ERA from 15.43 to 7.11.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.256/.393/..522 with 7 HR and 13 RBI in 29 games
Since starting the season batting .419 through his first nine games, Linden has seen his batting average fall to .256 through November 26th. In his last 29 at-bats, the switch hitter has five hits (or a .172 average). However, Linden has proven his worth with an on-base percentage of .385 over that same 29 at-bat stretch, helped by eight walks and two hit-by-pitches. His 18 walks in 29 games are tied for third most in the DWL. Linden also added two home runs between November 20th and 26th, keeping him in second place in the league for most home runs with seven.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.228/.308/.391 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 24 games
Kieschnick has not appeared in a game since November 17th when entered the game originally as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. After striking out, he stayed in the game as a defensive replacement in right field, but he did not bat again. Over his last 20 at-bats, Kieschnick is hitless with two walks.
Francisco Peguero – Gigantes del Cibao (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.235/.257/.353 with 4 RBI in 8 games
Peguero, who along with Jean Machi were with the Giants but not active during the World Series run, played in his first game with Cibao on November 16th. He went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a walk. In his second game, Peguero went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base. With the bar set high, he has cooled off a bit, going 4-for-27 from November 19th-25th – including a 0-for-8 performance during a 16-inning game on November 20th. Defensively, Peguero has played center field in all eight of his games with the Gigantes.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw has not pitched since November 4th.
Winter League Update – Nov. 12th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
Over two appearances last week, the right-hander did not allow a hit or a run in two total innings. The one base runner he allowed was via a leadoff walk on November 10th, but he successfully nullified the leadoff runner with three consecutive outs to pick up his second save of the AFL campaign. Each of Hembree's nine appearances this season have been to end the game, which places him in a tie with three others for most games finished entering November 12th.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
The southpaw's week got off to a rough start. He allowed two runs on one hit and three walks without recording an out against Mesa on November 5th. He also allowed another two runners he inherited to score in the game as a 3-1 Scottsdale advantage evaporated into a 5-4 loss after the four-run seventh inning. Runzler redeemed himself three days later when he did not allow Peoria to score in the ninth inning. The only issue: Scottsdale was already trailing 12-4 entering the ninth after Peoria erupted for 10 runs in the top of the eighth. Runzler did walk two batters on November 8th, giving him five over the week. He had two combined walks in his first eight appearances of the season.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.324/.375/..622 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 9 games
Dominguez only appeared in one game last week, going 1-for-5 against Mesa on November 7th. Dominguez's hit occurred in his third at-bat and was a two-out single to load the bases. The threat ended one batter later, though, when Austin Romine struck out. Strikeouts were a theme for Dominguez during the game as he struck out four times, adding to the 12 total strikeouts by Scottsdale batters in the 4-3 loss.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 3.13 ERA (8 er, 23.0 ip) in 5 starts
Bonser made one start last week, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings against Tigres de Aragua on November 7th. He did not walk a batter in the start – a first for him in an outing with Margarita this season – while he struck out four. The start was Bonser's second straight outing of six innings pitched. Bonser is 10th in the league with a 3.13 ERA.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 4.70 ERA in 10 games
Lively's first outing of the week was on November 7th in relief of Bonser. If you noticed, Bonser did not factor into the decision. That is because Bonser left the game with a 2-2 tie. Lively, however, did factor into the decision: a loss. Lively entered the seventh inning and struck out the first batter he faced. Lively walked the next batter, Rossmel Perez, and then surrendered a double to Carlos Colmenares that plated Perez. Lively was subsequently removed and was eventually tagged with the losing decision in the 3-2 game. It was his only appearance of the week.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.286/.408/..571 with 5 HR and 10 RBI in 20 games
Linden went 3-for-16 at the plate in five games last week. He did walk five times, though, giving him 12 on the season and helping him maintain a .400+ OBP. On November 6th, Linden hit his fifth homer of the season, which places him second in the league in that category. His 12 walks are also second most in the league, trailing teammate Felix Pie.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.250/.326/.429 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 21 games
After going hitless in his first game of the week on November 5th, Kieschnick enjoyed a three-game stretch between November 6th-9th in which he went 7-for-11 with one home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored. His week tailed off after he went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in the final three games. Kieschnick reached base one time in his last three games of the week, an intentional walk on November 11th. His team-leading 18 RBIs are second most in the league.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw did not appear in any games last week.
Offseason League Update – November 5th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 0-0 with a 3.96 ERA in 7 games
The right-hander threw his fifth scoreless outing of the season in his first appearance of last week, but in his second game, he surrendered two runs on three hits in one inning on November 1st. Before his November 1st outing, Hembree had a 1.50 ERA and .217 batting average against in his first six games of the AFL season. Overall, Hembree has 11 strikeouts against two walks with Scottsdale.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 8 games
The left-hander made only one appearance last week, and he allowed a run for the first time in the AFL season. He surrendered one run on two hits, one walk and one hit batsman in one inning against Phoenix on October 31st. Against left-handers, Runzler has a .400 batting average against (4-for-10) while he is limiting right-handers to a .077 average against (1-for-13).
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: .344/.400/..688 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 8 games
After his regular season was cut short due to injury, Dominguez has been playing every few days for Scottsdale, including two games last week. He went 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBIs over the two games. After going 0-for-5 in his AFL season debut on October 10th, Dominguez has a hit in each of his last seven games, batting .407 (11-for-27) over the stretch.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 4 starts
The right-hander made one start last week, holding Cardenales de Lara scoreless over six innings. Bonser struck out five and walked one while also hitting a batter in the start. The five strikeouts were more than he had recorded in his previous three starts combined.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1, 1 save with a 3.68 ERA in 9 games
The Grizzlies' bullpen innings leader from 2012 made three appearances last week, allowing one run over 1 2/3 innings. In his last appearance of the week, he allowed two runs (one of which was an inherited runner) in his first loss of the season.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .319/.418/..638 with 4 HR and 7 RBI in 15 games
After posting a .407 batting average in his first eight games of the Dominican League's season, Linden went 4-for-19 in seven games last week. Two of the week's four hits came in the October 29th game when he hit two solo home runs. Entering November 5th, Linden is seventh in the league in batting average, fourth in OBP, third in slugging percentage and second in home runs.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .246/.313/.439 with 3 HR and 14 RBI in 14 games
Kieschnick is pacing Escogido in hits, home runs, RBIs and runs scored so far this season. His 12-game hitting streak to start the Dominican season was snapped last week after he went hitless for the first time on November 2nd. He drove in five runs (despite going 1-for-3) on October 31st and followed that performance up on November 1st by hitting his third home run of the campaign.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw appeared in one game last week, suffering the loss after not recording an out against the three batters he faced on November 4th. Rodriguez allowed one unearned run on two hits in the appearance. Rodriguez, who threw one inning or more in 29 of his 37 games with Fresno in 2012, has only lasted a full inning in a single appearance once with Escogido.


text:
Buildings – including offices, homes, and stores – use 40% of our energy and 70% of our electricity. The Alliance promotes the adoption, implementation, and advancement of building energy codes; influences national public policy and opinion on energy codes; and educates consumers on the need for and benefits of energy efficiency in buildings.
School buildings are the third biggest energy user of all commercial building types, accounting for 10% of the energy used. Each year, K-12 schools spend $8 billion and universities spend $6 billion on energy. The Alliance's K-12 and higher education programs empower students to change the culture of their academic environment to one that embraces energy efficiency.
The Alliance's Industrial Program provides outreach, research & analysis, advocacy and standards development services for federal, state, utility and private sector organizations in efforts to advance energy efficiency in the country's 200,000 factories, refineries, steel mills, and other industrial plants, which account for about 32% of domestic energy use.
All countries could do more to cut down on energy waste and save the world's energy resources. Energy efficiency provides a solution for addressing global energy demand, particularly in developing and transitioning countries due to their rapid urbanization and new markets. The Alliance has carried out international programs in more than 30 countries around the world drawing on the expertise of the Alliance's U.S. and internationally-based staff.
The Alliance collaborates with utilities to assist in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities, which are proven to be the cheapest, fastest, and cleanest ways to respond to utility shortages and challenges.
States and localities have primary responsibility for many policy areas that have a great impact on energy use and efficiency, including building codes, utility regulation, and community planning. The Alliance works with other stakeholders to develop and promote successful state and local energy efficiency policies.


text:
Xtreme Sport Videos
Email alerts are a great way to keep up with your favorite categories, studios or stars. We send a weekly mailer only when new movies are added to items you subscribe to. You can change your settings and alerts anytime from the my_mail center.
(5 Videos)
Sort By: Date Added | A-Z | Year | Top Rated


text: This resource presents an attempt to link the large amount of different concept lists which are used in the linguistic literature, ranging from Swadesh lists in historical linguistics to naming tests in clinical studies and psycholinguistics. (...) This resource, our Concepticon, links concept labels from different conceptlists to concept sets. Each concept set is given a unique identifier, a unique label, and a human-readable definition. Concept sets are further structured by defining different relations between the concepts (...). The resource can be used for various purposes.


text:
Do Dinosaurs Still Exist?
Champ: Two Stories Plus: Champ Sounds
Champ Quest was organized in 1992. Our mission is to collect data, search for, record sightings and protect the animals living in Lake Champlain known as Champ.
This site is not built from the viewpoint - What if Champ exists-I have seen these animals on many different occasions, a couple of my sightings involved more than one animal and several more involved baby Champs. There is a healthy population of these animals living in Lake Champlain.
The most frequently asked question: What is Champ? I have described what I have seen as a Lizard like long necked animal with four legs and feet, a forked tongue, omits a hissing noise, loves the shallow waters but seen on land, eats small fish, and is about twelve inches at birth and twenty feet or more full grown. Oh, and very ugly. The babies are kinda cute. But, what is it or I should say what are they?
Photo: Source: Unesco-welterbe
Constant research and field work has led me off the beaten path that most Cryptozoologist have chose to follow. The most popular theory is that they are members of the Plesiosaurus family.
These great ocean going reptiles of the Mesozoic Era were huge-up to forty six feet long, of which half was neck. There were many species of Plesiosaur, one, Elasmosaurus, depicted what I and many other people had seen in Lake Champlain.
It remained on the top of my list, until one day while browsing in Barnes & Noble on Dorset Street, I found a picture of a reptile called Tanystropheus. I Knew I had found the perfect match in both behavior and looks to the animals I have observed living and thriving in our lake.
Over the years I have interviewed many people that have seen Champ. One excited eye-witness described his sighting with absolute clarity "I saw Champ, there really is one, I saw two."
That is when I am forced to ask the age old question. Have you been drinking? Actually some of the most descriptive interviews have been with the people that started to drink after their sighting. Champ is not alone, and we can not call them all Champ.
What do we call the babies? I refuse to call them little Champies, so I named the one that has been frequently seen in Button Bay, Tany.
During the summer of 1994 Tany and some of his or her friends made a big splash in Button Bay, and Park Ranger Linde Emerson was watching as the scene emerged. It was the wake that made Linde Emerson stop and stare out at Lake Champlain's Button Bay. This was not the wake a boat makes. It was slower, smoother, unlike any Emerson had seen.
The park ranger was even more surprised by what he saw next. First one brownish bump. Then another. Then a head connected to the bumpy, undulating spine of what Emerson is convinced is Champ.
"When that sucker popped up, by God, it was amazing," said Emerson, who has worked as a park ranger for 12 years, the last five at Button Bay State Park.
The creature, which he estimates was 20-25 feet long, revealed itself for about 30 seconds and then slipped quietly back under the waters of Button Bay, a warm shallow basin of Lake Champlain where bass, perch and other fish feed.
"He was just swimming," Emerson said, "The way I see it, he was going after a school of fish."
In recent times, hundreds of people- boaters, picnickers, swimmers- claim they have seen one of these animals. Some took pictures of what they saw and others wrote books without seeing . But no one has ever caught a live Champ. Or have they?
In 1954 a 14" long reptile was captured in Shelburne bay. There is an early account of one being captured and tied up to a public dock in Burlington,Vt. It was described as being "a baby."
In 1976 a lizard like animal was caught by a Vergennes man. It was twelve inches long, held itself up on four sturdy legs, omitted a hissing sound and had a forked tongue.
I was lucky that the man who caught the baby was my father, William H. Hall and that I was there. I have much more to say about this catch, and you will be able to read about it in "The Ultimate Search."
Champ animals do exist in Lake Champlain. There is a lot of evidence, but most scientist don't think the animals exist. "I've never seen any credible evidence that there is a Champ creature," said George Labar, a professor at U.V.M. Labar has studied Lake Champlain for almost as long as I have observed and studied the animals known as Champ, 20 or more years.
Photos don't prove the existence of Champ either, said Labar. They can be doctored, and even if they are not doctored, that doesn't mean its Champ. "What it appears to be isn't necessarily what it is," said Labar.
In any case, there are many Champ believers. A so-called baby Champ is continually sighted at Button Bay State Park, said Laura Hollowell, park naturalist.
"People are seeing something. It's not just hysteria."
One thing that you can be sure to see while searching for Champ is the natural beauty of Lake Champlain. This alone will keep you coming back for more, and combine the natural beauty with that of the beauty of a true mystery such as Champ, and it might look like the picture I took of Button Bay from the sight of the 1962 Girl Scout Roundup.
Champtanystopheus is the name I have given to the species of animals known as Champ. I am confident that I am on the right track in my search and will not have to eat my words, otherwise I would have left it CHAMP.
Tanystropheus (there are many spellings of this word and I will try to use them all) is a member of the Protorosaurs family (they live in Charlotte) which in turn are members of the Archosauromorph family ( I believe they moved to New York) and they all pre-date the Archosaurs (yes there are still a few up in Forrestdale) better known as Dinosaurs.
The Protorosaurs were a lizard type reptile (absolutely no relation to the Charlotte Protorosaurs) that lived in the deserts of Europe toward the end of the Permian Period. Its long legs were tucked under its body, allowing it to chase after fast moving prey-mainly insects. Its neck was made up of seven large and greatly elongated vertebrae.
The long necks of the Protorosaurs reached an extreme in this member of the group. The Tanystropheus neck was longer than its body and tail combined. Yet only seven vertebrae made up the neck, each bone was greatly elongated.
Tany and the Elasmosaurus look similar but there are major differences. The Elasmosaurus had flippers. Tany has feet. The Elasmosaurus is 46 feet long. Tany is 25 tops. T
he most important difference is that the Elasmosaurus was an egg-layer and would have laid her eggs much like the modern day turtles (in open sight of humans). The Champtany gives live-birth. Unusual for a reptile, but she was not alone, other reptiles including the very ancient Ichthyosaurs , were live-bearers as are some modern day reptiles.
In my book "The Ultimate Search" I cover the birthing habits of the Tanystropheus in depth. Identifying and protecting the habitat in which the offspring of Champtanystropheus live is very important to their survival. That habitat is threatened as you read.
On April 27 of 1998, while inspecting our favorite marsh, Mary Ellen (my wife) caught a frog, it was deformed. Champtanystropheus is a strange looking animal, mutations will not help when it comes to interviewing eyewitnesses.
Most living things creatures of habit. Do you not see the same faces everyday as you drive to work? They become familiar and comforting. When you do not see them you become concerned or alarmed. I watched a family of geese grow up in Button Bay.
They swam past me every night during the course of one summer. One night, as a test of a theory I had, I hid on them. Their response was just as expected, they avoided the spot I normally sat and swam out into the lake instead, obviously alarmed. By returning to the same spot every night I had become an old friend. Champtanystropheus responds no differently (they need friends too).
The moral of the story, pick a spot to search from and stick with it. You do not have to sit motionless, act normal, it's the consistency that counts. Who knows maybe you can become an old friend of Champtanystropheus, and if a true friend they might let you take their picture.
Best of luck and if you see one of these reptiles DO NOT POKE IT WITH A STICK
Contact Dennis Hall Sightings@ champquest.com
New evidence on Champ is Luring Sea-Monster Fans to Vermont
By Diane E. Foulds, Globe Correspondent,
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- On a chilly morning in June, a team of scientists using underwater microphones picked up a series of strangely high-pitched ticking and chirping noises, similar to what a dolphin or Beluga whale would make. Trouble is, they were miles from the ocean, on Lake Champlain.
''It took us totally by surprise,'' said Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, who led the research team. ''For an instant we just stood there looking at each other with our mouths open.''
Von Muggenthaler was on the lake doing research for the Discovery Channel, which had just finished shooting a TV documentary on ''Champ,'' the legendary Lake Champlain monster.
Although the recordings are still under analysis, they offer the most compelling evidence to date that the creature might actually be real. For ECHO, a Vermont aquarium and science center that opened its doors this spring on the Burlington waterfront, the timing was eerie: August is ''Champ'' month.
In addition to its ongoing ''Champ'' display, it has offered a feast of monster-related activities all month. Educator Jean Hunt has been giving a talk on cryptozoology, the science of hidden and mystery animals, each Thursday at 6 p.m.
There are special children's activities and two 20-minute lectures daily, at 11:30 and again at 3, on the facts and fiction behind the phenomenon, with believers sitting on one side of the auditorium, skeptics on the other.
Vermont author Joseph Citro, who researched ''Champ'' sightings for his 2001 novel ''Lake Monsters,'' is among the growing contingent that suspects there might indeed be a lurking presence beneath the waves.
''The Indians knew it was there before [French explorer Samuel de] Champlain 'discovered' the lake, but they lived in harmony with it, even made offerings to it when they crossed the waters,'' he said.
''Probably the biggest 'Champ hunt' took place in the mid 1800s, when P.T. Barnum took an interest in the beast and put a $50,000 bounty on its head, dead or alive. Hunters came out in swarms, but luckily the money remains uncollected.''
Just to be safe, laws protecting the creature from harassment are on the books in Vermont and New Hampshire, and sightings continue.
Mike Shea, a former airline pilot who owns the excursion boat ''The Spirit of Ethan Allen,'' says he spotted Champ in 1984 with at least 80 passengers. He described a dark object about 25 feet long and three feet wide that paralleled the boat, its ''three or four humps'' causing a wake, until a speedboat headed straight for it.
''Then it turned 90 degrees to the left and dove, and the wake stopped,'' he said, ''and that's what convinced me I saw something. As an airline pilot, I'm trained to be observant, and I know what I saw.''
Von Muggenthaler, whose North Carolina-based institute, Fauna Communications Research, puts updates of its findings at www.animalvoice.com (click on ''Lake Champlain Research''), cautions that the results of the analysis may not solve the mystery.
''`What we can say is that there is a creature in the lake that produces bio-sonar,'' she said. ''We have no idea what it is.''
Diane E. Foulds is a freelance writer who lives in Burlington, Vt.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 37 38
Please Support the Research of S8int.com!
Since 2002, Chris Parker has done the majority of the research and writing of articles for s8int.com. If this site has been an encouragement to you, please donate to support Chris's ongoing research. (S8int.com is not incorporated and your donations may not be tax deductable.)


text:
Reports claim that Manchester United are close to signing Carloz Tevez on a two-year loan deal with the Argentina striker likely to seal a move to Old Trafford in the next 24 hours.
But West Ham have now moved to stop the 23-year-old leaving Upton Park this summer by stating that he still has three years to run on his contract.
Magnusson expects Tevez, who is currently on international duty playing in the Copa America, to return to West Ham ahead of next season.
"Carlos Tevez is a registered West Ham United player, contracted to the club until June 2010," he said in a statement on the club's official website.
"There is no agreement with West Ham United for Carlos Tevez to leave the club and we expect him to return in time for next season's preparations.
"No decision on his future can be reached without the agreement of West Ham United."
Any deal which takes Tevez to Manchester United will be under scrutiny from the Premier League and West Ham are likely to be backed in their stance.


text:
Very clear and understandable presentations
How to Develop a Culture of Openness and Trust
Bulk Discounts
|10 - 19
Course Overview
An organisations culture can explain much about how an organisation functions, both internally and in relation to its external environment. Although there is no one best culture to aspire to, openness and trust should be the foundations of any healthy culture.
This course has been developed to provide learners with an increased understanding of what the term organisational culture means and the benefits of adopting a culture of openness and trust. On completion, learners will also understand the ways in which managers can influence culture.
On completion of this Virtual College course learners will be able to:
- Describe what the term organisational culture means
- Appreciate the benefits of a culture of openness and trust
- Recognise how whistle blowing is an important safeguard of organisational culture
- Identify the range of ways in which a manager can influence culture
- Articulate the different stages in changing culture
Course Details
Lesson Plan
Areas covered include:
- Welcome and Learning Outcomes
- An Introduction to Managing a Culture of Openness and Trust
- Defining and Changing Organisational Culture
- Communication and Consultation
- Whistle Blowing
The content of this Virtual College course has been independently certified as conforming to universally accepted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) guidelines
On completion of this course you will be able to download a Virtual College certificate.
With approximately 40 interactive screens, it is estimated that this module will take approximately 1 and half hours to complete (depending on learning speed). As an e-learning module you can complete this training in convenient stages and revisit whenever you wish. The system will record your progress throughout.
Target Audience
This course is aimed at managers who have a responsibility to manage a team and an organisational culture.
Entry Requirements
There are no specific entry requirements for this course.


text:
You don't have any saved vehicles!
Look for this link on your favorites:
Once you've saved some vehicles, you can view them here at any time.
CARFAX One-Owner. Clean CARFAX. Certified. Byron Blue Metallic 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport SE 4WD 9-Speed Automatic 2.0L I4 Turbocharged Non-Smoker, Fully Detailed, Fully Serviced, Passed Safety Inspection, Warranty, Wheel Protection Pack Chrome Locks, Premium Interior Protection & Storage Pack, Meridian Sound System, 12-Way Electric Memory Front Seats, 4-Wheel Disc Brakes, ABS brakes, Basic Rear Seat Convenience Pack, Brake assist, Cold Climate Pack, Connected Navigation Pro, Electronic Stability Control, Exterior Parking Camera Rear, Fixed Panoramic Roof, Four wheel independent suspension, Front anti-roll bar, Front dual zone A/C, Front Fog Lights, Garage door transmitter: HomeLink, Grained Leather Seat Trim, Headlight Power Wash, Heated door mirrors, Heated Steering Wheel, Heated Windscreen, Knee airbag, Leather Shift Knob, Memory seat, Navigation System, Occupant sensing airbag, Overhead airbag, Panic alarm, Power door mirrors, Power driver seat, Power Liftgate, Power passenger seat, Rain sensing wipers, Rear anti-roll bar, Rear fog lights, Remote keyless entry, Security system, SiriusXM Satellite & HD Radio, Speed-sensing steering, Speed-Sensitive Wipers, Split folding rear seat, Spoiler, Traction control, Wheels: 19 Style 1039 Gloss Sparkle Silver, Windsor Leather Seat Trim.Odometer is 4037 miles below market average!Land Rover Approved Certified Pre-Owned Details:* 165 Point Inspection* Warranty Deductible: $0* Vehicle History* Transferable Warranty* Roadside Assistance* Up to 7-year/100,000 miles (whichever comes first) from original in-service date, including Trip Interruption Reimbursement
Pre-Owned vehicle pricing includes all offers and incentives. Tax, Title and Tags not included in vehicle prices shown and must be paid by the purchaser. While great effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, errors do occur so please verify information with a customer service rep. This is easily done by calling us at (215) 443-5900 or by visiting us at the dealership.
**With approved credit. Terms may vary. Monthly payments are only estimates derived from the vehicle price with a 60 month term, 3.9% interest and 20% downpayment.
*ACPO Coverage, including limited warranty and roadside assistance, expires up to seven years from the original in-service date or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Original in-service date is the earlier of the new-vehicle retail sale or in-use date, as reported to Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. Select vehicles may have the option for different warranty terms. Vehicles with the 7 years/100,000 miles limited warranty are limited in supply and only available at participating Jaguar Retailers. See your authorized Jaguar Retailer for complete terms and conditions.
**Original in-Service date is the earlier of new-vehicle retail sales or in-use date, as reported to or by Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. See your Jaguar Retailer for details or call 1-800-396-7373.
**Coverage begins on the vehicle's original date of retail sale or in-use date. See your Jaguar Retailer for details.
Vehicle shown is for illustrative purposes. Actual vehicle image and details may differ. Vehicle in transit.
*Number of views in last 30 days
† Based on 2020 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
You don't have any saved vehicles!
Look for this link on your favorites:
Once you've saved some vehicles, you can view them here at any time.
(215) 443-5900Call Now
900 S. York Rd • Willow Grove, PA 19090Get Directions
Open Today! Sales: 9am-6pm
Open Today! Service: 7:30am-6pm
Open Today! Parts: 7:30am-5pm


text:
Find a partner abroad for your business
The Network manages Europe's largest online database of business opportunities.
Search for business or academic partners to manufacture, distribute, co-develop and supply your products, ideas and services.
Find a partner in three steps:
- Search our global partnership database based on your criteria
- Express your interest by telling us about your company
- We put interested partners in touch
Be informed about new events matching your search criteria: register for personalised email alerts
Sort by
Nanoimprint lithography on full wafers that saves process steps by directly producing a hard etch mask or functional optical layer
A Dutch spin-off SME is specialized in nanoimprint lithography. Most important advantage is the ability to make very high resolution nano and micro st... See more
Remote electrocardiograph monitoring technology
Serbian start-up company developed a technology for electrocardiograph (ECG) monitoring. On the basis of 3 leads ECG recording, the technology enables... See more
Continuous close-loop fast pyrolysis technology for processing plastic, organic and end-of-life tires (ELT) waste
A Cypriot engineering SME, specialized in waste management offers an innovative recycling solution for the plastic, organic and end-of-life tires (ELT... See more
Modular folding mechanism for speedgates
Dutch company developed and patented a new solution for the driving movement of a folding door or speedgate. This less complex, less failure-prone and... See more
Serbian company offers customized social media listening & monitoring tool for license or commercial agreement with technical support
Serbian IT startup company has developed a media tool enabling competitions on a Facebook page, like quizzes, questionnaires, and creating reports wit... See more
Self-driving autonomous robots providing outdoor cleaning services for commercial, industrial and public spaces all year round
The technology is offered by an Estonian SME focused on developing autonomous snow removal and cleaning robots. The self-driving autonomous cleaning... See more
Greek NGO experienced in open data, e-government and open technologies offers complete services and know-how in ICT and education sectors.
A Greek NGO with years of expertise in open software, open data, open content, open standards and e-government seeks public/private entities in the IC... See more
Intelligent roadside infrastructure unit to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety at uncontrolled crossings
Technology offered by an Estonian SME focuses on developing Smart City, Smart Road and Mobility related products. The intelligent roadside infrastruc... See more
Eye drop guide device for self-administration of eye drops
A Singapore institute has developed an eye drop guide (EDG) to ease the instillation of eye drops in patient eyes, thus empowering patients to self-ad... See more
Novel patient sensing, automated treadmill device to retrain stroke patients for proper walking
A Singapore institute has developed a sensing treadmill with automated variable speeds with increased safety features to help retrain post-stroke pati... See more
Development of functional food ingredients from underutilised okara
Despite being nutrient-rich, the use of okara (soy pulp) as human food is limited due to its high amount of indigestible fibre and low palatability. A... See more
A healthtech software development company offering an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered service that recommends suitable medications based on patient's medical conditions
A Greek health software development company has developed an AI-powered service that recommends suitable medications based on a patient's medical... See more
Web/mobile application for marinas, yachters & skippers supporting e-booking services, navigational & parking assistance features and mobile guidance to the nearby coastal areas.
A Greek SME has developed an innovative solution transforming a regular marina into a 'Smart' one. The company provides a digital platform t... See more
Image processing algorithms for onboard optical Earth Observation (EO) satellites
A Greek innovative ICT start-up company specialized in the field of object detection algorithms. The company has developed image processing algorithms... See more
Conflation of datasets into higher quality Digital Elevation Models, at low cost
Slovenian researchers have developed an intelligently conflated Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Instead of a single data source, the algorithm uses a m... See more
Miniaturized ice detection sensor for aerospace and automotive applications
A Greek SME which designs and manufactures opto-electronic sub-systems, offers a miniaturized ice detection sensor capable of not only detecting the p... See more
Low-cost, instant test for identifying adulteration of alcoholic drinks looking for licence agreement
An independent Greek researcher, a chemical engineer, presents an instant test device for detecting the presence of toxic and illegal methanol or ethy... See more
Greek SME is looking for a partner for further developing and exploiting the potential of its integrated location-based mobile application for tourism
A Greek ICT SME has developed an integrated location-based mobile application (compatible with most popular mobile operational systems) that delivers ... See more
Greek SME develops innovative technology that reduces effectively Sulphur Oxides (SOx) in ship emissions aiming at engineering companies or investors for system development prior to commercialization
A Greek engineering company, dealing with environmental applications, has designed a solution that allows ships to comply with the new regulation for ... See more
Technology platform using powerful micro-scale biometric wearable hardware.
A Dutch SME is offering a technology platform using powerful and very compact micro-scale biometric wearable hardware. Processing power of the platfor... See more


text:
Item caches hold the values of repository items, indexed by repository IDs. Item caching can be explicitly enabled for each item descriptor. Even if caching is explicitly disabled, item caching occurs within the scope of each transaction (see Disabling Caching).
An item cache entry is invalidated when that item is updated. The scope of an entry's invalidation depends on its caching mode. For example, when an item is changed under simple caching mode, only the local cache entry is invalidated; other Oracle ATG Web Commerce instances are not notified. Oracle ATG Web Commerce provides several different Distributed Caching Modes to invalidate items across multiple instances.


text:
Farming is about to get a whole lot scarier.
Today, I ordered 27 day-old chicks from Belt Hatchery that will arrive on August 21. The group will include 11 Rhode Island Red pullets (females), 1 RIR cockerel (male), 10 Ameraucana pullets, and 4 Pearl White Leghorn pullets. (I wanted to order from McMurray — I was seduced by their great website — but they didn't have the availability I wanted until September. Belt is in California, so the chicks won't have to travel as far, which is better for them anyway.)
A bit of info about the breeds (gleaned from hours upon hours of online chicken research): RIRs are supposed to be hardy, friendly, prolific brown egg-layers. They're sometimes referred to as a "dual purpose" breed, meaning that they lay eggs—and aren't bad for eating, either. Unlike various brown-egg laying Sex Links, they'll breed true. [Sex Links are hybrids, just like seeds labeled F-1, and the next generation won't necessarily share the parents' traits. Sex Links are particularly convenient for poultry suppliers because the males and females are different colors, allowing them to be sexed easily upon hatching. Sexing non-sex-linked chickens is a tricky business; you have to pay a very trained eye to do it, and apparently even with a good chicken sexer you still sometimes end up with surprise roosters. When Henrietta starts to crow, it's probably time to shorten the name to Henry.] By contrast, RIRs are essentially an 'heirloom' variety—a breed that's been refined and maintained by farmers over the years.
Next up: Ameraucanas, which are prized for their ability to lay green and blue eggs. Egg-sellers at the farmer's market have told me that these eggs are extremely popular with customers, and although Ameraucanas are less prolific than some layers, the color may just be worth the effort. (Silly, isn't it, how the aesthetic becomes so important — it's not like the eggs have any difference when it comes to nutritional value.) They're often confused with Araucanas, which also lay blue eggs, but are rumpless and have very dramatic ear tufts. We'll see what I get from Belt Hatchery — although they say they're selling Ameraucanas, I might end up with an "Easter Egger," a layer of blue eggs that doesn't quite fit either breed standard…
Last but not least, Leghorns: the type of chicken that are most commonly found in big-scale, confinement, battery-type operations. (As such, they're mostly likely to have produced the eggs in the carton at your corner grocery store while enjoying a space the size of an 8.5 by 11″ piece of paper.) Leghorns are extremely prolific–300 eggs a year. They lay white eggs, and have a great feed-to-egg conversion ratio. In other words, they're lightweight and produce a lot of eggs for a little feed: a good bang for your buck. Some owners say they're skittish and people-shy, but others disagree and say that the breed doesn't matter as much as handling the chicks at an early age. I plan on playing with these little guys a lot! (Note: If you're interested in other breeds, check out this great chart, which has an awesomely condensed wealth of chicken information.)
So that's the practical, calculated side of the equation. But then there's the other side, the emotional side, the part where I admit: I'm simultaneously thrilled and utterly terrified to get these birds. They're adding an important part to our little farm — a great way to compost kitchen scraps into unbeatable fertilizer, not to mention the opportunity to expand our operation to sell eggs at the farmer's market. But they're alive in a way that vegetables aren't, and when it comes to that kind of alive, I get all mushy inside. The woman from Belt Hatchery on the phone today started talking about how, if one of the chicks dies in transit, I can call and get a refund. And I'm thinking, who cares about the refund? How am I going to deal with a tiny, dead day-old baby bird?! I freak out when I accidentally snap a runner off a bean plant while trying to hook it on the fence. The first time I did it, I seriously felt my heart sink to about knee-height. So right now, I'm just praying that all 27 of my little birds make it safely to the post office.
And that's when the really scary part begins.
Breaking off the occasional bean runner didn't slow down the plants too much. The same won't hold true for chicks!
*Stay tuned for photos of the on-the-cheap brooder I built, and the coop built out of recycled doors that is currently a figment of my imagination…


text:
Arden calls for taxes to pay for education
(CNS Elections): The incumbent member for East End became the first candidate in the televised election forums so far to raise the sticky issue of taxes, after several weeks of candidates rolling out wish lists, in many cases without indicating how they propose to pay for them. But Arden McLean bucked the trend when he declared Tuesday that the next government should "tax the people" and "triple the education budget" to meet the demands of the business community who claim Caymanians are not good enough.
Category: Local News